Mission: Noodle Legend

Deborah B

Ginger Chicken 10/10

This recipe is spot on, perfect and 100% easy to follow. I absolutely loved it, my favourite of all the recipes I made. The appearance and aroma were fabulous and it made a romantic and show stopping dinner party dish.

Sichuan Three Pepper Chicken 10/10

It was perfect, absolutley stunning, and I loved the tips too! This is one of Billy's favourites and he said it was a 'proper chinese made from home' and made little noises which mean 'yum this is good' while eating it. I used a few different coloured mini sweet peppers making it vibrant and colourful and I think it would make a great, family-friendly dinner as well as a show stopping party dish. My only comment would be that I wouldn't have said it was a 4/5 heat-wise, but that could have been something I did wrong. 

Sweet Chilli Sauce 10/10

Perfect  -  Perfect  -  Perfect! Vibrant and thick....just perfect!      
I got Billy in on making this sauce because he is always buying it and says it is not quite how he wants it... now he can make it just how he fancies!

Spring Rolls 10/10

So delicious! We served these with the sweet chilli sauce and the best thing was that we could still taste the spices in the spring rolls through the chilli sauce. They were just the right size for a starter (but I could have browned them more). We made them in the airfryer and I stopped half way through to add more oil but I don't think it was necessary.

Pork & Prawn Dumplings 10/10

Really tasty, cute little dumplings! The aromas were amazing from prep to eating. I couldn't find the wonton wraps so I made the wraps per instructions. I am not sure though if I accidentally used self raising flour but they were still tasty. Fabulous side dish or snack and perfect with the chilli dipping sauce.

Vikki P

Tiger Vegetable Salad 10/10

Clear, simple and easy to follow and really refreshing. There was a lovely zing from the vinegar and it looked great, really appealing on the eye! We didn't take 25 minutes to prepare, but 25 minutes seems acceptable due to different people's knife skills.   

Red Braised Pork 10/10  

The pork was melt in your mouth accompanied by a thick, tasty sauce. The sauce provided good coverage of the meat and the spring onion finished it off well. This dish looks lovely but definitely remember to soak up excess fat or it's very oily. This isn't a quick midweek meal but is an easy recipe as could just be left to do its thing. We all enjoyed eating it as a family.

Chilli Garlic Sauce 10/10

This sauce is really quick and easy (decided to make at the last minute!) and was really delicious, leaving a wonderful aftertaste. A great accompaniment to 'spice' up a meal. As we served with plain rice it added that little bit of extra flavour.

Hot & Sour Soup 9/10

A warming soup with plenty of texture. We'd never had tofu before but it's an ingredient which held the flavour of the soup and the water chestnut provided a good crunch.

Richard B

Dumplings 9/10

I've had experience with Spicery dumplings/pastry/potstickers before so this helped, but even still it read incredibly clearly and I'm sure it will be very easy for anyone to follow. All in all, these were amazing, I'm a big fan. You have really nailed the Noodle Legend Blends in my opinion. I have to confess, I substituted the meat for mixed veg, and usually this dampens the flavour somewhat compared to meat, however the taste felt a true reflection of the essence of the spices.  They are fiddly but well worth it, and practice makes perfect. My family appreciated they were made with love put it that way! They are perhaps not a quick midweek dinner, given it can be fiddly and it is likely not to be the only thing made but they are certainly showstopper and date night appropriate. The children were not a big fan, but they are young and the flavours are quite nuanced.    

Shaokao Skewers 10/10

Spot on and really appetising! It was difficult not to eat more! The beauty of the dish is that I can be anything, from quick midweek dinner to a starter for a lavish dinner party or date night. Versatile.

Mixed Veg in Garlic Sauce 10/10

It is useful to have the tip of preparing and reheating later, very effective addition to the recipes, especially with sides - we loved it, not too overpowering. I try to make veg the centre of the meal so I was a big fan of this, I thought it worked well and the cornflour was a great addition to thicken up the sauce, making it feel more authentic. I'd be interested to try with 1 tsp each of the Badian and Ma La rather than a pinch... will let you know how that goes next time!

Chow Mein 8/10

I imagine this will be popular, because of the well-known name but also people will see the cooking time as fairly short. That will be a big appeal. The way I made it was mild and fresh, however my wife found it fairly uninspiring. I would say this is more of a midweeker. I'd have no problem with it at a dinner party but I imagine it would be quite low on most people's list of dishes to wow people with. But that doesn't matter, it's a brilliantly easy and fresh midweeker!    

Chicken & Sweetcorn Soup 10/10

Loved it, brilliant. I was keen to try because (back in the day) we used to have it all the time from the takeaway. It felt great to make myself, and it tasted better because I know exactly what was in it! Just like the real thing, only better. A little intro to its origins would be interesting, whether it is a traditional dish or a "Western takeaway adaptation/invention".

Egg Fried Rice 10/10

Spot on, looked better than any takeaway version I've ever seen. It's nice to know we can make it at home and recreate (rather, improve on) a takeaway/restaurant classic. And I know what's in it, so pleasing health wise. Not a preservative or emulsifiers in sight, you never know what you're getting when ordering in.

