For Rachael.
Kare means “curry” and lomen is a corruption of “Lo Mein” which means boiled & drained noodles.

Ingredients

For the kare base:
2 pieces of lemon grass, discard any dry leaves
3cm piece of galangal root, peeled and sliced
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and grated
2 small onions, peeled and chopped
1 red pepper, de-seeded and chopped
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp fennel seeds
1/2 tsp chilli powder or small red thai chilli, de-seeded and sliced
1/2 tsp turmeric (fresh is best, finely chopped, but use powder if you don’t want yellow stained fingers)
1/2 tsp yellow curry powder
1 tsp shrimp paste

For the kare sauce:
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp MSG (optional)
250ml water
250ml coconut milk

For the noodles:
250g of somen (fine white wheat noodles, these are very thin and so need very little cooking)
50g beansprouts (ok, a handful)
50g cucumber, sloppy seeds removed, and cut into thin strips
10g corriander leaves, remove any tough stalks

For the chicken:
2 medium skinless chicken breasts, inner fillet removed, fat trimmed
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 clove garlic, grated

Method

Mix the garlic and soy together and marinate the chicken for at least 1/2 hour.

Take all of the ingredients for the kare base and whiz up in a blender to form a paste. Cook in a hot oiled pan for 10-15 minutes, the sauce will thicken slightly and turn a lovely red colour. Add the coconut milk, water, salt, sugar and MSG if using. Simmer slowly, do not boil, or the coconut milk will split.

Grill the chicken, check it is cooked through.

Meanwhile, bring a pan of water to the boil and drop in the somen. Cook for 2-3 minutes and drain. Quickly blanch the beansprouts* in the same boiling water.

Divide the noodles between a couple of bowls and pour over the kare sauce.  Dress with the cucumber, beansprouts and coriander. Slice the chicken and arrange over the noodles. Serve with teryaki sauce.

*Never, ever eat raw beansprouts, unless you have grown them yourself or can otherwise be sure they aren’t contaminated with e-coli.