Madhouse recipe : Quick midweek chicken and noodle stir-fry

This is one of my go-to, throw-it-all-together meals that I would say doesn't warrant a recipe, but when I posted my review of the August Degustabox last week, several people on social media replied that they have too many noodles from previous boxes in the cupboard and don't know what to do with them. This surprised me because they're always one of the first things to be used in our boxes, so here's what I do with them - you can mix up the combinations of meat (using turkey, pork, beef, duck or salmon, ...) and veggies (red or green peppers, bamboo shoots, broccoli, courgettes ...) depending on what's in the fridge.

Another thing that apparently puts some people off using them are the flavours. This Degustabox had Sticky Hoisin Duck and Fiery Sweet Chilli varieties, but if you don't like spicy food or particular spices and flavours, it really doesn't matter.

Inside the pack, you get plain noodles with the flavoured oil and seasoning separate, so you can leave those out and just make plain noodles, which I often do if making a family meal that the Madhouse kids will be eating. I don't throw the rest away though - it gets incorporated into other dishes, such as soups, stir fries or casseroles.

Quick midweek chicken and noodle stir-fry

ingredients :

olive oil or vegetable oil

3 chicken breasts

2 onions, sliced

1 carrot, spiralized or cut into thin strips with a potato peeler

a pack of mange-tout

a pack of baby corn, halved

3 mushrooms, sliced

1/2 a bag of bean sprouts

a pack of chow mein sauce (or use whatever you have - hoisin sauce, soy sauce, sweet chilli sauce, sweet & sour sauce, ...)

2 packs of instant noodles

soy sauce (optional)

black sesame oil (optional)

Heat the oil in a large frying pan or wok. Chop the chicken into chunks and fry until it goes white.

 Soak the noodles in boiling water for 5 minutes, drain and reserve. 

Add the veggies (except the bean sprouts - I add them right at the end to retain crunch) and toss around with the chicken for 5 minutes until they go slightly soft but stay crunchy.

Add the sauce of your choice - I used two packs of chow mein sauce for a family of five, but I often just throw in whatever is in the cupboard and needs using up.

 Add the noodles and give it all a good stir.

Toss in the bean sprouts and cook for a couple of minutes until it all reduces in volume when they soften (but don't overcook them - it needs to stay fresh and crunchy).

Drizzle over some soy sauce and/or black sesame oil if you have some. Adjust the balance of flavours with rice vinegar, soy sauce, honey, etc to suit your tastes. Serve immediately.

This is a great dish for using up all the odds and ends of vegetables from the fridge, as well as random packs of noodles, so I'm adding it to this month's #KitchenClearout linky.