Sometimes it feels like such a sin when fast food becomes synonymous with deep fried chicken, fries and a LOT of cheese. Of course, now and then we all like to indulge and there’s nothing wrong with that – I had to stop myself from hopping on a bus for a McDonalds earlier. Sometimes, you can’t deny yourself McNuggets after a day of PR research. And yet sometimes, a nice bowl of spicy noodles, filled with some brightly coloured veg, a crunch of chopped peanuts and a nice twist of lime is enough of a boost to reinvigorate your essay writing.

I haven’t really experimented much with Asian cooking and to be honest, I’ve no idea how authentic this dish really is. However, I have dipped my toes into the cuisine with my recent purchases of rice wine vinegar and the fairly pungent shall we say fish sauce. Of course, you could make the dish without these ingredients but sometimes it’s kind of fun to take a risk, and this one certainly pays off. Just don’t judge me for using olive oil to finish it off – sometimes you can’t get away from old favourites.

Serves One

You Will Need

1 tablespoon olive oil, plus extra for drizzling

½ white onion, sliced

1 garlic clove, crushed

½ red chilli, finely chopped, seeds removed

1 red cabbage leaf, sliced

A handful of bean sprouts

1 sachet of straight to wok noodles

1 dessert spoon fish sauce

1 dessert spoon rice wine vinegar

1 lime, juiced

A handful of dry roasted peanuts, chopped

Freshly ground black pepper

Heat the oil in a large frying pan or wok and add the onion and cabbage. Stir fry for 5 minutes and then add the chilli and garlic, cooking for a further minute. Add the beansprouts and noodles and cook for 3 minutes, adding the fish sauce and rice wine vinegar as you stir to coat the vegetables and noodles evenly. Squeeze over the lime and stir through the peanuts. Transfer to a warmed bowl, top with a drizzle of oil and freshly ground pepper, and eat with chopsticks or a fork.