Sesame Noodles with Golden Chicken and Pak Choi

Wednesday, February 17, 2016
This is one of those dishes I constantly crave but never get around to making. Come to think of it, I’ve literally been craving this for years but always save it for another day because I know I’ll pretty much always have the ingredients lying around (minus the pak choi, but I could always replace it with whatever suspicious green object I find in my fridge). 

I don’t know what came over me today but I just decided it was time and I’m so glad I did. It’s super quick, super easy, super delicious and all of it can be prepped it advance and thrown together just when it’s time to eat. It's also great to fill the void of those MSG filled asian meals we all, or at least I try to avoid. 

If you’re on low-carb mode, you can minimize the noodles, maximize the pak choi and chicken and just keep a few noodles in there so it still feels like you’re eating a bowl of noodles.


Ps. I have a confession to make, I didn’t actually use ‘noodles’ to make my noodles, I used gluten free spaghetti but no one would ever know, so don’t feel like you can’t make this yourself if you’re in the same noodle-less dilemma as I was. 

 Sesame Noodles 
with Golden Chicken and Pak Choi

Serves 4

YOU WILL NEED:
2 PIECES CHICKEN BREAST, CUT INTO 2 INCH SLICES
250G UNCOOKED SPAGHETTI (APPROX HALF A PACKET)
200G PAK CHOI, WASHED, ENDS REMOVED
3 TBSP LIGHT SOY SAUCE
2 CLOVES GARLIC CRUSHED
1 INCH FRESH GINGER, GRATED
JUICE OF 2 LIMES 
1 TSP RICE VINEGAR
1 TSP HONEY 
1 TBSP WATER 
1/2 TSP CHILI FLAKES
SALT AND PEPPER
1 TSBP SESAME OIL
1.5 TSBP COOKING OIL, I USE UNSCENTED COCONUT

HANDFUL OF SESAME SEEDS
1 SPRING ONION, FINELY CHOPPED 

Bring a large pot of water to the boil with a pinch of salt. 

Have a bowl of iced water and a slotted spoon prepared.

Once the water is boiling, drop the pak choi into the water. Leave for about 10 seconds and scoop out and quickly drop into the iced water. Leave aside for later.

Add the spaghetti to the boiling water and cook to instructions. 

Meanwhile, make sure the chicken pieces are dry and season with salt and pepper. 

Heat the cooking oil in a pan and add the chicken. Do not overcrowd the pan and do not stir or move the pieces until they have formed a golden crust on one side. Then turn the pieces to cook the other side. You may need to cook the chicken in batches to let them get crispy. 

Transfer the chicken to a plate. 

In a bowl, make the sauce by mixing together the crushed garlic, grated ginger, lime juice, soy sauce, sesame oil, honey, rice vinegar, water, chili flakes and a pinch of salt and pepper.

To prepare, put the chicken pieces into the sauce for a second and then remove. 

Mix the cooked spaghetti/noodles into the sauce and then mix in the pak choi and add a pinch of sesame seeds. 

To serve, place a generous helping of noodles and pak choi in a bowl and top with some chicken, more sesame seeds, chopped spring onion and a little more chili flakes. 

Enjoy!

*You can make each element of this dish a day or so in advance and mix together when you're ready to eat. It also keeps well for a couple of days as leftovers.