Easy Peasy Chicken Noodles

I like to have some easy wins in my repertoire - those dishes that require no brain action and are a guaranteed crowd-pleaser. Pesto Pasta is a dead cert, as is Harissa Ravioli.

I found a couple of packets of flavoured instant noodles in the cupboard - not entirely sure why I’d bought them - but they felt like a solid starting point for another crowd-pleaser. These Easy Peasy Chicken Noodles are a tasty and comforting supper. Much of the flavour comes in with the noodles, so the hard work is done for you. As a bonus, there are plenty of vegetables, so you can feel quietly smug about that.

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Here’s how I made these Easy Peasy Chicken Noodles -

1. Prep your vegetables, stir fry style.
2. Shred some cooked chicken.
3. Stir fry the vegetables.
4. Cook the instant noodles - mine took 3 minutes.
5. Add some soy sauce to the stir fry.
6. Stir the chicken into the vegetables.
7. Tip the noodles into the chicken + vegetables. Combine and serve.

That’s it - done.

And here are my tips for making these Easy Peasy Chicken Noodles -

• Which instant noodles should you choose? - Mine were Indomie Chicken Curry flavour, Instant Noodles. I added 800ml (just under 1 ½ pints) of water for 2 x 75g (3 oz) packets (the guidance was 300-400ml (10-13 fl oz) per packet) and cooked them for 3 minutes. You might not be able to get this brand, but you are looking for quick cook with flavouring included.
• Don’t drain the liquid off the cooked noodles - The cooking liquid becomes the sauce when the flavouring is added. They might look too watery when everything is first combined, but trust the process. Also, the amount of liquid means that it lends itself to leftovers for the next day because it hasn’t dried out and gone all stodgy.
• Choose your own vegetables - I’ve given you the exact quantities and types of vegetables that I used but this is flexible cooking so use what you have and what you enjoy.
• Go really fine with the vegetables - the finer you cut the vegetables, the faster they’ll cook and the easier they’ll combine with the noodles.
• Some vegetables take longer to stir fry than others - I added the quick-cooking vegetables a bit later than those that needed longer. It avoids any overcooking but is not essential.

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And here are 3 things I’m loving about this recipe -

1. These noodles have the air of a takeaway dish, but with all those vegetables, you’ll certainly have a spring in your step. A great option if you are trying to do less ordering out.
2. Much of the flavouring comes from the seasoning in the noodles. I’m not sure what’s in there but that’s a question for another day.
3. This is a dish that needs limited kitchen skill, which makes it a solid DIY teenage dinner (although encouragement may be required to not just go for the instant noodles!) To be honest, my daughter has added this dish to her repertoire of 'things that I cook for myself when everything in the fridge looks DULL'. She is very skilled at spotting and using the small bowls of random leftovers and these noodles really lend themselves to those dishes of leftover vegetables (especially stir fry vegetables). She makes the noodles, warms the leftovers and adds some soy sauce to taste. Delicious!

I have a suspicion that this guaranteed crowd-pleaser might become a regular in our house. Agreed?

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