MY VERSION: WAGAMAMAS CHILLI MEN

Wagamamas Yasai Chilli Men

When I first went vegan I was worried I wouldn't be able to eat out with my friends and family like I used to, for fear of every vegetarian option on the menu consisting of either cheese or egg (am I right?). I needn't have worried as most places, especially big chains (weirdly enough) are fairly accommodating to meet your dietary requirements and will often omit the dairy ingredient from any given dish.

One of my favourite places to eat out has always been Wagamamas (partly because I can convince myself it's Japanese and therefore healthy). Thankfully they are very accommodating to vegans and even have a dietary guide available on request to aid you in your decision making. Most of the veggie noodle/soup dishes can be made vegan by swapping the egg noodles to udon noodles. Or by simply asking them to leave out the egg in dishes such as the Yasai Cha Han and the Pad Thai. However I have heard the pickles that come with the Cha Han contain milk (I don't know why either) so stay away from those!

As far as desserts go I'm pretty sure there's no choice but to opt for their real fruit ice lollies. If you try the cherry one you won't even care, it's amazing!

As a vegan my new favourite dish on their menu is the Yasai Chilli Men with udon noodles, the meal is very filling and quite spicy with loads of flavour. The tofu and vegetables come in huge chunks of deliciousness and this is one of those dishes that actually tastes better with the Udon noodles! This rainy weekend I ended up walking along the river thames at night, it was getting very chilly and dark so I couldn't wait to huddle into Wagamamas and be presented with a hot plate of spicy chilli men, the perfect antidote to a cold a winter's evening.

If you don't have a Wagamamas restaurant nearby, or you would prefer to cook your own it's a very easy dish to replicate. You can even buy a jar of Wagamamas own brand spicy chilli men sauce from the supermarket and simply stir fry it in a big wok with these ingredients:

- 1 block of firm tofu, I recommend Dragonfly organic tofu (also available from Wholefoods and Holland and Barratt).
- Approx 2tbsp olive oil
- 1.5 courgettes
- 1 red onion
- 1/2 packet of mangetout
- 1/2 pack of white button mushrooms
- 1/2 a green pepper
- 1/2 a red pepper
- Pinch of salt
- Soy sauce/hot sauce to taste (optional)
- 2 parcels of Udon noodles boiled separately (I recommend the Clearspring organic ones).

This meal serves two (simply double the ingredients if you want to feed four). Sorry for the not very accurate measurements as this is my own made up recipe!

My version of Yasai Chilli Men 

Let me know if you make this at home, I'd love to hear your results. Do you have a favourite vegan dish when dining out?