Asian Chicken Noodle Broth

Jamie Oliver came over for dinner :)

We made his Asian Chicken Noodle Broth-- so good on a cold day! This scored very well on Ross's "Work vs. Reward Matrix" and clocked in under 30 minutes. Which means you should probably try it... There was definitely some ingredient improvising on my part (Alaska and fresh produce do not go hand in hand), but it would only be better with the fresh stuff.

 

In case you didn't see the cashews, sunflower, and pumpkin seeds... :)

 

Asian Chicken Noodle Broth
(17 minutes)

Recipe Courtesy of GOOP. 


This is a really quick dish but you’re going to have to multitask, cooking your veg and noodles in one pan and your chicken in another. Read through the recipe before you start so you’ll be prepared for what’s going to happen. You’ll be amazed at the results - just like something you can get in a posh noodle bar.

Serves 2
• 1 tablespoon mixed seeds (pumpkin, poppy, sun flower)
• a small handful of raw cashew nuts
• 1 quart chicken broth, preferably organic
• 2 skinless chicken breast fillets, preferably free-range or organic
• 2 teaspoons five-spice powder
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• olive oil
• a thumb-sized piece of fresh root ginger
• ½ to 1 fresh red chili, to your taste
• 4 ounces rice sticks or vermicelli
• a handful of snow peas
• 6 thin asparagus spears or 4 regular-sized spears
• 6 fresh baby corn or 1/2 cup fresh corn kernels
• soy sauce
• juice of 1 lime
• a small handful of spinach leaves

Put a medium frying pan or wok on a high heat and add the seeds and cashew nuts to it straight away, while it’s heating up. Put a large saucepan on a high heat. Fill the saucepan with the chicken broth, heat until very hot, and put a lid on it. Toss the seeds and nuts around until heated through nicely — this will take a couple of minutes. While this is happening, slice your chicken breasts lengthways into 3 pieces and put them into a bowl. Sprinkle the chicken with the five-spice powder and a good pinch of salt and pepper and stir. When the seeds and nuts are done, transfer them to a plate. Put the empty pan back on a high heat. Add a little olive oil to your hot pan with your slices of chicken and cook for 5 minutes, until golden, tossing and turning every now and again.

While the chicken’s cooking, peel and finely slice your ginger and slice your chili. Take the lid off the pan with the chicken broth and add half the chili, all the ginger, your rice sticks (or vermicelli), snow peas, asparagus, and corn, with 2 tablespoons of soy sauce. Bring to a boil and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring. Halve the lime and squeeze in the juice. 

By the time the rice sticks (or vermicelli) and veggies are done, the chicken will be cooked. Take a piece of chicken out and slice it lengthways to check if it’s cooked all the way through — when done, remove all the chicken from the pan and slice each piece in half to expose the juicy chicken inside (please don’t be tempted to overcook it). To serve, divide the spinach leaves between your bowls and pour over the broth, rice sticks (or vermicelli), and vegetables. Divide the chicken pieces over and scatter with the toasted seeds, cashews, and remaining chili.