It might be a little early to get too optimistic about the chances of whichever home nation you support winning the Rugby World Cup (although England fans will be sweating the result against Australia tomorrow) but there’s no reason not to settle down and enjoy the spectacle of this great sporting event!

We love the idea of nationality-themed cuisine nights – they can be great ways to try something different and with teams competing not just from Scotland, England, Ireland and Wales but also Fiji, Uruguay, Australia, Japan, USA, Argentina, Tonga, France and Italy (and that’s just to name a few!), there’s no shortage of different cuisines to try!

While there are plenty of Japanese, American and Italian ready-meals and snacks you can try (SK Foods do a great range which includes some of those, but we’re just showing off!), you might struggle to find anything from Tonga on the local supermarket shelves, but that’s where the internet comes in! You can find out the national dishes of most of the countries involved in the competition really easily and we think the Tongan one sounds pretty good – and simple. Why not give it a go?

The national dish of Tonga is Lu, usi bololokoma (a mix of crystal, glass or transparent noodle used in soups, stir fried dishes, or spring rolls).

Ingredients:
16-ounce package dried bean thread noodles (saifun)
6 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 skinless boneless chicken breast halves, finely chopped
18 uncooked large shrimp, peeled, deveined, coarsely chopped
15 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup chopped green onions
1/2 cup chopped fresh coriander
3 tablespoons chopped shallots
3 tablespoons Thai fish sauce (nam pla)
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
2 1/2 teaspoons minced seeded Thai chilies or serrano chilies

To Make:
Place noodles in large bowl. Cover with cold water; let stand until noodles begin to soften, which takes about 5 minutes. Drain. Transfer to large pot of boiling water; cook until just tender and pliable, which is about 3 minutes.
Drain. Rinse with cold water; drain again.
Heat 2 tablespoons oil in heavy large frying pan or wok over a medium-high heat. Add the chicken and shrimp; stir-fry until cooked, which is about 4 minutes.
Transfer to large bowl. Heat 4 tablespoons of oil in same pan over medium heat. Add the garlic; cook until fragrant for about 2 minutes. Add the garlic-oil mixture to bowl with chicken and shrimp; cool.
Add the noodles, green onions and remaining ingredients to the bowl. Toss to blend. Season with salt and pepper and serve.

About Neil Shaefer
Marketing & Communications Executive of SK Foods.
Your food. Our Passion.