Cooking food: Sometimes you just need it to be quick, but that doesn’t mean you don’t want it to be good. Ready meals will never taste as good as a home cooked meal. However, the speed and convenience of just punching a hole in something with a fork, and microwaving it for two minutes wins out. With this in mind I have two words for you: stir fry. Yes, I know all the food I have cooked is quite easy so far. The clue is in the title.

I made a sweet chilli king prawn stir fry with rice. It is a quick and delicious meal. I am proud to say that I have perfected the art of cooking rice. This is how….

You want Basmati rice. It’s more expensive, but the taste makes it worth it. Always measure rice by volume and not by weight: use a measuring jug and measure 2½ fl oz (65 ml) per person (5 fl oz/150 ml for two, 10 fl oz/275 ml for four and so on). The quantity of liquid you will need is roughly double the volume of rice; so 5 fl oz (150 ml) of rice needs 10 fl oz (275 ml) of hot water.

Put in a pan and add boiling water ( I always boil the kettle and then add the water.) DO NOT STIR. Once is fine but anymore will ruin the rice. Put the lid on the pan and turn the heating down to the lowest setting. The leave it alone. Do not peak to see if is ready. Leave white rice for 15 minute and brown rice 40. Use a timer. Do not overcook the rice. This spoils it. Simply bit a grain to see if it is ready. If it is not ready, give it a few more minutes.

When the rice is cooked, remove the lid, turn the heat off and place a clean tea cloth over the pan for 5-10 minutes. This absorbs the steam.

Now for the rest….

You need: King prawns, sweet chilli sauce, mushrooms, peppers, tomatoes, carrots, any other vegetables you want to use.

Wash the veg and cut it up. Add some olive oil to a wok or frying pan. Leave until the oil warms up. Add vegetables for a minute and stir constantly. Add the king prawns. Keep stirring for a minute or until cooked. Add some sweet chilli sauce. And your done!

You can always leave the rice if your in a rush and cook some noodles. Just add some noodles in a pot with some water. Takes a few minutes to cook. Keep stirring.

So, did it taste good? Yes. I was given full points.

If you would like to suggest something for me to cook, comment below, or email frostmagazine@gmail.com.