Name: Thai Meatballs with Noodles
Cook time: 40 min
Cuisine: Asian
Ingredients: 700g minced beef; 1 egg white; 60g ground peanuts or cashew nuts; 2 tbsp red curry paste; 2 tbsp fish sauce; 2/3 tbsp cornflour; 1 red onion, finely chopped; 1 tbsp grated ginger; 1 tbsp grated galangal; 1 tbsp crushed garlic; 2 small red chillies, finely chopped; 1 stalk of lemongrass, finely chopped; 3 Kaffir lime leaves, finely shredded; 4 spring onions, finely chopped; 1 tbsp chopped coriander; 1 tbsp of oil for frying; Sprigs of coriander to garnish; For the Thai Mushroom Noodle Salad; 1 packet thick rice noodles (Pad-Thai), pre-soaked; 200g fresh assorted mushrooms; 1 red onion, finely sliced; 4 cloves of garlic, finely sliced; 2 tbsp grated ginger; 1 red chilli finger; 1 green chilli finger; 1 red, yellow or orange pepper, finely sliced; 1 medium handful of broccoli florets; 1 medium handful of mangtout; 100ml good chicken stock; 3 spring onions, finely sliced

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C.

2. In a large bowl combine the mince beef, egg white, ground nuts, curry paste, fish sauce and corn flour. Use your hands to mix well then set aside.

3. In a separate bowl, combine all of the red onion, ginger, galangal, garlic, chopped chilli, lemon grass, Kaffir lime leaf and spring onions and mix well. Then add this mix to the beef mixture and combine together well with your hands.

4. Roll into 2 inch diameter balls about the size of a golf ball (they will shrink in size during cooking).

5. Heat a large non-stick and oven proof frying pan and then drizzle with a good amount of oil. Place the meatballs into the hot pan and sauté until golden brown, finish off in the oven for about 20/25 minutes turning meatballs over half way through cooking time.

6. In the meantime make the Mushroom Noodle Salad.

Pad Thai Mushroom Noodle Salad:

1. First make the dressing by mixing all the ingredients together, then set to one side while you make the noodle salad.

2. Heat a large wok or frying pan on a medium heat and add a good drizzle of oil, once hot, add the red onion and sauté from 3/4 minutes until soft and just turning golden brown, stirring occasionally.

3. Add the garlic, ginger, chillies, and sauté for a further couple of minutes to soften the garlic combining well with the onions.

4. When the onions and garlic are soft, turn up the heat on the wok, add the sliced pepper, broccoli and mangetout and mix quickly before adding the noodles and chicken stock. Cook until the noodles are hot all the way through and toss the noodles in the wok.

5. Rather than stirring, mix the noodles using chopsticks. Be careful to not over-stir as the noodles will break.

6. Just before serving, drizzle over the dressing mix well and serve with a sprinkling of spring onions and crispy shallots.

7. Serve with the meatballs.