Whole: Bowl Food for Balance is all about healing your relationship with food. Food is not the enemy and neither is your body.

Taking the time to get to know your body, treating it with respect and nourishing it with real fresh food is the single most important thing you can do for yourself. Eating mindfully, cutting out processed foods and embracing the foods that fuel you and leave you feeling energised are all part of the journey to finding happiness with food.

Try Melissa Delport’s recipe for Ra-Ra-Ramen:

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Ra-Ra-Ramen

Duck ramen

Serves 2

Sometimes the pleasure lies in how you eat, and this ramen dish is a great example of that. Slurping down your noodles can be immensely satisfying and bring a lot of joy and laughter, as well as being delicious!

• Recipe PDF

Ingredients 

2 tablespoons white miso paste
2 tablespoons tamari
3 whole star anise
5 cm piece fresh ginger, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 red chilli, finely chopped
4 cups chicken stock
salt and pepper
200 grams egg noodles
2 duck breast fillets
2 eggs
1 generous handful pak choi
1/2 cup sliced red cabbage
1 handful fresh coriander leaves, roughly chopped
sesame seeds

Method

In a medium-sized saucepan over medium heat, add the miso paste and fry for 1 minute. Add the tamari, star anise, ginger, garlic and chilli. Fry for another minute. Add the chicken stock, season and bring to a simmer.

Cook the noodles as per packet instructions. Once ready, set aside.

Bring a small saucepan of water to a boil. You will need this for the eggs.

While the water is coming to a boil, add the duck breasts to a medium sized frying pan over medium heat. You want the duck breasts to get hot with the pan. Let the duck cook for 10 minutes, skin-side down, to crisp the skin and cook out the fat. Once the skin is golden brown, turn the duck and cook for another 3–4 minutes. Once ready, remove from the heat and place on a board. Cover with foil and let it rest for 5 minutes.

While the duck is resting, pop the eggs into the boiling water. Six minutes will give you the perfect gooey egg. Once ready, place the eggs in ice water to stop the cooking process. This also helps ease the peeling process. Peel and slice the eggs.

Place the pak choi, cabbage and noodles in your serving bowls. Strain the broth, keeping the liquid and discarding the solids. Add the liquid to your bowls using a ladle. Slice the duck and add it with the eggs to the bowl.

Top with coriander and sesame seeds and season to taste.

Health tip

Red cabbage protects against Alzheimer’s and other cognitive disorders. It also promotes healthy skin.

Categories Cookery Non-fiction South Africa

Tags Melissa Delport Penguin Random House SA Recipes Whole: Bowl Food for Balance