March 2025 favourites list

It is late March and here in the UK spring is springing. With it, lighter mornings and a little bit of sunshine. The brash colour of the early spring flowers are such a joy to behold after the dreary winter months. 

 

I hope you enjoy this month’s selection with some photos I have taken of this spring’s flowers.

Food writing

Olive Magazine picks the best places to eat in Shoreditch, London: https://www.olivemagazine.com/restaurants/shoreditch-foodie-guide-where-to-eat-and-drink/

Asma Khan is the creator of Darjeeling Express, a unique restaurant empowering women. In this interview, she speaks about sexism in the hospitality industry and why it doesn’t have to be this way. https://metro.co.uk/2025/03/08/female-chefs-kept-quiet-years-need-call-toxic-kitchens-22690539/

This is childish, but I couldn’t resist… Why do beans make you fart? https://www.self.com/story/why-do-beans-make-you-fart

 

Food advice and kitchen tips

Made one of those recipes requiring only half a can of coconut milk? Found yourself throwing away the other half? Don’t do this again – freeze it! https://lifehacker.com/food-drink/yes-you-can-freeze-coconut-milk

This How To guide from BBC Good Food has given me ideas on how to shake up my home cooking – the ingredients which will change how you cook. https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/howto/guide/ingredients-that-will-change-the-way-you-cook

Andrew Wong shares his wisdom on Chinese cooking sauces, plus his recipes for Beef XO, ginger and spring onion relish, and black bean sauce: https://www.deliciousmagazine.co.uk/andrew-wongs-chinese-sauces-masterclass/

 

Recipes

Spring means the start of salad season. To bridge the gap, here is Nigel Slater’s recipe for a raw winter slaw with herby mayonnaise: https://www.theguardian.com/food/2025/feb/11/nigel-slaters-recipe-for-raw-winter-slaw-with-herby-mayo

If you follow me on Bluesky, you’ll know about my Chaat obsession. Here is Dishoom’s Tandoori chaat charred sweet potato recipe: https://www.dishoom.com/journal/recipes/dishoom-tandoori-chaat-charred-sweet-potato-recipe/

Easy healthy Indian curry recipes for midweek recipe inspiration: https://www.standard.co.uk/lifestyle/wellness/midweek-meals-recipe-indian-curry-easy-healthy-cooking-b1209098.html

 

Food and health

There are a lot of food scares out there. This seems like a balanced and helpful look at the issue of mercury levels in tuna: https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/articles/mercury_in_tuna

I have joked about how there’s a second stomach for dessert, and it seems this has some basis in science. Who knew? https://www.npr.org/2025/03/15/nx-s1-5328768/sugar-brain-cravings-dessert

What you might have missed at Snig’s Kitchen

My latest instant noodle review – Itsu’s chick n ramen (vegan) instant noodle in a pot: https://snigskitchen.blogspot.com/2025/03/itsu-chick-n-ramen-instant-noodle-review.html

My beginners guide to Chaat: https://snigskitchen.blogspot.com/2025/02/chaat-beginners-guide.html

TV

Unforgotten, Season 6

Sanjeev Bhaskar returns as DI Sunny Khan working with DCI Jessica James (played by Sinead Keenan) investigating a “fresh” cold case involving body parts found on Whitney Marsh. Taking in themes of what it is like to be a carer, neurodiversity, incel culture, right wing news channels, tensions in contemporary academia, and the timeless matters of human nature. It has received unfair criticism for being “political” but as writer and creator Chris Lang said “I like to hold up a mirror to the UK, and reflect where we are".

Available on ITV player:

https://www.itv.com/watch/unforgotten/2a3372/2a3372a0031

Please note: as with every monthly Favourites List, all of these items have been selected by me simply because I love them. I do not receive any money, benefits in kind or other incentive for posting these links or recommendations.

Itsu Chick N Ramen instant noodle review

Wandering around, idly gawping at the shelves of ingredients and food items at Longdan (the Vietnamese grocery shop in Lewisham which specialises in east Asian food products and plant based eating) is something I relish. On a recent visit, I spotted some instant cup/pot style noodles from Itsu. Itsu runs east Asian inspired take away/restaurant outlets in the UK, but have diversified into food products available in some supermarkets and speciality grocers. The packaging promised noodles in “hand crafted broth” which immediately grabbed my interest. I paid £1.95 for one pot of Itsu Chick N Ramen.

