Fried soba noodles with dried prawns, beef and an egg on top

The nights are drawing in quickly. I usually eat dinner around 8pm when the sky is totally black. Therefore, my photographs are becoming increasingly more artificial looking. I understand the natural light aspect now after a Summer of vastly improved food images, but I'm afraid we're back to the yellow - tinted or artificially blue until I can afford a decent camera, some special equipment or move somewhere perpetually light. Any tips would be greatly appreciated.

So, fried soba.

I bought these little packets of paste at a Thai supermarket without really knowing what they are. I assumed they are a type of seasoning, the ingredient list showing the usual Thai shrimp paste, galangal, lemongrass etc. Perhaps I bought them more for the cuteness than the intention of using them, something I really need to stop. To try and curb this consumerism side of me, I used one last night in my noodle dish. They have the strong pungent smell of a Hong Kong street market or Bangkok, complete with skinny cats running around, that heady aroma of fermenting fish and so I only used half but it added enough Thai essence to the Japanese noodles and Korean spices to really make this dish an amalgamation of styles. (Or perhaps a confusion).

If you're like me, quite often you will find small bags of unidentified scraps in the freezer. Possibly the remnants of a magnificent piece of meat, salvaged and bagged with good intentions of being thrifty and resourceful, hoping there's a looming possibility that they may be useful in the future for stock or in a meal for one. Last night I found one such bag forgotten in the murky depths. I had to defrost it fully to completely recognise it as the less desirable ends of some steak, the fatty part with a little lean meat clinging round the edges. After much scraping and finely slicing, I had a decent enough amount to use in the noodles (as you can see above). I can't tell you how happy this made me, I felt for a brief moment like Nigella Lawson standing in front of her huge freezer introducing the pigs ears and scallop roes she harbours.

One of my favourite ingredients ever; sliced bamboo shoots in chili oil and a new discovery; pickled cucumbers in chili. They have a texture that is bordering on both soft and crunchy, like an American sandwich pickle with a little heat from the chili and sweetness no doubt from added sugar. I add them to anything remotely Asian, even soups where the oil creates little red bubbles on the surface and swirls about like the liquid used for making marbled paper. On noodles I usually add them by the spoonful as a topping, but last night I also stirred some in to the frying vegetables. They do have a tendency to add a lot of oil to whatever you are making, so now I try to use them sparingly.

Japanese restaurants seem to be huge in Brazil and some of the best sushi I have ever eaten was in Salvador, along with a delectable dish of soft shitake mushrooms sauteed in butter with wine and garlic. As good as that was, they do have some odd interpretations, such as sushi rolls with Philadelphia cheese and hot sushi. Yet nothing was as bizarre as their idea of yaki soba. In the UK we have an iconic convenience food known as Supernoodles, blocks of dried egg noodles complete with a little bag of seasoning containing who knows what kind of evils. But we love them and most kids I know grew up on them, (as well as Pot Noodle, another beloved nasty). They were what they were, but in Brazil it seems they think yaki soba, (fried soba noodles) means you can use the same cheapo noodles you buy in a packet of instant noodles. (OK, OK Brazil, I'm generalising a little here, I know). Anyway, I was so disappointed and the reason I'm telling you all this is because the image above is exactly what the noodles in my Brazilian yaki soba looked like, although I've used Shirataki noodles here. Soba noodles are shown in the image at the top. 

The truth is that what differentiates noodle dishes really is the noodles used. The toppings may differ slightly, but using an authentic noodle makes a world of difference. The Thais have their flat rice noodles, chewy and slippery, the Chinese their meaty egg noodles, the Korean their transparent and squeaky potato starch dangmyeon and the Japanese their toothsome and nutty buckwheat soba, (as well as udon etc.)

Recipe : Fried soba noodles 

1 packet of soba noodles

2 tsp oil

1/4 lb thinly sliced lean beef

1 tbsp dried prawns, soaked in boiling water for 20 minutes

1/2 an onion, peeled and chopped

1 clove garlic, peeled and finely sliced

1/2 inch piece of ginger, peeled and finely sliced

1 hot chili pepper, seeded and sliced

1/2 bell pepper, seeded and sliced

1 handful of finely shredded greens, such as cabbage

1 tbsp soy sauce

2 tbsp Korean gochujang paste or chow mein sauce or yaki soba paste or even pad thai paste

1/2 tbsp sweet chili sauce

1 tbsp basil, torn

1/2 tbsp bamboo shoots in chili oil (optional)

1 egg, fried or cooked in the microwave for one minute

2 prawn crackers

Cook the noodles as per the instructions, (usually about 7 minutes in boiling water) and drain. Set aside.

Heat the oil in a wok or frying pan over high heat and stir fry the beef quickly until browned. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on kitchen towel.
Reheat the pan over high heat with another tsp or so of oil and add the onion, garlic, ginger, prawns, chili, bell pepper and greens. Stir fry until softening slightly.
Return the meat to the pan along with the drained noodles and add the soy sauce, noodle paste, bamboo shoots (if using) and basil. Stir fry everything together well to ensure that the noodles are well coated in sauce.

Serve in a bowl with the egg on top, the sweet chili sauce poured over and some prawn crackers.