This is our 18th cooking/blogging experiment from Jamie’s 30 Minute Meals. For this one we chose “Rib-Eye Stir-Fry, Dan Dan Noodles, and Chilled Hibiscus Tea.” We picked it because we had some bok choi already to use up, and we conveniently had this episode saved on our DVR. We went with the same strategy we’ve used for the past few weeks, where one of us cooks while the other is in charge of reading the recipe and photographing. The Snook was on chef duty for this one, and he managed it in a blistering 30:19! The meal name is a misnomer, as there’s not really any stir-frying involved. It’s basically a noodle soup served with greens, sliced steak, and lots of other accompaniments.
Substitutions: We used snow peas instead of sugar snap peas, and regular broccoli instead of sprouting broccoli. Our teabags were “rosehip and hibiscus” rather than just hibiscus. We also left out the mint in the tea, rather than buy a whole bunch just for a couple sprigs. Everything else was as-written!
Quick verdict: Tasty, but also a little messy! There are lots of components to this meal, and it’s one of the ones where you’re not really sure how to eat it. You just put everything out on the table and let people kinda heap things up in their bowls, I guess. Our greens ended up being overcooked, and the chilli oil in our noodles was overpowering. We probably could’ve used an extra tea bag or two in the tea. The steak was great though, and the flavours all worked really well together. The Snook felt that that overall the concept was a really good one, even if our execution didn’t quite live up to it. We both agreed that our version only merited a 7.5 out of 10, but the recipe itself is probably worth 8.5 out of 10. It’s a relatively quick one to prepare, and I think it would be nice for a casual group meal with friends. (Note: the messiness of slurping up noodles probably precludes this one from Date Night!)
Sydney WWKIP Day 2011 – June 18