Sesame and chilli noodles
(Pictured above)
Don’t be put off by the long list of ingredients; many of them go into the batch of chilli oil. While I do recommend making your own, it’s perfectly fine to use store-bought. You only need to make the chilli oil and sesame sauce every now and then, and once you have them on hand, this dish can be ready in minutes.
A note about the sesame paste: Chinese sesame pastes are often more toasted than other kinds, but you also use tahini or quality unsweetened peanut butter.
Prep 10 min
Cook 20 min
Cooling 1 hour
Serves 4
500g thin egg noodles
2 garlic cloves, grated
1cm piece ginger, grated
2 spring onions, finely sliced
1 cucumber, julienned (optional)
1 carrot, julienned (optional)
5 red radishes, julienned (optional)
Toasted sesame seeds, for sprinkling
For the Sichuan chilli oil (makes extra)
500ml vegetable oil (2 cups)
2 star anise
2 black cardamom pods, bashed
1 large piece cassia
3 bay leaves
3 spring onions, cut into 5cm lengths
1 small red onion, sliced
2cm piece ginger, thickly sliced
90g Chinese dried chilli flakes (1 cup)
2 tbsp sesame seeds
¼ cup Sichuan peppercorns
For the sesame sauce (makes extra)
70g Chinese sesame paste or tahini (¼ cup)
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp Chinkiang vinegar
2 tbsp sesame oil
1 tbsp caster sugar
To make the chilli oil, heat the oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat until it reaches 200C and carefully add the star anise, black cardamom, cassia, bay leaves, spring onion, red onion and ginger. Fry until the onions and ginger appear dry and lightly browned. Carefully remove all the ingredients from the oil with a strainer scoop and remove the oil from the heat. Allow the oil to cool for a few minutes.
In a heatproof bowl, combine the dried chilli flakes, sesame seeds and Sichuan peppercorns. Pour the oil over the chilli mixture, stir and allow the oil to cool to room temperature for about one hour, then transfer to sterilised jars. Store in the pantry for up to two months.
To make the sesame sauce, in a medium bowl, combine the sesame paste with about two tablespoons hot water. Add the remaining ingredients for the sesame sauce and stir to dissolve the sugar. The sesame sauce will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for about three months.
Boil the egg noodles according to the packet directions and drain well. Combine the hot noodles with as much of the sesame sauce and chilli oil as you like (about one tablespoon of each per person is good). Top with some of the garlic, ginger, and any of the vegetables you like. Sprinkle with the some spring onions and sesame seeds and drizzle with a little extra chilli oil to serve. To eat, stir the noodles to combine with the sauce and vegetables.
Hot miso eggplant
Japanese-style miso eggplant is one of my favourite dishes, but less well known is the Korean side dish of gaji bokkeum: eggplant glazed with hot pepper paste. This recipe sits between the two and is made in just a minute in a frying pan.
You can adjust the heat by increasing the proportion of gochujang to miso, or by using green chillies instead of capsicum. I don’t recommend leaving out the sugar, as it balances the taste of the miso and gochujang.
Prep 5 min
Cook 12 min
Serves 4
2 tbsp vegetable oil
2 medium eggplants, cut into irregular 3cm thick chunks
1 green capsicum, cut into irregular 3cm thick chunks
1 tbsp sesame oil
2 garlic cloves, sliced
2 tbsp miso or doenjang (Korean fermented soybean paste)
1 tbsp gochujang (Korean fermented chilli paste)
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp mirin
1 tsp sugar
Toasted sesame seeds, to serve
To make the sauce mixture, combine the miso, gochujang, soy sauce, mirin and sugar with a couple of tablespoons of water.
Heat a large frying pan over medium heat and add the vegetable oil. Fry the eggplant for about five minutes until it starts to brown. Add the capsicum and fry for about three more minutes until both the eggplant and capsicum start to soften. Add the sesame oil and garlic and fry for a further minute.
Pour the sauce mixture into the pan, stirring to coat. Fry for two to three minutes until the vegetables are softened and the sauce is thickened, glossy and coating the vegetables. Serve scattered with the sesame seeds.
Carrot, chickpea and almond milk curry
Vegetable curries don’t have to be vegetable medleys. Limit them to one or two main ingredients to give them character and definition.
In this recipe, you could use coconut milk instead of almond if you prefer. The combination of carrot and almond milk makes for quite a sweet curry, so season it well with salt and black pepper to keep it savoury.
Prep 10 min
Cook 25 min
Resting 10 min
Serves 4
60 ml vegetable oil (¼ cup)
½ tsp yellow mustard seeds
1 tbsp cumin seeds
20 curry leaves
1 large brown onion, finely diced
5 garlic cloves, grated
2cm piece ginger, grated
3 large green chillies, halved lengthways, seeds removed, cut into 5cm lengths
1 tbsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground turmeric
2 tsp garam masala
½ tsp chilli powder (optional)
6 large carrots, cut into 5cm lengths
1 x 400g tin of chickpeas, drained
500 ml almond milk (2 cups)
Steamed rice or bread, to serve
Heat the vegetable oil in a medium saucepan over a medium heat and add the mustard seeds and cumin seeds. Toast until the mustard seeds start to crackle, then add the curry leaves and cook for about one minute until the leaves start to sizzle. Add the onion, garlic, ginger and green chillies and fry for about one minute until fragrant, then stir in the ground spices.
Add the carrot, chickpeas and almond milk. Season well with salt and pepper, stir to combine, and bring to a simmer. Cook for about 20 minutes until the carrots are tender (add a little water if the mixture starts to dry out), then set aside for 10 minutes to cool. Serve with rice or bread.
This is an edited extract from 7 Days of Dinner by Adam Liaw, photography by Steve Brown, available now through Hardie Grant (RRP $45).
