Jeremy Pang's 15 Minute Noodle Kit, School of Wok

Jeremy Pang's 15 Minute Noodle Kit, School of Wok

• October 07, 2015

Jeremy Pang's School of Wok has been making waves in the foodie world and I was excited to be invited to the launch of his new 15 minute noodle kit demonstration. Does a 15 minute noodle kit sound too good to be true? But more importantly, how authentic is it?

Usually, whenever I see Asian food in Western supermarkets, I'm always suspicious of their authenticity. Unless it's a well known Chinese/Asian brand that I'm familiar with and able to buy in Asian supermarkets, I'm not interested.

On arrival at the School of Wok, in the heart of Covent Garden, Jeremy and his business partner Nev himself greeted me and we got chatting away about the new noodle kits. I even got roped into a rather wet and funny rickshaw ride in the rain and popped into Tesco's to see the the noodle kits on display at the front of the store.

There are 6 noodle kits to choose from, with Tesco's stocking 3 varieties: Pad Thai, Singapore noodles, and chow mein. The kit includes the noodles, cooking condiments and seasonings, and will serve 2 people as a main. All you need to buy is some fresh protein like chicken or prawns, a couple of fresh veg and dinner should be ready in as little as 15 minutes.

The 'wok clock' is a clever and neat little idea invented by Jeremy. We all know that having all the ingredients laid out in front of you makes for easy cooking so as long as you follow the wok clock, any recipe should be easy to tackle.   

I was pretty impressed by Jeremy's wokking and chopping skills, as well as his laid back and friendly approach to teaching the foundations of Chinese cooking. The 1st step is to soak the dried noodles and whilst they are softening, prepare the protein and veg which should only take 5 mins. When the noodles are softened enough, it's time to fire up the wok. The instructions on the box are easy to follow which Jeremy made sure to follow to demonstrate each of the steps. Sure enough, 15 mins later, the noodles are ready!

Now, for the moment of truth! Will it pass the taste test? 

The Pad Thai kit passed the taste test for me! The flavours were great, sweet with a tang from the tamarind (some restaurants/recipes use ketchup instead and it just doesn't taste the same), but not too sweet and a savoury hit came through too. The middle flavour which I like to call it, was also present, giving the overall dish a good depth of flavour. 
 

I stayed around to watch the Singapore noodle demonstration too, but preferred the Pad Thai over this one. I like my Singapore noodles dry but I found the noodles were a little on the wet side from the curry powder being mixed with water. This can be easily rectified though, by skipping the water and adding curry powder directly to the noodles. I'd also prefer to add a teeny bit of sweetness to the Singaporean noodles too but that's the beauty of this kit; the foundations are already set for you, but you're free to add additional ingredients to suit personal tastes. 

All in all, the noodle kits get a thumbs up from me, and I'll definitely be trying out the other noodle kits too. I was sent home with a lovely goody bag containing the chow mein kit, some chopsticks and recipes cards which I can't wait to try. 

Tesco's are currently selling them for £2 a box on promotion, they are usually £2.99. 

Thank you to Jeremy and his team for having me, I had a brilliant time at the School of Wok!

Will you be getting a noodle kit to try?