Chicken Noodle Soup with Pak Choi

This classic Chicken Noodle Soup is my absolute go-to 'quick dinner' if I'm short on time or have been out all day, as it takes hardly any preparation but is packed full of flavour and is so super nourishing too.

I always turn to this if I'm feeling under the weather too - it's true it is medicinal - it must be the chilli, garlic and ginger. Restorative and delicious this was another soup in my 'Seven Days of Soup' challenge recently - this one is a naughty carbohydrate one though with the noodles but the Mama Instant Rice Noodles complete this meal for just over 160 calories per portion and they're well worth it.

You can of course cook your chicken for this soup yourself, but for me it benefits from being made from cooked chicken (throw the bones in and remove before serving) and using a really good quality, or homemade chicken stock.

Chicken Noodle Soup with Pak Choi

Here's how:

• 500g cooked chicken
• Handful Spring onions
• 1 garlic clove
• 3 cm fresh ginger
• 1 chilli
• Handful mushrooms
• Handful bean sprouts
• Handful fresh coriander
• Handful fresh chives
• 1 tsp fish sauce
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 1 tsp soy sauce
• 1 tsp Shaohsing wine
• 1 tsp Sriracha sauce
• 1 lime
• 2 portions Mama Instant Rice Noodles or alternative
• 2 bulbs of Pak Choi
• 1.5 pints good quality chicken stock

Firstly tear up the chicken and throw into a large pot. Use kitchen scissors to snip in the full spring onions.

Peel and slice the garlic and ginger and place all in the pot. Slice the mushrooms and chilli, keeping in the seeds, and add these too.

Pour over the stock, the fish sauce, sesame oil, sriracha, shaohsing and soy sauce and cook for 30 minutes.

In the final few minutes of cooking, add the noodles, and tear in each individual leaf of the pak choi. This will literally need 1-2 minutes more of cooking.

Now remove from the heat and add the final seasonings. Cut the lime in half and squeeze over half into the pot and stir. Now tear in the coriander leaves and throw in, add the bean sprouts, which will cook enough in the heat of the broth and finally again use the kitchen scissors to snip in the chives. Stir thoroughly and serve each portion in a deep bowl with a sprig of coriander and an additional lime wedge for personal seasoning. Chilli fiends may wish to add some fresh, raw chopped chilli too. Enjoy

The other soups I enjoyed during my 'Seven Days of Soup' included:

Asparagus and Crispy Bacon Soup
Red Pepper Soup
Vegetable Soup
Curried Parsnip and Spinach Soup
Thai Sweet Potato Soup
Chunky Lentil Bacon and Kale Soup

Honey, Chilli and Coconut Prawns With Ho Fun Noodles

This is a lovely warming dish that feels like the kind of guilty pleasure you'd get from a Chinese takeaway, but in fact, with a few simple tweaks and measuring of all the naughty ingredients, such as the oils and honey, is actually a healthy balanced meal with a good protein:carb:vegetable ratio.

Ho fun are a wide flat noodle and are much better fresh if you can find them - they sell them in most Asian supermarkets and they work really well with this dish. If you can't find them, substitute for another low-calorie rice noodle such as Mama, and if you're on a reduced carb diet, omit from using them at all.

The tiny amount of desiccated coconut adds a fantastic sweetness along with the honey which puts me in mind of a sweet and sour dish, and is balanced well against the sriracha, five spice and shaohsing wine.

The below serves two and comes in at 520 calories per portion with a 100g portion of stir fried hot tun (Chinese greens) - I must stress how important it is to weigh out ingredients if like me you are on a fat fighting/ healthy eating journey as otherwise this could be a seriously calorific dish - by sticking to the below quantities this is a fantastic mid-week meal.

Honey Chilli and Coconut Prawns with Ho Fun

Here's how:

• 200g king prawns
• 200g fresh ho fun noodles
• 1 green pepper
• 2 carrots
• 50g sweetcorn
• 100g broccoli
• 50g fresh ginger
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 tsp dried chilli flakes
• 2 tbsp sriracha sauce
• 1tbsp light soy sauce
• 1 tsp shaohsing wine
• 2 tsp sesame oil
• 2 tsp coconut oil
• 2 tsp runny honey
• 1 tsp Chinese five spice
• 20g desiccated coconut

Firstly prepare everything as this takes very little time to cook. Crush the garlic and peel and slice the ginger into matchsticks.

