Colm O'Gorman: Spicy peanut chicken noodles - it's my recipe for Bang Bang Chicken 

Poached chicken and noodles with lots of crisp vegetables topped with a spicy sauce 

My Bang Bang Chicken also makes a lovely filling for a wrap, again, for a lighter lunch or snack.

This week’s recipe works beautifully as a main meal but can also be adapted for a light lunch or supper by leaving out the noodles and serving it instead as a warm salad. 

The combination of succulent and fragrant poached chicken, crisp, fresh vegetables, and this lovely savoury but slightly sweet peanut sauce is a delight. I like to add a little heat to this dish, so I always include the seeds and pith from my red chilli for the sauce. I serve it warm rather than hot, so the sugar snap peas, cucumber, spring onion and the herbs are wonderfully crisp and fresh. I use a combination of fresh coriander, mint, and basil. 

If you wish, you can use a different combination based upon your own preference or what you have available. Coriander is a must for me, but if you are one of those people who cannot abide that herb, then just use mint and basil instead.

Poaching the chicken breast keeps it wonderfully moist and succulent, and the spiced chicken stock is a wonderful base for the sauce. You will have some stock leftover from making the sauce which I usually freeze rather than discard. It is lovely as a base for Asian style soups.

 

Bang Bang Chicken

recipe by:Colm O'Gorman

My Bang Bang Chicken is a meal in itself but also makes a lovely filling for a wrap

Servings

4

Cooking Time

 20 mins

Total Time

 20 mins

Course

 Main

Cuisine

 Chinese

Ingredients

• 500ml chicken stock1 bay leaf

• 2 star anise

• 25g fresh ginger root

• 1 tsp Chinese five spice powder

• 1 tbsp soy sauce

• 2 large skinless boneless chicken breasts

• ½ a cucumber

• 2 carrots

• 100g sugar snap peas

• 3 spring onions

• Small handful each of fresh basil, coriander, and mint leaves

• 300g dried udon or ramen noodles

• For the sauce:

• 1 tsp toasted sesame oil

• 15g fresh ginger root

• 1 clove garlic

• I red chilli

• 1 tsp soy sauce

• 1 tsp fish sauce

• Juice of a lime

• 1 tbsp runny honey

• 100ml of the spiced stock used to poach the chicken

• 100g crunchy peanut butter

• Freshly ground black pepper

• To serve:

• 1 red chilli

• 2tsp toasted sesame seeds

• A small handful of chopped roasted peanuts

• 2 limes

• A handful of fresh herbs

Method

1. Peel and roughly chop 25g of fresh ginger. Put the chicken stock in a pan with the chopped ginger, bay leaf, five-spice powder, star anise and a tablespoon of soy sauce. Bring it to the boil and then reduce to a simmer. Pop the chicken breasts into the stock, cover the pan and poach the chicken for twelve to fifteen minutes until the chicken is cooked through.  The length of time you will need will depend upon the size of the chicken breast. A 200g breast will take about fourteen minutes. When it is done, remove the chicken for the pan and set it to one side. Strain the stock into a jug and set that aside for now as well.

2. Wash the carrots, cucumber, sugar snap peas and spring onions. Trim the onions and peel the carrots. Cut the sugar snap peas into three lengthways and cut the carrots, cucumber, and spring onions into thin strips, about twice the thickness of a matchstick. Wash and chop the herbs. Put all the vegetables and the herbs in a big bowl and set aside while you make the sauce and cook your noodles.

3. Heat a teaspoon of sesame oil in a saucepan over a high heat. Grate the garlic and ginger for the sauce and finely chop the red chilli. As I mentioned above, I usually leave the seeds in the chilli, but leave those out if you want a milder sauce. Cook the garlic, ginger, and chilli in the pan over a medium heat for a minute or two, then add 100ml of the reserved stock from the chicken, the soy sauce, honey, lime juice and the fish sauce. Bring the sauce to a soft boil and then add the peanut butter.  Turn down the heat and stir in the peanut butter until it has combined fully with the sauce. Simmer the sauce for a few minutes and then add a good grind of black pepper. Taste and season with more soy sauce or lime juice if needed. Remove from the heat and allow it to cool a little.

4. Cook the noodles according to the instructions on the packet. Ramen noodles usually take about three minutes to cook in a big pan of boiling water. When they are done, drain them, rinse the pan in cold water to cool it down and put the noodles back in the pan toss them in a little sesame oil to prevent them from sticking together.

5. Use two forks to shred the poached chicken breast into chunks and add that to the bowl of vegetables. Pour about a third of the sauce over the noodles and toss it through. Pour the rest of the sauce over the chicken and vegetables and toss them to thoroughly coat everything in the bang bang sauce.

6. Serve a portion of the noodles per person, topped off with a big pile of the chicken and vegetables. Slice the limes into thick wedges and add a few to each plate. Finish off by topping the Bang Bang Chicken with some more chopped herbs, some toasted sesame seeds, sliced red chilli and chopped peanuts.