Lemongrass pork noodle bowl

This is a bit of a jumble of Southeast Asian flavours that work brilliantly together.

Lemongrass pork noodle bowl Credit: Chris Middleton

• serves

  4

• prep

  10 minutes

• cook

  15 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

I’ve used laksa paste for instant impact with a few fresh aromatics for brightness of flavour. The raw zucchini (courgette) ‘noodles’ make for a wonderfully light breakfast. You can blanch them if you prefer – place the spiralised zucchini in a colander in the sink and pour over boiling water from the kettle.

Ingredients

• 1 stalk lemongrass, pale section only 
• 1 tbsp peanut oil 
• 1 tbsp curry laksa paste
• 400 g (14 oz) minced (ground) pork
• 1 red capsicum (bell pepper), chopped 
• 1 tsp finely grated fresh turmeric 
• 1 red Asian shallot, finely sliced 
• 2 tbsp fish sauce, or to taste 
• 1 tbsp lime juice, or to taste 
• 1 tsp coconut sugar, or to taste 
• handful coriander (cilantro) leaves 
• handful mint leaves
• 2 zucchini (courgettes), spiralised

To serve 

• lime cheeks
• chopped roasted salted peanuts
• thinly sliced red chilli 

Instructions

Soak the lemongrass in boiling water for 20 seconds to soften, then chop finely and set aside. 

Heat a wok or large frying pan over high heat. Add the oil and laksa paste and stir-fry for 30 seconds or until fragrant. Add the minced pork and stir-fry for 5–6 minutes until the pork is just cooked through. Add the capsicum, turmeric and lemongrass and stir-fry until the capsicum just starts to soften. 

Add the shallot, fish sauce, lime juice and coconut sugar. Stir well and taste for balance. Add a little more of the seasonings if required. Remove from the heat and toss through the coriander and mint. 

Serve the pork mixture into bowls with the spiralised zucchini. Top with lime cheeks, peanuts and chilli. 

This recipe is from Breakfast Bowls (Smith Street Books). Photography by Chris Middleton. 

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.

I’ve used laksa paste for instant impact with a few fresh aromatics for brightness of flavour. The raw zucchini (courgette) ‘noodles’ make for a wonderfully light breakfast. You can blanch them if you prefer – place the spiralised zucchini in a colander in the sink and pour over boiling water from the kettle.