Singapore Noodle cooking class with politician
Today, I had an interesting cooking class. My student Robin Harper is a member of the Green Party and in turn a member of the Scottlsh Parliament (MSP) who is celebrating his 70th birthday (Happy Birthday, Robin!!!). How cool is that?! I never thought that one day I would have a chance to teach a British politician. I can’t believe a politician who has shook hands with the queen and has met the prime minister was in my kitchen this afternoon and listened to my directions for pouring in stock and adding soy sauce to the dish.
It felt great when I saw him wolfing down both the Singapore noodles and steamed scallops he cooked in my kitchen. From the way he was eating them it looked like he really enjoyed both and has kindly offered to endorse us.
When he arrived I didn’t quite catch his job title but his wife explained who he was but I didn’t quite catch on. (How daft I am! 😀 What can I say? I’m not very good with English politics.) I’m really happy that I didn’t know he is a real politician before we start cooking or I probably will be too nervous or panic. 😀
We cooked Singapore noodle and Steamed scallop today but I will only share this Singapore noodle recipe on my blog today with all of you. (Steamed scallop’s recipe will be on it’s way soon!!)
Singapore Noodle is another popular eastern dish in the UK and it has a rather strong flavour. The rice noodle has been marinated by turmeric powder and curry powder but you can choose a different kind of curry powder to marinade the rice noodle to your own personal preference.
The other interesting thing about this dish is this dish is actually not from Singapore. I have no idea where this dish originates from but it appears on many Chinese restaurants and take away menus. I kind of think Chinese people named this dish as “Singapore” noodle is because of the kind of spices used to marinade the noodles.
Credits: Photos were taken by Chris at Chris Radley Photography
Singapore Noodle
Ingredients
Ingredients
- 3 bunches rice noodles
- 1 piece chicken breast julienne it
- 1 red pepper julienne it
- 1 small carrot julienne it
- 3 heads bok choi julienne it
- 1 chili remove the seeds and chop finely
- 2 cloves garlic chop finely
- 2 thin slices ginger chop finely
- 1 tsp dried shrimp
Marinade for chicken breast
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp potato starch
Marinade for prawns
- 1 tsp potato starch
- 1 tsp rice wine
- 1/2 tsp salt
Marinade for rice noodles
- 1 tbsp curry powder
- 1 tsp turmeric powder
Seasonings
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1/2 tsp sesame oil
- 1 cup stock
Instructions
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Remove the skin from the chicken breast and julienne it. Marinade it with the seasonings for 15 minutes.
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Make a deep cut on the back of each prawn. Marinate with seasonings for 5 minutes. Stirfry it until the prawn turns to red colour and leave it to one side.
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Soak the rice noodles in warm water for 20 minutes to soften and then marinade the rice noodle with curry powder and turmeric powder for 20~30 minutes.
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Soak the dried shrimp in warm water 15 minutes to soften it and chop finely.
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Heat a wok with a couple tablespoons of oil and fry the garlic, ginger and chilli first then add chicken breast and carrot to stir-fry it until the chicken turn white colour.
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Add pepper and all the seasonings to the stir-fry then add the rice noodles.
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Using a spoon add small amounts of stock to the noodles and keep stir frying it at the same time until the rice noodles suck up all the stock.
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Add bak choi and prawn in the end and keep stir fry it until the bak choi is cooked.
I am sure that was fun. The recipe looks lovely! Would love to be in your noodle class!
Hi Adelina,
Thank you for your kind comment. I hope you can be in my class but you live too far away 🙁
This looks really tasty! I never thought of flavouring rice noodles. Thanks for sharing!
Hello Lynn,
Thank you very much for your lovely comment. 🙂 Have a nice day!
I just had Singapore noodles for lunch last week. I was craving a similar dish from the Philippines and the former was more accessible. Yours looks so much fresher than the one I had, though. Homemade is definitely better than takeout.
Hi Jean,
Homemade food is definitely the best and it’s healthier, cleaner as well. Thank you for your comment! 🙂
I love noodles, any kind any way they are prepared. These noodles looks delicious. Sounds fun to be in your class.
Hello Madin,
It was fun in my class as I always try to have a good laugh with my student. You must try this noodle some time. It is really tasty and easy to make. Have a nice day. 🙂
Kudos to you Liv! This is an amazing experience! The noodles are absolutely gorgeous as always. You will have to teach me sometimes 🙂
Hi Tanantha,
Many thanks for your kind comment. I wish one day we can teach each other to cook their country’s food. I always want to learn real Thai food from you. 😉
at first I thought it was the name of some ancient Chinese dish, noodle with politician….lol…..you had the real politician there, how much fun was that! Your noodles look delicious and I will patiently wait for the scallops!
Hi Dennis,
lol about the name of some ancient Chinese dish. That’s really funny. Thank you very much to make my day 😉 The class went well and I think he is really enjoy it. I will upload my scallop recipe and photo on my blog on my next day off. Please be patient with me 🙂
Wow Liv, that’s fantastic! I hope you got some shots of you and him together. Maybe he will tell his politician friends about you and you will be their teacher, how fabulous 🙂 The recipe looks delicious as always. It’s funny how you said it’s not from Singapore even though that’s the name. Makes you wonder how many other dishes are like that.
It was such a surprise seeing a politician come to our property but he was absolutely lovely. Both the dishes he cooked and you cooked were absolutely fantastic.
What a great dish…and how fun that your student terns out to be a politician, they look as if they are having a wonderful time…So cute that it took you awhile to catch on 🙂
I justlove Singapore Noodles. I’m so disppointed with a couple of recipes I’ve tried. I’l let you know how I get on with yours but it looks great!
Hi Greedy Rosie,
I hope you won’t feel disappoint with my recipe (fingers cross) but please let me know how you get on with my recipe.
What a neat experience. I would have loved to been able to cook with someone so involved in politics…it would make for interesting cooking conversation! Thanks for sharing your experience and this lovely dish!
It was a great experience in my life. I just never can’t believe I taught a MSP how to cook Chinese dishes in my kitchen. Many thanks for your lovely comment. 🙂
I know how it feels meeting someone famous! I remember the time when I was with this year’s Nobel prize in physics and gave him a tour of our city. It is a magical moment, no doubt!
Seriously, when I was a kid, I always thought that Singapore noodles originate from Singapore. Now that you mention it, I should look it up! Thanks Liv!
Hi Victor,
Oh my, that’s a great experience to be able to have opportunity to give a Nobel prize winner a private tour. Just like what you said, it’s a magical moment. 🙂