Thai asparagus with crunchy noodles

Method

• step 1

  Trim the woody ends off the asparagus and put the spears in a frying pan, cover with boiling water and bring to a simmer. Cook until the asparagus is tender: how long this takes will entirely depend on the thickness of the spears. If you lift a spear up by the stalk end with tongs it should bend a little. Rinse in cold water and drain. If they are large then cut them in half once cold.

• step 2

  Meanwhile put the garlic and chilli in a jug with the lime juice, shallot and sugar and a good shake of fish sauce and stir them until the sugar has dissolved. Add 2 tbsp olive oil and some of each of the herbs.

• step 3

  Heat 1cm oil in a wok until it is very hot, the oil should look shimmery, and add the noodles. Fry them until they puff up, turning them over to cook them on both sides. You don’t want them to brown, just puff. Drain them on kitchen paper. Wipe the wok out and fry the asparagus spears just long enough to warm them through, tip them onto a serving plate and break over the noodles, scrunching them between your fingers. Spoon over the dressing followed by the remaining herbs. Toss everything together at the table so the noodles remain crunchy.