Fruits of the Forest Smoothie

Fruits of the Forest Luxury Smoothie

This is such a quick and easy recipe and tastes absolutely delicious. All you need is one pint glass,  blender and the ingredients.

Serves two

Preparation time: 5 minutes

Ingredients

• 1/2 pint Frozen Fruits of the Forest (Blackberries, red currents, raspberries, blackcurrants)
• 1 Vanilla pod (It might not be from our forest, but it is from a forest…)
• 1.5 pints of non-dairy milk (soy milk / almond milk / rice milk) My favourite is almond milk.
• Sprinkle of dried coconut flakes
• Sprinkle of walnut pieces to taste

Method

• Add the frozen fruit, vanilla pod seeds and milk into a good blender (as the fruit is frozen it will need a beating).
• Blend until smooth (if you berries are really frozen, you may need to add some more milk or water, as it could become more like a sorbet!)
• Sprinkle your desired amount of dried coconut flakes and walnut pieces on top.

Cheat’s Ramen

Whilst this recipe has moved somewhat away from our ‘China series’ and into the Japanese sphere, I have not veered too drastically off path. See, the name ramen is the Japanese pronunciation of the Chinese lamian (拉麵) and is in fact, a modern adaptation of Chinese cuisine that was introduced to Japan over a century ago and actually, until the 50s, ramen was called shina soba, 支那そば, literally meaning ‘Chinese soba’.

Whilst ramen is traditionally a meat or fish based broth, this version is a fantastic vegetarian alternative, taking just 30 minutes to whip up. It can also easily be made vegan.

Serves two

Cooking Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

For the broth:

• 1 small chilli (Only use half, or even remove, if you are not a fan of spicy foods)
• 2 spring onions
• 1 tsp ginger
• 1 stick celery
• 1 clove garlic
• 600ml boiling water (You may need a touch more if the water evaporates)
• 1 vegetable stock cube
• 1 tbs soy sauce
• 1 tbs mirin (Japanese rice wine vinegar)

To add:

• 100g ramen noodles 
• 4 large mushrooms
• 1/2 a courgette
• 1/4 cabbage
• 5 water chestnuts
• 2 eggs (remove if making vegan)

Method:

1.  Chop the chilli, celery and spring onions (leaving a little spring onion to garnish). Fry for 1 minute in a large saucepan on a low heat then add the ginger and garlic and cook for a further minute.
2. Add all of the remaining liquid ingredients, as well as the stock cube to the saucepan and simmer for 15 minutes until the kitchen fills with a wonderful aroma.
3. Chop the mushrooms, courgette and cabbage, then add to the broth with the water chestnuts.
4. Add the two eggs to the broth for 5 minutes to cook then remove and place in cold water.
5. Add the noodles to the broth and cook for 5 minutes, or to cooking instructions.
6. Whilst the noodles are boiling, peel the eggs shells off and place the white eggs into the broth for final cooking and liquid absorption.
7. Finish with a few sprigs of spring onion and serve in a bowl with chopsticks and a Japanese soup spoon (or a fork and soup spoon).

Enjoy! Tanoshimimasu – 楽しみます