Viva Lewes Issue 117 June 2016

FOOD
Asian coleslaw and bean curd
vermicelli noodle salad
Chloe Edwards can often be spotted wheeling her vintage pram, filled with
culinary delights, around the streets of Lewes. This is her recipe for a fresh
and crunchy lunchtime favourite to try at home...
I’ve started by toasting peanuts and coconut
chips with turmeric for the dukkah. Dukkah
just means ‘to pound’ in Arabic, as this is the
way they are made, so it doesn’t refer to a specific
recipe. You can make sweet or savoury
dukkahs and sprinkle them on almost anything
– yoghurt, porridge, eggs, salads – they’re a really
handy go-to ingredient to make something
that’s not that tasty on its own really tasty, and
they’re a good way of increasing your protein.
So, to the peanuts and coconut I’m going to
add a bit of fennel, which works really well with
Asian flavours, and I also thought I’d throw in
a bit of hibiscus for the sweetness and colour.
Add a little bit of salt and black pepper, and
then grind the mixture softly in a pestle and
mortar to a mixed consistency – not completely
to a powder – because varying the size of all
the individual components really adds to the
flavour.
Next is the coleslaw. One of the joys of making
coleslaw is that you can basically finely
chop any vegetables you like; I always put in
some mange tout or sugar snap peas, peppers
are good, and you’ve got to have some radish
– whether that’s kohlrabi or the humble English
radish. To dress it you can use a fish sauce,
if you like that, but I’ve discovered coconut
aminos as an alternative, to give it that sour,
savoury flavour.
I bought the bean curd vermicelli at Lansdown
Health Foods, or you can use rice noodles instead
if you prefer. Put the noodles in a pan and
just cover with boiling water, then stick the lid
on and leave for about a minute. Using a fork,
shake the noodles around a bit to make sure
they’re not sticking together. Put the lid back
on and leave for another three minutes, and
then drain. It’s important to refresh them with
cold water straight away, otherwise they will
carry on cooking. If I’m not using the noodles
straight away, I tend to pour in a tablespoon of
sunflower oil and pull it through – as if you’re
putting a hair product on – to stop them from
sticking together.
The dressing I’ve made for the noodles is really
simple. I’ve nutribulleted a handful of cherry
tomatoes, some fresh mint and coriander, lime
juice, garlic, soya sauce and sugar. Asian cooking
often calls for palm sugar or jaggery, but I
tend to use a light muscovado because it’s my
favourite. And you can improvise the ingredients;
if you don’t like tomatoes, leave them out.
Or if you want to make a really quick meal, you
can use a sweet chilli sauce instead.
Mix the dressing through the noodles and top
with a serving of coleslaw, then sprinkle over a
spoonful of dukkah and it’s ready to serve.
As told to Rebecca Cunningham
sevensistersspices.com
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