 

The product

Itsu have, according to their packaging, collaborated with a “highly respected food entrepreneur” from Japan named Yoshihiro, who has created the sesame miso broth paste in this pack. The broth paste is, they say, inspired by the ramen chefs of Tokyo. They have put Yoshihiro’s picture on the container, and he looks like a kindly uncle who is very particular about his noodle broth. Either that, or I’m a sucker for cutesy marketing. 

 

The “Chick-n” labelling on the packet is misleading, as these noodles, when made up are vegan and vegetarian. The packaging clearly states the product is suitable for vegans. I would suggest that since the main flavour here is miso, that the product should be renamed, the current name is just confusing! Unfortunately, this product, because there is a small amount of alcohol in the broth mix, is not Halal. 

 

What’s Inside

Once I popped off the lid, I found a sachet of sesame miso based broth paste. 

 

As a set out above, it does contain alcohol, making it unsuitable for those eating a Halal diet. There was insufficient information on the packet to determine if it is kosher. (Wine can be kosher if produced correctly, and unflavoured sake is capable of being kosher). The broth has miso paste, sesame paste, yeast extract, and a number of other flavourings and spices.

 

There was also a cake of rice noodles which were fairly narrow, but very thin, which lend themselves for quick cooking/reconstitution in the pot. These noodles, being made from rice flour, are suitable for those on a gluten free diet who normally miss out on noodle products. They are also very low in fat. Obviously, they contain carbohydrates, being made out of rice. But as I have said many times, I’ve never met a carbohydrate I didn’t like!

What does it taste like

I made the noodles according to the instructions and as a result they were soft, but not squidgy or too yielding. 

 

I enjoyed their texture, which is reminiscent of the Vietnamese rice noodles used for Pho. There’s a touch of chilli heat thanks to the dried red chilli and dried spring onion which come with the noodles. If you were to forget about these noodles when reconstituting and return much later, I think that they could become soggy rapidly because they are so thin. Put your timer on!

 

I should mention that these noodles are not ramen noodles, nor do they taste like ramen noodles. Again, the product name doesn’t truly reflect the nature of the product itself, but Itsu are popular enough that this is unlikely to matter. 

 

The broth, however, is the true highlight. It has richness, a touch of creaminess, umami savouriness, and feels much more luxurious than you’d expect from an instant noodle product. Is it “hand crafted” as claimed? I can’t say. But it is definitely flavourful and makes this product worth the price.

 

I modded my noods (as you do!) by adding toasted sesame seeds and chopped spring onions. The freshness of the spring onions added crunch and the green aromas and flavours I love from spring onions (a hero ingredient in east Asian food). Toasted sesame seeds can’t be eaten by everyone because of concerns about nut allergies, but I love their rich smell and nutty flavour. Because I made these noodles at home, I was able to toast the seeds immediately before eating, but if eating instant noodles at home, I would buy some pre-toasted sesame seeds from an Asian grocery shop.

I use Gingey Bites’ rating system for my noodles. For Alex’s scoring method and an index of all of her instant noodle reviews, please see: https://gingeybites.com/guide-to-instant-noodles

Texture 7/10

Flavour 8/10

Ease of making 10/10

Would I buy them again: Yes

For my previous Instant noodle reviews please see:

You can read my review of Nissin x Shoryu “Ramen Masters” Cup Noodle: https://snigskitchen.blogspot.com/2024/01/nissin-x-shoryu-ramen-masters-cup.html

You can read my review of Maruchan spicy chicken and prawn noodles here: https://snigskitchen.blogspot.com/2024/05/maruchan-spicy-chicken-and-prawn.html

You can read my review of Nongshim brand’s “Chapagetti” noodles here: https://snigskitchen.blogspot.com/2024/09/nongshim-chapagetti-noodle-review.html

If you follow my instant noodle reviews, you will know I love to add ingredients and flavours to instant noodles. Here, at Kavey Eats blog (run by the brilliant food, travel and cooking enthusiast Kavita – AKA Kavey) is a new spin on modifying Korean instant noodles from Su Scott’s new cookbook Pocha: https://www.kaveyeats.com/tomato-kimchi-ramyun-instant-noodle

This review represents the genuine opinions of Snigdha, who has received no incentive to write this review, and who purchased the product with her own money.