More tasty meals on a tiny budget

Want to watch your pennies? Keep to your weekly food budget with these ideas from Gregg Wallace and Chris Bavin

Pad Thai can be found all over Thailand and Indonesia – everyone has their own variation. This one combines king prawns with a healthy dose of mixed fresh vegetables, providing two portions of your five- a- day. You can make it spicier or milder, depending on how much chilli you add.

Serves 4 Prep 10 mins plus soaking Cook 10 mins

200g wide rice noodles 1 tbsp vegetable oil small bunch spring onions,

trimmed and finely sliced 1 lemongrass stalk, outer leaves removed, halved lengthways, finely chopped 1 red chilli, deseeded and

finely chopped 2 garlic cloves, finely

chopped 2 red peppers, deseeded

and thinly sliced 3 tbsp soy sauce 2 tbsp sweet chilli sauce 250ml hot vegetable stock 160g green beans, halved 160g broccoli, cut into

florets 200g raw peeled king

prawns (defrosted) 3 eggs, lightly beaten 160g fresh spinach, roughly

chopped 1 lime, zested and juiced 25g roasted unsalted

peanuts, lightly crushed 2 tbsp chopped coriander

1 Put the noodles in a large, heatproof bowl, then pour over enough boiling water to cover and leave to soak for about 8-9 mins. Drain and set aside.

2 Heat a wok until hot, then add the vegetable oil, spring onions, lemongrass, chilli and garlic and stir-fry over a high heat for 1 min. Add the peppers and stir-fry for 2 mins or until just softened.

3 Reduce the heat, add the soy sauce, sweet chilli sauce and hot stock and bring to a simmer. Tip in the green beans and broccoli, then cover with a lid and simmer for a further 2 mins. Remove the lid, add the prawns and simmer for 2 mins until they’re just pink.

4 Add the beaten eggs to the pan and stir through quickly to distribute evenly. Add the drained noodles, the spinach and lime zest and juice and stir through – you want the spinach to be just wilted and everything hot through. Serve immediately, sprinkled with the roasted peanuts and chopped coriander.