Spicy sardine linguine

Name: Spicy sardine linguine
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 20 min
Yield: Serves 2
Ingredients: 200g linguine; 3 tbsp vegetable oil; 1 small onion, finely chopped; 1-2 fresh red chillies, finely sliced; 2 x 95g tins sardines in tomato sauce; 1 tbsp Malaysian Adabi meat curry powder (if you don’t have Adabi curry powder, combine ¾ tsp chilli powder, ¾ tsp ground coriander, ¾ tsp ground turmeric, ¼ tsp finely ground black pepper and ¼ tsp ground cumin); 2 tbsp tomato purée; ½ tsp caster sugar; 15g coriander, roughly chopped (optional); Juice 1 lime

By: Mandy Yin

Published: 10 Jul 25
Updated: 10 Jul 25

This speedy spicy sardine linguine by chef and cookbook author Mandy Yin will pep up your midweek pasta repertoire. It’s a great quick meal for two.

Flavour twist: tinned sardines in tomato sauce are combined with spices, lime and coriander for a flavour-bomb dish. “The original inspiration for this dish comes from one of my favourite Malaysian curry puff fillings. Malaysians have a fondness for British canned goods,” explains Mandy. “It just takes a few extra storecupboard ingredients to ramp up a couple of cans of sardines in tomato sauce.”
Ready in a flash: the recipe comes together in just 30 minutes. We love a speedy pasta dinner!
Serve it your way: “If you don’t feel like eating pasta, the spiced sardines are also extremely good on buttered toast or just with rice!” says Mandy.

Recipe taken from Simply Malaysian by Mandy Yin (Quadrille £27). Browse more inspiring pasta dinner recipes.

Serves 2
Prep time 10 min. Cook time 10 min

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Ingredients

200g linguine
3 tbsp vegetable oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
1-2 fresh red chillies, finely sliced
2 x 95g tins sardines in tomato sauce
1 tbsp Malaysian Adabi meat curry powder (if you don’t have Adabi curry powder, combine ¾ tsp chilli powder, ¾ tsp ground coriander, ¾ tsp ground turmeric, ¼ tsp finely ground black pepper and ¼ tsp ground cumin)
2 tbsp tomato purée
½ tsp caster sugar
15g coriander, roughly chopped (optional)
Juice 1 lime

Method

Bring a large pan of heavily salted water (like the sea) to a rolling boil and start cooking the linguine first, according to the packet instructions, as the sauce comes together very quickly.
Heat the oil in a non-stick wok or large saucepan over a medium-high heat. Stir-fry the onion with the chilli until the edges of the onions start to turn translucent (around 2 minutes).
Empty both sardine cans into the wok before adding the curry powder, tomato purée, ½ tsp salt and the sugar. Stir-fry the mixture for a minute, mashing up the sardines as you do.
Add the coriander (if using) and a ladleful of the pasta cooking water. Stir to combine, then turn off the heat.
Once the linguine is cooked, drain it before adding it to the wok with the sauce. Stir thoroughly. Check for seasoning and add more salt and/or sugar as desired. Squeeze over lime juice to taste just before eating.

Recipe from 2025 Issue

Nutrition

Nutrition: per serving

Calories: 689kcals
Fat: 28g (3.3g saturated)
Protein: 29g
Carbohydrates: 77g (9.3g sugars)
Fibre: 5.5g
Salt: 1g

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