The best stir-fries are made with bits and bobs you find in your fridge; you can mix any kind of vegetable and meat together as long as you have chilli, ginger, garlic and soya sauce.

I made this last night for me and my boyfriend. There was pork mince in the fridge so I decided to fry it in sesame oil but you can use any meat or you can leave it out (I’d suggest cubed chicken thighs).

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INGREDIENTS

500 g pork/beef mince, room temperature
2 tsps Chinese 5 Spice
Sesame oil
Olive oil
4 garlic cloves
1 big knob of ginger, grated
2 red chillies, chopped
2 red onions, sliced
1 packet long stem broccoli, sliced lengthways
½ a punnet baby carrots, roughly julienned
2 packets instant noodles
Spring onions
Coriander for garnish

For the sauce:

4 tbsp of caster sugar (could be substituted for Xylitol)
4 tbsp rice wine vinegar
3 tsp sesame oil
5 tsp light soya sauce
120 ml of chicken stock
4 tsp cornflour

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METHOD
Serves 4
Preparation
10 minutes
Cooking time 10 minutes

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Get out all your ingredients, make sure you have different sized bowls for all the different ingredients. Preparation is key!!

Boil the kettle.

Sprinkle Chinese 5 spice over the mince and mix, cover and set aside.

In a bowl mix together the sauce ingredients, add boiling stock at the end. Mix thoroughly until the cornstarch has dissolved.

Place a large wok on high heat, once the wok is piping hot add ½  tbsp olive oil and ½ a tablespoon sesame oil. Fry the meat in batches to prevent the mince from boiling. I fried mine in 3 batches, adding oil throughout the process. Fry for at least 5 minutes, break down the mince with your wooden spoon, then stir occasionally until the meat is crispy. Crush in 1 clove of garlic per batch and distribute the ginger, leaving a bit for the sauce.

Place a sieve over a bowl, transfer the meat so the excess oil can drain.

Once the meat has finished cooking, add 1 tablespoon of olive oil to the wok and fry the leftover garlic, ginger and chilli. Add the sliced onions and fry for 3 minutes. Then add the carrots and broccoli. Fry for 2 minutes. Then add the mushrooms, fry for 30 seconds. Then add the sauce, turn the heat right up and boil for 3-4 minutes, or until the sauce has thickened and is shiny.

Boil the noodles for 2 minutes, without the flavour sachet. 

Then add the noodles and the pork and mix. Sprinkle over spring onion and serve immediately.

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