Spring Onion Pancakes 10/10

Thanks for the "don't worry if a few bits fall out" heads up, was nice to know. We loved it, perfect balance of the blends. I'm sure a more professional dough expert's would have looked nicer, but to me (and knowing my skills) they looked good. I've really enjoyed learning about the new blends and techniques. Will be pre-ordering as soon as it's available!! Great work Spicery. Can't wait for new culinary adventures in 2025.

Robin A

Chicken & Sweetcorn Soup 8/10

This soup is really good. Slightly peppery but not too much. It looked nice and the sweetcorn gave it a bright colour.  

Special Fried Rice 7/10

We enjoyed it but there was perhaps not as big a flavour kick as I was expecting but still good.
I thought it looked good. I think prawns in a dish always looks good. The peas in it looked good adding little pops of colour. I stuck with the recipe, but I can see lots of opportunity for personal tweaks. I'm already thinking if I were to do this again, I might revert to chicken thighs as the breasts were slightly dry. Also I would choose my ham more carefully.

Crispy Prawn Wontons 8/10

They tasted great but lost some of their crispness as they cooled. Mine looked ok, but perhaps lacked finesse!.    
I was only able to get cooked prawns, but they seemed ok and I didn't use a blender, rather hand minced with cleaver so still had texture.   

Pork & Prawn Dumplings 9/10

I used pre-made wrappers, but DIY recipe seemed straight forward. They had a really excellent flavour, REALLY liked it.  Only issue was that it was tricky to get them out of the steamer - they looked great in the steamer but a bit of a sorry sight once removed!

Lynn C

Steamed Fish with Ginger & Spring Onions 7/10

The instructions were really clear and simple to follow and the flavour was delicate and fragrant. I enjoyed it but in future would have it as a light lunch instead of as a dinner. It looked, and tasted, excellent.

Chow Mein 10/10

Nom nom nom - delicious and satisfying! Personally, I'd like it to be just slightly more punchy/spicy but this way it suits the whole family.    

King Prawns in Szechuan Sauce 10/10

This recipe was really easy to follow and the end results was excellent. Such depth and layers of flavouring thanks to the different spices. I liked the look of the finished dish and could hardly wait to tuck in. This dish is good for a midweek treat now and again as the prawns are costly. As it was so easy to follow, I would make this if we had company as I'm sure friends would enjoy it very much. Honestly, if I had any constructive criticism I would chip in, but I liked everything about the dish. 

Catherine M

Sweet & Sour Chicken 9/10

We really enjoyed this, it was the first recipe I tried as I thought I’d start easy. I thought it looked great. I had to add a wee bit more cornflour paste to thicken sauce, otherwise, perfect. This is definitely a midweek family friendly dish.

Sesame Greens 8/10

These were very tasty and looked great, the Zhima blend was a nice topping! I used tenderstem broccoli but this would have worked with any veg really.

Beef in Black Bean Sauce 10/10

This was amazing and we really enjoyed it. I bought some black bean garlic sauce which made it extra special and worth buying for this dish.

Sesame Prawn Toast 7/10

It was a bit greasy but we really enjoyed these prawn toasts.  The prawn and egg mixture looked disgusting (!) but once cooked looked and tasted great! This recipe suits a weekend or special occasion as it’s a bit faffy to make alongside other dishes. But well worth it for a treat!

Dumplings/Potstickers 10/10

These were fabulous and very enjoyable. It looked bloody brilliant and very impressive!

Singapore Noodles 6/10

I was a bit sceptical about this one as it’s a dish I wouldn't order due to the mix of ingredients together but it was actually really nice. It didn’t look the best but it’s hard for all those things mixed together to look good!! I used chicken breast, prawns and leftover char Sui pork which worked really well with it. If I made it again I’d omit the egg as I don’t think it went with the dish.

Spicy Chongqing Beef Noodles 8/10

This tasted great, really nice and spicy (although it gave me indigestion!). I’d have liked a recipe for the cooked yellow peas to go on the top. I did enjoy the chickpeas but I didn’t use a whole tin between two people as it would have been too much in my opinion.

Simon R

Door Nail Meat Pie 10/10

It was flipping amazing - OMG all round the table! They look like authentic street/market food.    
I used sausage meat as that's what we had and I also used leek instead of spring onions which gave a fuller flavour. We had it with salad for a quick mid-week dinner but I'd do it for any other occasion except perhaps a romantic meal. Would be great for a lunchbox too. I could have done with a bit more guidance on gathering the edges of the dough together. Mine were quite floury so I wetted the edges with a pastry brush before gathering and pressing together which seemed to work.    

Dan Dan Noodles 10/10

Great! Only a few steps to a sophisticated tasting dish and the pre-prep tips are great.    
The whole family loved it. The cook got a lot of praise and a demand to cook it again! The taste was detailed, deep and warming. Thoroughly authentic and very satisfying on a stormy evening. We had it with steamed real spinach dressed with ketjap manis. This one is a crowd pleaser anytime especially with some nice simple greens as a side. I'd even have it for breakfast given the choice! Very finely sliced leeks are a good seasonal replacement for spring onions and have a rounder flavour IMHO. I'd add chilli, for colour, and a lime wedge to squeeze over it. Perhaps even a sprinkle of crushed roast peanuts?