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Zoologist Lucy Cooke; Film director Deborah Perkin; The perfect Pad Thai noodles.

Zoologist Lucy Cooke on how she managed to popularise the sloth. Film director Deborah Perkin talks about her latest project and cook the perfect noodles with Mimi Aye.

ZooLogist Lucy Cooke talks to Jenni about her new programme and the pioneering work of Dian Fossey as we open up our archive to hear an interview she gave to the programme back in 1984.

It is now almost three months since the abduction of 276 schoolgirls in north-eastern Nigeria by Islamist militant group Boko Haram. Despite worldwide condemnation and a social media campaign the girls are still missing and media interest is beginning to ebb. What's the latest?

Deborah Perkin's new film Bastards explores the struggle that women in Morocco face when they have children the state define as illegitimate. What are the problems that arise in a country where the new laws and old social attitudes are frequently out of step with each other.

Ellen Wilkinson MP was known as Red Ellen. She was a key radical in the 20th century feminist movement. She was involved in women's suffrage, led the Labour Party's anti-fascist campaign and was the first female Minister of Education. But how did she get on with her female contemporaries?

MiMi Aye was born in the UK to Burmese parents. Her food blog which she started 5 years ago aims to spread the word about Burmese cuisine. In her first book, she shares her passion for noodles and today cooks the perfect Pad Thai stir fried noodles.

Available now

58 minutes

Clip

Chapters

  • Chibok Schoolgirls - three months on.

    3 months since the abduction of 276 schoolgirls from the small town of Chibok in Nigeria.

    Duration: 04:40

  • Ellen Wilkinson MP aka Red Ellen

    Ellen Wilkinson MP - a key radical in the 20th century feminist movement.

    Duration: 09:02

  • Documentary Filmmaker Deborah Perkin

    Deborah Perkin’s new film Bastards explores the struggle of unmarried mothers in Morocco.

    Duration: 07:42

  • Zoologist Lucy Cooke

    Zoologist Lucy Cooke talks about her new TV programme 'Talk to the Animals'.

    Duration: 10:28

  • Cook the Perfect...Noodles

    MiMi Aye cooks the perfect Pad Thai stir fried noodles.

    Duration: 09:08

Boko Haram Three Months On

It's now almost three months since the abduction of 276 schoolgirls from the small town of Chibok in north-eastern Nigeria by Islamist militant group Boko Haram. The latest reports suggest that Boko Haram is attempting to get women to play a more active role in its campaign to impose a Muslim caliphate in the religiously mixed country. Jenni talks to Habiba Adamu, a journalist with the 鶹Լ’s Hausa Service based in the Nigerian capital Abuja, about the plight of missing schoolgirls and the situation in Nigeria three months on.

Red Ellen

was known as Red Ellen. She was a key radical in the 20th century feminist movement. Ellenwas involved in women’s suffrage, led the Labour Party’s anti-fascist campaign and she was the first female Minister of Education. But how did she get on with her female contemporaries? Paula Bartley, author of “Ellen Wilkinson,” and Mari Takayanagi, the Houses of Parliament archivist will discuss the relationships between early women in parliament.

Deborah Perkin

Deborah Perkin’s new film, Bastards, explores the struggle women in Morocco face when they have children the state define as illegitimate. In a country where sex before marriage is illegal, unmarried mothers and their children still face discrimination which prevents them from seeking medical help and education. New laws to support mothers were introduced in 2004. Deborah talks to Jenni about the problem of illegitimacy in a country where the new laws and old social attitudes are frequently out of step with each other.

Lucy Cooke

Dian Fosseygave her life whilst trying to conserve the natural habitat of the mountain gorillas of Rwanda.Lucy Cooke is the zoologist who turned into TV stars through her internet clips. From the , Sue MacGregor interviews Dian Fossey about her love of primates. And zoologist Lucy Cooke talks to Jenni about how she managed to popularise the sloth, her love of frogs, and her new programme, .

