Prawn Noodle Parcels

📝 Ingredients

• 140 g dried flat rice noodles (3 to 5 mm wide)
• 300 g raw peeled prawns
• 2 pak choi (about 150 g each)
• 2 carrots (about 100 g each)
• 200 ml coconut milk, about 18 % fat (½ tin of 400 ml)
• 1 stalk fresh lemongrass
• 15 g fresh ginger + 1 garlic clove
• 1 lime (zest and juice)
• 2 tbsp fish sauce
• 1 tsp brown sugar
• 10 g fresh coriander (a few sprigs)

🍴 Utensils

• Mixing bowl
• Bowl
• Fine grater
• Parchment paper
• Baking sheet

📖 Steps

1. Preheat the oven to 200 °C. Put the noodles in a mixing bowl, cover with very hot tap water (not boiling) and leave to soak for 5 min: they should be pliable but still firm in the centre, as they'll finish cooking in the parcel. Drain and rinse under cold water.
2. Peel the carrots and cut them into fine julienne (3 mm matchsticks) or grate them coarsely. Quarter the pak choi lengthways and rinse, separating the leaves, where a little soil often hides. Drain well.
3. Remove the tough outer leaves from the lemongrass and very finely slice the bottom 10 cm, the tender part. Grate the ginger and garlic, and zest the lime before squeezing it.
4. In a bowl, mix the coconut milk, lemongrass, ginger, garlic, fish sauce, brown sugar, lime zest and juice until the sugar has dissolved. Taste: the sauce should be salty, tangy and slightly sweet all at once.
5. Cut 2 large sheets of baking paper, about 40 × 40 cm. In the centre of each, place half the noodles, then the carrots, pak choi and prawns. Lift the edges to form a well and pour half the sauce over each filling.
6. Bring the edges of the paper together above the filling, fold them over together several times, then twist the ends like a sweet wrapper so the sauce doesn't leak. Place the parcels on a baking tray.
7. Bake for 15 min at 200 °C. Open a corner of one parcel to check: the prawns should be pink and opaque and the noodles tender. If the prawns are still grey, close it up again and cook for 3 more min.
8. Open the parcels carefully, as the steam can scald. Toss the noodles with the sauce left at the bottom, sprinkle with chopped coriander and serve immediately, in the paper or in shallow bowls.