Today we are anchored in Ao Chalong, Thailand, and the monsoon weather has certainly set in! With barely a break, the rain has been lashing at us all morning. The fridge and freezer are almost bare and there was no way we were going to go to shore in the dinghy to get lunch, so with what I had onboard I made a quick and easy, cheats mie goreng.

My cheats mie goreng is an easy to make lunch, which I have often made while cruising though Indonesia and Malaysia. The two minute (mie goreng) noodles you can get in Indonesia and Malaysia are much nicer than the two minute noodles you get in Australia so we always keep a few packs on board. When sailing, we will often resort to cup of noodles for a hot lunch, especially if the weather is foul. However, if the weather is good and I can put a bit of effort into it, we will have something a little more appetising than just ‘two minute noodles’.

Ok, so all I do is…

I soak the noodles in boiling water until they are tender. In the meantime I chop garlic, chilli and asian shallot (we found shallots everywhere as we cruised through the Indonesian islands). The other veggies I use depends on what I have on hand, e.g. I have used carrot (julienned), capsicum and beans. I often use Shitake mushrooms which I keep dried (soaked in boiling water and then sliced).

I add oil to my wok and heat. Then I sauté the garlic, shallot and chilli until soft. I then add whatever vegetables (or meat if using) I am using and cook through.

Next I add the noodles and the sachets of flavour – reserving the crispy onion to garnish when done. I toss the noodles until they are heated through and serve on a plate. Top with a fried egg and garnished with cucumber and crispy onion.

Yummy, warm and savoury and just what you need on long distant sail or a miserable wet day such as this!