Chilli Crab Noodles

These Chilli Crab Noodles are utterly delicious, really quick and easy to make and pack a fiery chilli punch.

I have recently started Slimming World, and in case anyone else follows that diet, the entire dish is only 2.5 syns for the sesame oil and Sriracha making it less than 1.5 syns per serving. 

I really like the heat of x2 red chillies, but if heat isn't your thing reduce to one, or take out entirely. I also add fresh coriander which I adore, right at the end, but if you're not keen on the flavour of coriander you could try mint or basil instead.

The below serves two. 

Chilli Crab Noodles

Here's how:

• 200g white crab meat (fresh or tinned is fine)
• 1 garlic clove
• 3cm piece of fresh ginger
• 2 red chillies
• 4 spring onions
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 1 tbsp sriracha
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp fish sauce
• Juice of 1 lime
• Tenderstem broccoli 
• Handful coriander
• 90g cooked vermicelli rice noodles

Firstly add the tsp of sesame oil to a wok and pop on a low heat.

Slice the spring onions, red chillies, garlic and ginger and add to the wok to slowly soften and flavour the oil.

Once the base is all cooked down, add the rice noodles, the soy sauce, fish sauce and sriracha and use a spatula or wooden spoon to move it all around and ensure the noodles take on all of that flavour. 

While the noodles are heating through (they just need a minute), roughly chop the coriander leaves and set aside. 

Now add the crab meat to the wok and again, move it all around and mix it into the noodle and vegetable mixture until it's heated through; 1-2 minutes is plenty. 

Remove from the heat, squeeze over the lime juice, which will add a lovely freshness and add most of the coriander and mix again before dividing between two plates. 

Now return the wok to the heat, and add the tenderstem broccoli; this will cook in just a couple of minutes on a high heat. 

Serve with the Chilli Crab Noodles and scatter over any remaining coriander leaves as a garnish.

Simple Fish Stew

This is a really great Mediterranean inspired family meal, that's delicious, healthy and easily adaptable according to the fish you have available; perfect for lock-down. You can also make the base ahead of time, and freeze or chill until you're ready to cook making it super convenient. 

For anyone following Slimming World, this is a completely syn-free meal. (Glen and I have just joined, so expect to see a few more Slimming World friendly recipes soon.)

Here I served this over pasta, but you could also add cooked rice, orzo or serve with a hunk of crusty bread. I use cherry tomatoes as they have a gorgeous sweetness to them; but you could also use any other tomatoes, even tinned if that's all you have available.

Simple Fish Stew

The below serves four-five.

Here's how:

For the base:

• 6 sprays of Fry Light Olive Oil Spray
• 600g cherry tomatoes
• 1 large white onion
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 3 celery sticks
• 1 roasted red pepper
• 1 tbsp capers
• 1 tbsp tomato puree
• Pinch of saffron
• 1 tsp paprika
• 300ml fish stock

The fish:

• 2 fillets of cod (or any white, flaky fish)
• 2 fillets of smoked haddock (any smoked fish would work)
• 200g raw prawns

To garnish:

• Fresh parsley

To make the base of the stew, spray the Fry Light into a heavy bottomed saucepan and place on a low heat.

Now peel the onion and finely dice, peel and mince the garlic, and finely slice the celery and place all into the saucepan to gently sweat down.

Once the onions etc. are softened, add the cherry tomatoes, capers and tomato puree. Chop the roasted red pepper and add to the saucepan; season generously, add the paprika and allow to cook down for fifteen minutes or so, gently mixing with a wooden spoon every few minutes. You want most of the tomatoes to be smushed down a bit, but now completely mashed. 

Now add the fish stock and the pinch of saffron and cook for a further five minutes. 

Remove from the heat, and allow to cool a little, before taking out half of the stew, and blending until smooth. I use a Nutribullet for this, but a hand blender or food processor would be great too. Don't be tempted to blend all of the sauce, unless you have fussy eaters, it's nice to have a mixed texture throughout the stew.

When you're ready to cook the fish, bring the stew back up to heat on the hob, it should come almost up to boiling, before being put on a gentle simmer. 

Now cut the cod and haddock into large, bite sized pieces and place directly into the stew, and gently move around with the wooden spoon so each piece is completely immersed in the liquid. 

