Pasta in a classic Tomato Based Sauce - Oh Scrub that....

These boneless Chicken Thighs were in the yellow sticker fridge. So initially we intended to do a Pasta sort of gig. Somewhere at some time our plans were lost in the translation! Looked and tasted quite a lot like a Stir-fry to us…….

Spicy Chinese Chicken

Marinade Ingredients:-

4 Boneless Chicken Thighs, cut into cubes
1 Egg
1 Tbsp of Garlic & Ginger Paste (Sue made her own)
2 Tbsp of Soy Sauce ( Gluten free for us)
1 Tsp of Chilli Powder
2 Tbsp of Cornflour

Sauce Ingredients:-

1 Small Red Onion, sliced
2 Tsp of Garlic & Ginger Paste
1 Green Chilli, de-seeded and chopped
3 Tbsp of Tomato Ketchup
1 Tsp of Honey
1 Tbsp of Sweet Chilli Sauce
1 Tbsp of Soy Sauce (Gluten free here)
A handful of Cashew Nuts, chopped
½ a pack of Baby Sweetcorn
4 Mushrooms, sliced
3 sheets of dried Kelp, soaked and cut into strips
1 Nest of Rice Noodles
Green of Spring Onions to garnish
Sesame Seeds to garnish
Oil to fry

Method:-

(1) Combine all the Marinade ingredients.
(2) Stir in the Chicken and stir well.
(3) Place in the fridge for ½ an hour.
(4) In a large frying pan heat Oil on a medium heat.
(5) Fry the Chicken until crispy and cooked through.
(6) Remove and set aside on kitchen paper to drain.
(7) Add the Onions and cook until softened.
(8) Add the Garlic & Ginger Paste and Chillies – cooking for a further minute.
(9) Add the Mushrooms & Sweetcorn and stir in.
(10) Add the Honey, Soy Sauce, Chilli Sauce & Ketchup and allow to simmer.
(11) Boil the Rice Noodles and drain. Running cold water over them.
(12) Boil ¾ of the Kelp until softened.
(13) Fire up a fryer and heat to 170c.
(14) deep fry the remain Kelp until crispy and set aside.
(15) Deep fry the Chicken to re-heat and brown, until eat piece floats.
(16) Remove and drain.
(17) Run boiling water through the Noodles and add to plates.
(18) Add the boiled Kelp and layer the Chicken over the top.
(19) Pour over the stir-fried sauce.
(20) Garnish with the chopped Nuts, Sesame Seeds and Fried Kelp.

We really enjoyed this, even though it is far from the Italian gig we had planned. The deep fried Kelp worked really well. But when we do this sort of thing again it needs to be served as a side. The steam from below very quickly destroyed the crispy texture and it reverted to its natural slightly vegetative state. (Read it went soggy!)