Crispy Noodle Omelette

Total time: 25–30 minutes | Serves 4

This is a bit of a mash-up of different influences and cuisines, born out of leftovers and a need for a tasty dinner. Crispy noodles bound with egg make for a lovely platform to soak up all the flavours you throw at it. You can make it straight through by soaking noodles in boiling water, draining and cooling, but I also like to make extra at dinner, knowing I can have this the next day. If you want a lighter meal, you can get by with making this with just one egg per person. Have a look for bean sprouts in a jar, as they last a lot longer and are always to hand.

INGREDIENTS

• flavourless oil, for cooking

• 200g (7oz) rice noodles, cooked according to the packet instructions, then drained, cooled under cold water and drained well again

  Weeknight Vegetarian: Easy Vegetable Recipes for Lunch & Dinner Joe Woodhouse

• 8 eggs (or see recipe introduction)

• 4 spring onions, finely sliced

• 15g (oz) coriander, leaves picked

• 10g (oz) mint, leaves picked

• 1–2 red or green chillies, sliced (optional)

• 330g (11oz) jar of bean sprouts (optional)

• salt

• sriracha, or hot sauce, to serve (for homemade hot sauce, see page 75)

For the sauce (all ingredients to taste)

• 4 tablespoons soy sauce

• 2–3 tablespoons rice vinegar

• 1 thumb of fresh root ginger,
  peeled and finely grated

• 2 garlic cloves, finely grated

DIRECTIONS

1. Mix the sauce ingredients together in a bowl, adding more of any ingredient to get the flavour balance you like.

2. I use a 24cm (9½ inch) frying pan for these, as you want enough surface area to get a nice crunch going on the noodles. Heat 2–3 tablespoons of oil in the pan over a medium–high heat. Add the noodles and spread them out. Leave them to cook and crisp slightly for 3–4 minutes, but watch that they don’t catch. Give them a toss or a flip to continue cooking the soft side; another 3–4 minutes should be good. Remove to a plate.

3. In a mixing bowl, beat 2 eggs, add one-quarter of the spring onion and a good pinch of salt, followed by one-quarter of the crisped-up noodles.

4. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in the frying pan over a medium heat. Add the omelette mix and spread it out evenly in the pan. Cook for 2–3 minutes until set on the first side, then flip over. Reduce the heat if you feel it is cooking too fast. Cook until the egg is set through, then remove to a plate. Keep this warm in a low oven while you repeat the process to make 3 more omelettes.

5. Add one-quarter of the herbs, chilli and bean sprouts, if using, to each omelette then fold over. Serve with the sauce, with sriracha or hot sauce on the side, if you like.

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Excerpted from Weeknight Vegetarian by Joe Woodhouse, Kyle Books Photo: Photography: Joe Woodhouse

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