Prawn Noodle Stir-Fry

Ingredients

• 250 g rice noodles
• 500 g raw prawns, peeled
• 2 medium carrots, julienned
• 1 red pepper, thinly sliced
• 2 pak choi, halved
• 2 tbsp garlic-infused oil
• 1 tbsp grated fresh ginger
• 2 tbsp sliced spring onion greens
• 2 tbsp tamari
• 1 lime, juice only
• 1 tbsp sesame oil
• 15 g fresh coriander, chopped
• 1 tbsp sesame seeds
• Pickled cucumber, to serve

Method

1. Soak or simmer the rice noodles per the pack — usually 3–4 minutes — until pliable but still with a touch of bite. They'll finish cooking in the wok, so pull them early. Drain, rinse briefly under cold water to stop the cook, and toss with half the sesame oil so they don't clump into a brick.
2. Pat the prawns properly dry on kitchen paper and season generously with salt and a twist of pepper. Wet prawns steam and turn rubbery; dry, seasoned prawns sear and turn sweet.
3. Get the wok properly hot — a wisp of smoke off the dry pan is what you're after. Add the garlic-infused oil, then the grated ginger, and stir for 20 seconds until fragrant. Keep it moving — at this heat, aromatics turn from fragrant to bitter in seconds, and you want pale gold, not scorched.
4. Add the carrots and red pepper and stir-fry for 2 minutes until the edges soften but the centres still snap. Don't crowd the wok — if it looks packed, work in two quick batches. Piled-up veg sweats and goes limp instead of searing.
5. Push the veg to the side, add the prawns and pak choi to the cleared space in a single layer, and leave them for 30 seconds before tossing — that pause is where the colour comes from. They'll turn pink and curl in 2–3 minutes; the pak choi stems should be tender-crisp.
6. Pour the tamari and lime juice into the hot well of the pan and let it sizzle and concentrate for a few seconds — the heat lifts it from raw soy into a proper glossy sauce. Add the drained noodles and toss everything through until each strand is coated and shining. Taste — most of the salt comes from the tamari, but a final pinch of salt and a fresh squeeze of lime ties it together. Adjust now, not at the table.
7. Drizzle the remaining sesame oil over off the heat. Veg should still crunch, prawns should be plump, noodles should shine.
8. Pile the noodles and prawns into bowls, scatter generously with the spring onion greens and chopped coriander, dust with sesame seeds, and serve immediately while everything's still steaming.