I wrote this recipe for all the students heading back to university this week, but it’s too nice to withhold from everyone else, especially because it’s the sort of thing I like to eat on any day of the working week. It’s cheap, quick and delicious, and you need no skills to make it. The first eight ingredients are stirred together; the ninth, spring onions, just need a quick chop and a fry with the 11th ingredient, cabbage, which could be done while ingredient number 10, the noodles, are on the boil. A final flourish with some chopped peanuts and you’re ready for dinner.
White cabbage, peanut butter and gochujang noodles
Prep 5 min
Cook 30 min
Serves 2
For the dressing
3 tbsp crunchy peanut butter (50g)
2 tbsp gochujang (40g)
2cm piece fresh ginger, peeled and grated
2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
2 tbsp rice vinegar
3 tbsp light soy sauce
2 tsp toasted sesame oil
Rapeseed oil
For the noodles
125g spring onions (ie, 1 bunch)
180g ramen noodles – I like Saitaku’s
200g white cabbage, finely shredded
50g roast peanuts, very finely chopped
Mix all the dressing ingredients in a small bowl, then stir in a tablespoon of rapeseed oil and set aside.
Finely slice the spring onions, both the white and green parts, and put them all in a bowl of cold water. Mix with your hands so any grit falls to the bottom of the bowl, then leave to soak for a couple of minutes. Scoop out the onions using a small sieve, leaving any grit behind.
Cook the noodles for one minute less than the packet instructions, and move them around with a fork or tongs while they’re boiling, to stop them sticking together. Scoop out a small mug of the hot water, then drain the noodles and rinse under cold water until cooled. Drizzle over a couple of tablespoons of rapeseed oil and stir to coat.
Put three tablespoons of rapeseed oil in a large frying pan on a high heat and, once hot, fry the drained spring onions for three minutes, until they’re neon green. Stir in the cabbage and cook, stirring, for seven to eight minutes, until slightly charred and soft.
Add the noodles, then pour in the dressing, mix well and heat through for a minute or two – add a tablespoon or so of the reserved noodle water to loosen, if need be. Take off the heat, then serve in the pan or distribute between two bowls; either way, top with the chopped peanuts.
