This is a one pot dish which will not disappoint. The marinade with the kombu at the heart of it adds a deep savoury umami flavour to this dish. The cleaness of the pak choi and pepper complement the sweet oriental flavours of the marinade. Great for a hungry hoard who want instant gratification
Serves 4
Ingredients
500g chicken breasts (3 breasts)
1 medium onion (finely chopped)
250g Pak Choi (slice stalks and leaves – separate the two for different cooking times)
1 red pepper (chopped finely)
300g medium noodles (straight to wok fresh noodles)
Marinade
1 dessert spoon Kombu (ground)
2 dessert spoon soy sauce
2 tbsp clear squeezy honey
1 lime – squeezed
1 red chilli (chopped finely)
1 finger fresh ginger (sliced)
4 tbsp
2 lg Cloves of garlic (chopped finely)
To make the marinade:
This will make all the difference in terms of flavour. You only need to do this 1 hour before cooking (45 minutes in the fridge is enough to get some great flavours going). With a sharp knife cut the chicken breasts into 1 inch pieces, so they are easier to cook. Put them into a medium sized bowl, so that the marinade can cover all the meat. Scatter the kombu over the meat making sure that you turn the chicken pieces in the seaweed to cover them evenly. Add the soy sauce, lime juice, honey, chilli, ginger, garlic and oil. With this recipe there is not much oil, so the flavours remain with the chicken. Turn the meat in the juices, cover the bowl with cling film and put in fridge for 45 minutes. Remove from fridge, take the meat out of the bowl with a slatted spoon so you loose the excess juices, with most of the flavours remaining.
To cook the chicken:
In a wok or a large heavy based saucepan, saute the onion on a high, then medium heat, until translucent. Return to a high heat and add in the chicken pieces. Cook on a high heat, browning the meat until it is a golden colour (this will take about 10 minutes). Next, add the diced pepper and sliced pak choi stem. Cook for about 5 minutes until they soften and the stems become translucent. Add in the noodles and stir until they have heated through – this will not take longer than a couple of minutes. Lastly add the pak choi leaves for a minute until the leaves wilt. Serve immediately.
The Seaweed Cookbook by Xa Milne is published by Michael Joseph £16.99. www.maraseaweed.com