Cook the Perfect… Pad Thai Noodles

Cook the Perfect… Pad Thai Noodles
was born in the UK to Burmese parents and brought up with Burmese sensibilities. Having studied law at Cambridge and trained as a solicitor, she went into publishing. But in 2009 she started the food blog ‘meemalee’ to spread the word about Burmese cuisine and to let off steam about TV cookery shows and Asian dishes on the high street which bore little resemblance to the real thing. Her passion for noodles of all kinds led her to write her first cook book simply called Noodle! She joins Jenni to cook the perfect Pad Thai stir fried noodles.

RECIPE

INGREDIENTS:

- 400g fresh broad, flat rice noodles (ho fun) or 150g dried.

- 4 tbsp Tamarindpaste adjusted according to taste

- 50ml fish sauce

- 50g palm sugar or soft darkbrown sugar

- 1 tsp chilli flakes

- 8 tbsp groundnut oil

- 1 tbsp dried shrimps

- 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

- 100g firm tofu, cut into 1cm cubes

- 8 raw king prawns, peeled (tail left on) and deveined

- 2 large eggs

- 25g preserved radish, finely chopped

- small handful of dry-roasted peanuts, finely chopped

- 100g beansprouts, topped and ntailed

- 6 garlic chives, cut into 2.5c pieces

- To garnish lime wedges, chilli flakes, fish sauce

PREPARATION METHOD

1- If using fresh ho fun, carefully separate the noodles (they should come apart in 2.5cm strands) and set them aside, lightly covered with a damp cloth or clingfilm. If using dried ho fun, put them in a large heatproof bowl and generously cover with just-boiled water.

2- After a minute, untangle the noodles, then leave them to soak for a further 3 minutes until just pliable (ie bend rather than snap). Drain in a colander and rinse thoroughly under running cold water. Set to one side in the colander so that any residual water can continue to drain.

3- Combine the tamarind juice, fish sauce, sugar and chilli flakes in a small saucepan and heat on a medium heat for 5–6 minutes until the sugar dissolves. Set to one side.

4- Heat 4 tablespoons oil in a wok or deep frying pan on a high heat until it sizzles.

5- Add the dried shrimps and stir-fry for a minute until fragrant.

6- Add the garlic and stir fry for another 30 seconds until fragrant but not brown.

7- Add the noodles with 2 tablespoons water and stir-fry for 2–3 minutes until the water evaporates.

8- Next add the tamarind/fish sauce mix and stir-fry for 5 minutes until the noodles are al dente.

9- Push the noodles to the side of the wok and add the remaining 4 tablespoons oil to the cleared space.

10- With the heat still on high, fry the tofu and prawns for 2–3 minutes in the cleared space until the prawns turn pink.

11- Push to the side to join the noodles, then crack the eggs into the vacated space and scramble quickly.

12- Mix everything together gently, then add the radish, peanuts, beansprouts and chives.

13- Stir-fry for a minute until everything is combined and piping hot, then serve immediately on pasta plates, with forks and spoons.

14- Serve the garnishes on the side for people to help themselves.

TIPS:

Make sure you have all your ingredients prepped and close to hand - you'll be cooking quickly over a high heat and if you take too long, that's when everything goes soggy and clumps together.


If you're using dried rice noodles, don't soak them for too long. You can also use cooked wheat noodles if you can't find rice - it won't be authentic, but it will still taste wonderful.


Dried shrimps and sweet preserved radish can be found in any Oriental supermarket, but it's not the end of the world if you omit them - they just add an extra kick of savoury and salt. Compensate with an extra tablespoon of good quality fish sauce - Vietnamese is best.


Garlic chives can be swapped with normal garden chives or spring onions.


If you can't eat peanuts, you can sprinkle with chopped macadamia nuts instead - again, not authentic but you'll get the desired crunch.

Credits

Role Contributor
Presenter Jenni Murray
Producer Beverley Purcell
Interviewed Guest Abuja Habiba Adamu
Interviewed Guest Deborah Perkin
Interviewed Guest Paula Bartley
Interviewed Guest Mari Takayanagi
Interviewed Guest Mimi Aye

Broadcast

  • Thu 10 Jul 2014 10:00

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