Noodles with Hot Tuna & Eggplant

Noodles with Hot Tuna & Eggplant

One of the things I’ve discovered in my quest for quick, simple recipes is that Asian noodles can taste delicious with Italian style sauces. For the purists out there, I know this sounds alarm bells. So by all means keep your ingredients culturally correct. This dish would be just as delicious with spaghetti or linguine.

takes: 10 minutes
makes: enough for 2
200g (7oz) hokkien noodles or long pasta
1 medium can tuna with chilli oil (185g / 6oz)
1 jar grilled aubergine (eggplant) (280g / 9oz), drained
1 bunch flat leaf parsley, leaves picked, optional
lemon juice

1. Cover noodles in boiling water and allow to stand. Or cook pasta as per the packet.

2. Heat a large frying pan over medium high. Add tuna, the oil from the can, and eggplant. Stir fry for a few minutes or until tuna is hot.

3. Break noodles up with a fork and drain. Add the drained noodles or cooked pasta to the sauce with 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil. Stir to combine.

4. Taste and season with a little lemon juice as well as salt and pepper.

5. Toss in parsley, if using. Serve hot.

Variations

dried pasta – cook pasta as per the directions on the packet then drain and add to the tuna at step 3.

vegan / vegetarian – replace tuna with an equal amount of crumbled tofu OR with a can of tomatoes, OR replace tuna with brazil nuts.

gluten free – replace noodles with cooked gluten free pasta OR use zucchini noodles and increase the tuna to make it more substantial.

carnivores – replace the tuna with 200g (7oz) ground beef and cook until well browned.

home cooked aubergine – try this recipe.

carb lovers / more substantial – double the noodles or pasta.

Waste Avoidance Strategy

noodles or long pasta, tuna, eggplant – pantry

parsley – keeps in a plastic bag in the fridge for weeks. Or make a parsley oil by packing leaves into a clean jar and covering with extra virgin olive oil.

lemon – keeps for months in a plastic bag in the fridge.

Problem Solving Guide

tuna sticking to the pan / burning – an indication that the heat is too high or it’s been cooking for too long. Remove from the heat immediately. Add the lemon juice and stir well if it’s just brown bits. If burnt, try and scoop off the top layer of unburnt noodles, if they still seem edible.

noodles sticking together – soak for a few more minutes in boiling water, then get persuasive with a fork or chopsticks in manually separating the strands. I find this work better before you drain the noodles.

noodles falling apart – this means you’ve soaked them for too long OR overcooked them in the pan OR been too aggressive with your stirring. Not much can be done this time, but in the future look at addressing these points or trying another brand.

too oily – different commercial grilled eggplants vary in their oil content. Try a piece before you add to the pan. If it seems too oily, blot each slice well using paper towel before cooking. You can also refrain from adding the extra olive oil in step 3.

can’t find fresh hokkien noodles? – substitute in dried egg noodles, rice noodles or pasta – cook according to the packet directions than add in at step 3.

eggplant not cooked through – unfortunately I have had the odd jar with one or two pieces of more crunchy eggplant, bleh. It’s a good idea to test the eggplant first and if it’s not quite cooked through, allow extra cooking time to finish it off, there are few things I hate more than undercooked eggplant.

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