Sweet and sour noodles

I only really discovered noodles recently, but they are so easy to use that this is now one of my favourite recipes. Use packs of 'ready for wok' pre-cooked noodles.

Mostly when I cook I 'prep' as I go along, but for this recipe, everything has to be chopped in advance. Put all the ingredients in separate bowls so you can see what you have - but don't have too much of any one ingredient since it is easy to end up with too much. Go for a variety of colours and textures. All veggies should be chopped to around the same size - the aim is to allow everything to cook quickly when you stir fry but keep a bit of crunch - so think 2-3cm batons.

The ingredient list is a bit random. Can be summed up as 'some vegetables'. I always include something oniony, plus garlic, ginger and chilis. Other ingredients include some of the following: peppers, potatoes, cabbage/greens, squash, beans, peas, mushrooms, sweetcorn, carrots, aubergine, bean sprouts etc.

This works well as a vegetarian dish, but is also good with prawns or pre-cooked chicken. I've also been known to use leftover roast lamb or pork.

Final job before starting to cook is to make the sweet and sour sauce - this is what I do for 2 people. Mix 1 tbsp runny honey, 1 tbsp brown sugar, 2 tbsp wine vinegar, 2 tbsp dry sherry, 2 tbsp light soy sauce, 2 tsp cornflour. Stir together with about 100 ml water.

And now to cook....

Put 2-3 tbsp olive oil in a wok and heat until jolly hot. Start adding the ingredients and stir fry briskly. Begin with the hardest veg and work through to the softest, adding each one as the one before begins to soften. The heat should be high and you need to keep everything moving. Once almost ready, add the noodles from the pack, breaking the strands apart. Then stir in the sauce, giving it a minute of two to cook and soften. Stir in the meat or prawns at the last minute.

Enjoy your noodles - you will have to go back later and clean up the oil splatters, but it will all have been worth it.