Cook for a few minutes, until the fish is almost cooked through, then add the raw prawns, and again push them right into the stew and allow to cook for about 3 minutes until they're cooked through (this is easy to tell, they will have turned pink). 

Ladle the fish stew into a serving bowl, and scatter over chopped parsley. Serve with some lemon wedges over your choice of pasta, orzo or rice. 

Here are 15 other fish recipes you may enjoy:

• Plaice with Mediterranean Vegetables and Lemon Parsley Butter
• Quick and Chunky Cod Tagine
• Jerk Salmon
• Seafood Spaghetti with Saffron and Chilli
• Prawn and Chorizo Jambalaya
• Seafood Burger
• One Pot Coconut Fish Curry
• Pesto Topped Salmon with Half and Half Pasta
• Sea Bass with a Warm Jersey Royal Salad
• Thai Salmon Fishcakes with Quick Chilli Oil
• Quick Thai Salmon Noodle Soup
• Pesto Topped Haddock with Herby Couscous
• Paella Mixta
• Sticky Asian Salmon
• Tuna Fishcakes

Slimming Friendly Fake-away Char Sui Pork

If you have ever enjoyed char sui pork in a Chinese restaurant you will know it is utterly addictive and delicious. It usually calls for a fatty part of the pig, the belly, shoulder, or butt and the fat really helps to keep it moist and tasty.

But in my quest to continue to eat delicious things whilst trying to shift some extra Christmas pounds as well as get bikini ready for a trip to Cyprus coming up, I did a little experimenting and have come up with this version which uses a much leaner cut; pork fillet which is lower in fat and calories, inexpensive and easy to source in most supermarkets. In fact by switching the pork belly to pork fillet you save 200 calories per serving; and 24g of fat! I omitted from using the copious amount of brown sugar too – whilst you don’t get the final glaze, that is synonymous with char sui, it already has the sweetness from the honey.

Some of the ingredients – such as red bean curd and Shaoxing wine are a little more niche but you will find in any Asian supermarket; and once you have Shaoxing wine add a drop to any stir fries – it’s super tasty.

The below serves x4 people and a 140g serving of the Char Sui Pork equates to 328 calories. I served with a small portion (approximately 75g) rice, and some quick fried bok choi and pak choi with a drizzle of Oyster sauce.

It’s best to marinate meat overnight – but a few hours will also be good.

For a Friday night fake away – I can thoroughly recommend and will be making again soon. 

Slimming Friendly Char Sui Pork Fillet

Here’s how:

• 450g pork fillet
• 2 garlic cloves
• 4cm piece of ginger
• 4 tbsp low salt soy sauce
• 3 tbsp Shaoxing Wine
• Red Bean Curd 3 pieces
• 3 tbsp honey
• 4 tbsp hoi sin sauce
• 2 tbsp rice wine vinegar
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• ½ tsp black pepper

Firstly you need to make the marinade which is all of the ingredients, bar the pork. Mince the garlic and grate the ginger and place everything together into a large zip lock bag or in a bowl – combine well then take out about 3 tablespoons of the marinade and place into a small pot – this will be the sauce to drizzle over the meat once cooked. Keep in the fridge.

Now with the pork, take a sharp knife and all over the fillet, make a few incisions, not too deep, but enough for the marinade to get inside of the meat.

Place the pork fillet into the bag, do up and then use your hands to massage the marinade into the meat ensuring it is fully immersed and covered. Now place into the fridge and allow to marinate for as long as you can – overnight is good.

As pork fillet is very lean and without fat, it’s important when cooking to not allow it to dry out and become tough so if you cook it on a wire rack over an oven proof dish half filled with boiled water, this will help that process. I don’t have fancy equipment for this at all – I used a roasting tin, covered with the wire rack from my grill.

Pre-heat the over to 180 degrees and when warm enough, place the meat onto the wire rack, above the tin, then use a brush to cover the meat all over with the marinade.

You will roast for 35-40 minutes in total, but every 8 minutes, take out the meat and brush again with the marinade. The second time you take the meat out to brush it again, turn the meat over.

Once cooked, remove from the oven and allow to rest. Now place the retained marinade into a small saucepan and gently heat through.

Slice the meat, once sufficiently rested and serve with the sauce drizzled over with your choice of accompaniments.