A Dish for 1

Ramadan is often seen as a time for communal eating and indeed it is. There have been times in my life where I have been totally alone and with that in mind I would like to dedicate this post to all those people who for whatever reason are alone over Ramadan.

I simply adore noodle soup. It can be as filling or as light as you want it to be. It can also be adapted to suit the seasons and the change of ingredients that are available. This can obviously be made to feed more but with the dedication in mind I have listed the ingredients for one.

For the soup
1 chicken leg (thigh and drumstick)
½ a chopped onion
3 peeled cloves of garlic
1 inch knob of ginger
1 Bay leaf
1 Star anise
1 small cinnamon stick
4 cloves
6 black pepper corns
1 pint of water

Place all the ingredients in a pan and bring to the boil before allowing to gently simmer until chicken is cooked. Remove the chicken and set aside. Place a strainer over a bowl and pour through. The soup in the under bowl should be free from onion and the whole spices. Pour the soup back into the pan with the chicken to keep warm while you prepare the rest. Once this has been cooled this can be frozen.

For the fun bit

Thick flat rice noodles
Fresh coriander - handful
Fresh mint leaves – handful
1 sliced red chilli
100g of ready to eat prawns
1 Spring onion
4 radishes
¼ cucumber
Gluten free Tamari sauce or Soya sauce
Sesame oil

Place the rice noodles in a bowl and then pour some freshly boiled hot water on top, and then cover with a lid, and allow to soak while you prepare the rest of the ingredients. It should take approximately 5 mins but check the instructions of the rice noodles.

Slice the cucumber, radishes and chilli. Slice the spring length ways into long thin strips.

Drain off the noodles and place into a serving bowl. Now decorate the salad ingredients into the bowl, being careful to ensure that all the items are spread evenly. Add in the mint and coriander leaves. Add in the prawns. If you are eating the chicken then tear it off the chicken bone and add into the serving bowl. Pour on the hot soup. Finally add a few drops of gluten free tamari sauce and sesame oil.