Vietnamese-Style Chilli Lean Beef Meatball Noodles

Peel and chop (or grate) your garlic

Peel (scrape the skin off with a teaspoon) and finely chop (or grate) your ginger

Top, tail, peel and chop your carrot[s] into thin batons

Chop your roasted peanuts roughly

Add your mince to a bowl with half the chopped garlic and half the ginger (save the rest for later!) and your beef stock mix

Mix thoroughly until fully combined

Add your mince to a bowl with half the chopped garlic and half the ginger (save the rest for later!) and your beef stock mix

Mix thoroughly until fully combined

Meanwhile, combine the remaining chopped garlic and remaining chopped ginger in a bowl with your soy sauce, chilli flakes (can't handle the heat? Go easy!) and 1 tbsp [1 1/2 tbsp] [2 tbsp] sugar

Give everything a good mix up – this is your Vietnamese-style dressing

Boil a full kettle

Once the meatballs are browned, reduce the heat to medium-high, add the sliced carrot to the pan and cook, covered, for 6 min or until starting to soften and the meatballs are cooked through (no pink meat!)

Once soft, add your sweet pea pods and cook, uncovered, for 1 min further

Add your rice noodles to a pot of boiled water and cook for 4-5 min or until softened, stirring frequently with a fork to separate the noodles

Once done, drain the rice noodles, reserving a cup of the starchy noodle water

Add the Vietnamese-style dressing to the pan along with the drained noodles and a splash of the reserved starchy noodle water

Mix well until everything is nicely coated in the dressing – these are your Vietnamese-style chilli meatball noodles