Colourful vegetables combine in Asia

This vegetarian noodle bowl is filled with colourful vegetables swimming in a tasty broth. The recipe is from "Everyone Can Cook Midweek Meals" by Eric Akis (Whitecap, 2008).

Asian-Style Vegetable Noodle Bowl

875 ml (3 1/2 cups) vegetable stock

1 garlic clove, chopped

15 ml (1 tbsp) chopped fresh ginger

30 ml (2 tbsp) soy sauce

5 ml (1 tsp) hot Asian-style chili sauce

1 medium carrot, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced

1 medium red bell pepper, halved and thinly sliced

1 can (398 ml/14 oz) cut young corn (see note)

1 baby bok choy, separated into leaves and coarsely chopped

250 g ( 1/2 lb) Chinese-style egg noodles

75 ml (1/3 cup) chopped fresh cilantro or green onion

250 ml (1 cup) bean sprouts

Bring a large pot of water to a boil.

Meanwhile, in a medium pot, place stock, garlic, ginger, soy sauce, chili sauce and carrot and bring to a gentle simmer. Simmer for 5 minutes. Add bell pepper, corn and bok choy and cook for 2 to 3 minutes longer.

While vegetables are cooking, add noodles to boiling water and cook until just tender, about 1 minute. Drain noodles well and divide them among 4 large soup bowls. Ladle broth and vegetables over noodles, top with cilantro and bean sprouts and serve steaming hot.

Makes 4 servings.

Note: Canned young (also called baby) corn is sold in Asian food aisles of most supermarkets. It is sold in whole small cobs or cut into pieces, the latter being a convenient, no-slicing-required ingredient to add to a range of dishes.