Kai on the Fly – February 2011

by

with Aunty Rata

Kia Ora and happy new year

Wasn’t it nice to get the Club Journal just before Xmas? Felt like an extra special present and if like Aunty Rata you were struggling to squeeze in a few fun trips into the hills between all those heavy rain warnings, you probably had a bit of spare time to read it! If you didn’t manage to get away tramping then maybe your chance will come later this summer when the weather is traditionally more settled. The great thing about tramping is that you can do it in just about any weather so long as you tailor your plans to the weather you get rather than the weather you hoped for.

Now before Xmas I promised to look into Tararua biscuits. At this stage that particular project is still a work in progress. Meantime I have a nice summery noodle recipe for you to try out. It comes to you in my best approximation of the Club cookbook format. Like all my concoctions the recipe is a guide only. Any suggestions for improvements or variations are welcome. This recipe is designed to be served cold or luke- warm which is why it is well suited to summer. You can make the Asian Deli Sauce in bulk quantities and keep it in the fridge to use at home. Obviously if you are using it at home you can add the water component straight away. If you can’t be bothered making the sauce yourself there are various packets and jars available in supermarkets that approximate the sauce. Look for one that features the ingredients listed below.

Chilled Out Asian Deli Noodles

Chef: Aunty Rata
Number served: 4-6

Special features: Gluten Free if you use rice noodles, you can substitute tofu with frozen shrimps or use both (highly recommended). Cooked chicken is ok too. Do not waste time grating fresh ginger and garlic unless you have nothing better to do, yes they taste better than the stuff in jars but life is too short, save that kind of effort for when cooking at home. Likewise in relation to coriander and lemongrass paste – the fresh stuff is great but not very practical for transporting on a tramp, it is bad enough keeping spring onions from getting mashed.

Requirements: Someone needs to make up the sauce at home and bring it in a sealed container, likewise the tofu marinade. 1 cooker, 2 billies but 1 can be small. Really keen? Take some tongs as they make serving noodles easy.

Ingredients

Asian Deli Sauce

  • 4tsp crushed garlic
  • 3 tsp crushed ginger
  • 4 TB soy sauce
  • 3 TB sweet Thai chilli sauce
  • 2 TB fish sauce
  • 4 TB peanut butter
  • 3 spring onions finely chopped
  • 2 TB coriander paste*
  • 1 cup water

100g rice noodles or udon or egg noodles or spaghetti  per person
Half cup roasted peanuts or other nuts
2 spring onions
Half pkt mung beans
Half a cucumber chopped into batons
1 red pepper diced

Tofu marinade

  • 2 TB sweet Thai chilli Sauce
  • 2TB coriander paste*
  • 2 TB lemon juice
  • 1 TB olive oil
  • 2 TB lemon grass paste*

250g tofu and/or 205g pre-cooked frozen shrimps

Method

  1. To make the Asian Deli sauce combine relevant ingredients in a blender and puree until semi smooth. Pour into a container and store in fridge until you go tramping. (If you don’t have a blender try an egg beater, a whisk or a fork). Remember to leave out the water and add it at your hut or campsite if you are taking the sauce tramping.
  2. To make the tofu marinade combine the marinade ingredients in a container and store in fridge until you go tramping.
  3. Cook noodles as per the instructions on the packet. Drain.
  4. In another billy fry the tofu and/or shrimps in the marinade.
  5. Dice the red pepper, finely chop the spring onions, chop the cucumber into batons. Chuck these veges and the mung beans into the noodle mixture.
  6. Mix 1 cup of water into the sauce then add the sauce and the cooked tofu and/or shrimps. Combine everything and serve.
punters  2  4  6  8  10  12
Asian Deli Sauce Half the above As above As above Double the above Double the above Double the above
Tofu marinade Half the above See above See above Double the above Double the above Double the above
Noodles 200g 400g 600g 800g 1000g 1200g
Roasted peanuts quarter cup Half cup Half cup 1 cup 1 cup 1 + quarter cup
Tofu and/or frozen shrimps Or cooked chicken 150g tofu Handful shrimps As for shrimps 250g tofu 250g shrimps As for shrimps 250g tofu 250g shrimps As for shrimps 300g tofu 300g shrimps As for shrimps 300g tofu 300g shrimps As for shrimps 350g tofu 350g shrimps As for shrimps
Red pepper Half a pepper 1 pepper 1 pepper 1 big or 2 small peppers 1 big or 2 small peppers 2 big peppers
Spring onions 1 2 2 3 4 5
Mung beans A handful Half a packet  Half a packet Whole packet (250g) Whole packet Whole packet
Cucumber Half Half Half Whole Whole whole

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