Slice the pepper, chop the broccoli into small florets and peel the carrots then also turn into matchsticks.

De-vein the prawns and set aside for the minute.

Now place the coconut oil, sesame oil ginger, garlic and dried chilli flakes into a wok and place on a medium heat till it begins to soften. Now add the Chinese five spice, shaohsing, soy, sriracha, honey and desiccated coconut, and allow to bubble - this will make the delicious gravy or sauce for the dish.

Now firstly add the carrots and broccoli into the wok and allow to cook for a minute. Now add the pepper and sweetcorn and cook for a further minute.

The prawns go in next and only take about 3-4 minutes to cook - you'll know they are cooked when they become pink in colour.

As soon as the prawns are cooked, add the ho fun; or whichever noodles you are using. These will cook in a couple of minutes. Use a spatula to break up gently and mix all the while to ensure the noodles are well coated in the sauce.

Serve alongside some braised or quick-fried Chinese vegetables such as pak choi, ho tun (as I have) or chinese cabbage. Enjoy!

Skinny Spicy Breaded King Prawns with Chilli and Garlic Fried Vegetables and Sriracha Dressing

These were an experiment of mine that, happily, worked out very well indeed. During my healthy eating regime, I really should detox from social media as every time I care to take a glance I see a Tweet or an Instagram post containing something utterly delicious looking that is well and truly off limits.

These prawns were as a result of seeing some gorgeous looking deep fried breaded Thai prawns online, it got me thinking, how can I create a healthier version.

The result was the below - a crumb, created by Melba toast and flavoured with chilli, garlic, coriander and plenty of salt and pepper. They worked perfectly too, soft, sweet and juicy prawns contained in a spicy, crisp coating. Winner. Served alongside some chilli and garlic fried kale and asparagus and a low calorie Sriracha dressing made with my new favourite ingredient 0% Fat Natural yoghurt, a portion of the below comes in at 486 calories.

The below serves two.

Skinny Spicy Breaded King Prawns with Chilli and Garlic Fried Vegetables and Sriracha Dressing

Here's how:

• 200g King prawns
• 1x packet (20g) Melba toasts (I use Asda)
• 1 red chilli
• 2 cloves garlic
• Bunch coriander
• Salt
• Pepper
• 4 spring onions
• Dried chilli flakes
• 5ml coconut oil
• 150g kale
• Bunch asparagus
• 1 egg
• 50g plain flour
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tbsp 0% Fat Natural Yoghurt (I use Yeo Valley)
• 1 tsp Sriracha sauce

Place the oven on at 180 degrees.

Firstly prepare the prawns by de-veining and placing onto a plate or bowl with some kitchen towel to absorb any excess moisture.

In the meantime place the flour into a bowl with the cayenne, paprika and a large pinch each of salt (preferably coarse sea salt but table will do) and black pepper. Stir and set aside.

Now finely chop the chilli and crush one of cloves of garlic and add to another small bowl. Chop the coriander finely and add. Now crumble in the melba toasts. Try to have a combination of textures both small and crumbly and larger pieces too - it all adds to the dish. Give a good stir and set aside.

Now crack an egg into one final bowl and quickly beat.

Now get an oven sheet or tray ready and add a layer or parchment paper.

Firstly coat each prawn into the seasoned flour, then into the egg and then toss in the crumb mix. Now place onto the oven sheet ready to be cooked. Repeat until all prawns are coated. 

Skinny Spicy Breaded King Prawns

The prawns will take ten minutes to cook so set aside for the moment while you prepare the accompaniments.

Finely slice the spring onions and remaining garlic and add to a non-stick pan with the coconut oil and half of the dried chilli flakes and place onto a medium heat.

Once the oil is warmed and starting to sizzle (but not burn), add the asparagus. Cook gently for four minutes and once the asparagus is in the pan also pop the prawns into the oven to bake.

Get a piece of tin foil ready that will easily wrap the asparagus and once the four minutes is up, remove from the pan and add the kale and the remaining dried chilli flakes for a further four minutes. Wrap the asparagus to keep it warm.

Now whilst the kale is cooking place 1 tbsp of 0% fat natural yoghurt into a small bowl with 1 tsp sriracha and stir. Taste and adjust accordingly.

Remove the prawns from the pan and plate up with the kale and asparagus. Enjoy!