Chicken tonight

For a quick but taste bud satisfying mid week meal, this chow mein is a winner. It's slighty sweet, with a hint of spice and a delicious crunch of the mixed vegetables and a hit of protein with the chicken.


The best thing about this is you can swap the veg elements around, for example I've often added in some sugar snap peas, sliced tenderstem broccoli or even baby corn on the cob. If your a vegetarian or vegan, just bulk up on the veg


This will serve 4-6 people easily, you'll need the following

1kg chicken thighs - off the bone sliced up
4 tbsp runny honey
4 tbsp wholegrain mustard
4 cloves garlic crushed
2cm peice ginger crushed
4 tbsps soy sauce
3 tbsp siracha sauce
2 meduim onions sliced
800g cooked egg noodles
600g mixed stir fry vegetables
50g salted peanuts roughly chopped
Lime wedges to serve

• Put the chicken in a bowl along with the honey, mustard, soy sauce, siracha sauce, garlic, ginger and salt. Set aside to marinate.
• Place a non stick pan on to a high heat, add a little oil, and when its fairly hot add in the onions.
• When they are golden brown and crisp, add in the chicken with all the marinade and cook through fully through
• When the chicken is fully cooked, add in all your veg, lower the heat slightly and cook for about 5-8 minutes - the vegetables should still have a slight bite. 
• Add in the noodles, stir through ensuring everything is incorporated  evenly, and the noodles have heated through.
• Take off the heat, sprinkle the peanuts and serve - serve with prawn crackers and sweet chilli sauce along with the lime wedges

Peri peri chicken stir fry

This is a really quick dish that really requires minimum effort but is full on flavour with the seasoning & seriously filling with the addition of pre preppared stir fry veg & noodles. You can serve this as a main which will on it's own or as a side. My kids love it with prawn crackers & a good drizzle of sweet chilli sauce

For the peri peri seasoning that is listed in the ingredients, i buy mine from my local Asian grocery store, the brand is by a company called east end, as it's got a bit of a kick to it. Alternatively you can use the Nando's version which is readily available in most of the large supermarkets.

To serve 4 -6 people you will need

1 kg chicken breast/ thigh meat cut into strips
250g lemon peri peri seasoning
1 large pack stir fry vegetables
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp chilli flakes ( if your your using the nando's seasoning )
1/4 tsp salt
1 250g pack pre cooked egg noodles
Juice 1/2 lemon
1 tsp garlic paste/3 cloves crushed
1 tsp ginger paste/ small fresh peice crushed or finely grated

• In a bowl, start by mixing together the chicken, peri peri seasoning, cayenne pepper, chilli flakes, salt & the lemon juice. If you can, marinate this the night before for maximum flavour, if not, leave to marinate for at least an hour.

• In a large pan heat up a little oil, add in the garlic & ginger and cook on a medium heat until they turn a light golden brown colour.

• Add in the chicken peices and cook on a high heat till the chicken is fully cooked through and begins to slightly break down.

• Add in your stir fry veg, turn up the heat to almost full and stir fry everything together till the vegetables are cooked but have a slight bite to them

• Add in the noodles, stir them through until they are heated all the way through, as the noodles are cooked, heating them should only take a couple of minutes.

• Once the noodles have warmed through, serve immediately

My 'Kinda Red Thai' prawn curry

So this is one of those recipes that i threw together, and didn't follow any kind of set recipe or instructions and hoped for the best - hence the 'kinda thai' title as i used ingredients and flavours typically found in Thai curries. The husband thoroughly approved so I'm happy with that  


 For my Kinda Thai curry to serve 2 -3 people you will need 

200-250g cooked prawns
2 medium onions
1 tsp salt
2 tsp garlic paste
2 tsp ginger paste
100g red thai paste
2-3 lime kafir leaves
1 lemon grass stalk
2 tbsp tomato puree
1-1 1/2 tsp red chilli flakes 
1 tin coconut milk
300g pre cooked egg noodles

To garnish:
spring onions
bean sprouts
1-2 red chillies
ginger 
fresh coriander

• Start off by finely chopping the onions and saute in a little olive till lightly brown, then add in the salt, garlic paste & ginger paste.

• Add in the lemon grass stalk (i peeled off the first outer leaves, snapped the stalk in half then added)  and the kafir lime leaves, stir for a couple of minutes to let the flavours absorb, then add in the chilli flakes, red thai curry paste and the tomato puree. 
• Finally add in the cooked prawns, the coconut milk & enough water to just cover the prawns. 
• Leave to simmer for a few minutes on low heat then add in the egg noodles
•  Just before serving finely slice all the garnishes except for the beansprouts - i just snapped them in half, chop the coriander then sprinkle all the garnish over the curry and tuck in

Chicken Khawse

This is one of those recipes where Ive only had the dish twice at the most but it's one that I love as it's a curry that's got depth with spices without being too hot as well as being light and refreshing with the addition of coconut milk and yogurt. 

I failed in my efforts searching Pinterest and Google to find the actual recipe since i couldn't remember what it was called, and thanks good old Facebook a friend knew what i was looking for an came to my rescue. 

This is a perfect dish for this time of year, when it's dark gloomy and freezing cold - a proper winter warmer of a dish.

To serve 4- 6 people you will need:
2 medium onions
3 chicken breasts (thinly sliced) 
2 x 500g tub natural yogurt
200ml tin coconut milk 
250ml chicken stock
2tbsp gram flour 
2-3 tsp ginger paste
2-3 tsp garlic paste
2 green birds eye chillies 
2 red bullet chillies (de seeded )
1 1/2 tsp salt 
1 tsp garam masala 
1 bay leaf
1-2 kaffir lime leaves
1 tsp cumin seeds*
1 tbsp soy sauce
2 teaspoons curry powder 
2-3 spring onions finely chopped 
fresh coriander chopped 
crisped fried onions
fresh finely sliced ginger 
200g egg noodles 
juice of a whole lime 
1-2 limes cut into quarters

• Start by heating a little oil in a heavy based based pan, add in the onions finely sliced, and cook till the onions soften and just start to colour. Add in the garlic ginger salt and the 2 green birdseye chillies. Continue to cook on a medium heat until the chillies have slightly softened and the onions have gotten slightly golden brown.
• Add in the chicken and continue to cook till the chicken just starts to colour, add in the curry powder, garam masala, bay and kaffir lime leaves and cumin seeds. Cook through until the chicken is almost completely cooked, then remove from the pan and set aside.
• In a bowl mix the gram flour with 2 tablespoons of the yogurt to make a smooth paste, then add in the remaining yogurt, then the chicken stock and coconut milk. Stir it altogether till its all combined and there are no lumps
• On a high heat, add the milk to the pan, continuously stirring till it reaches boiling point.* Reduce the heat, add the chicken to the pan along with the soy sauce. Leave to simmer on a low heat for about 10 minutes
• Add in the noodles and stir through. At this point i like to taste test to see if it needs more of either yogurt or coconut milk or wether it needs to simmer for longer. If it gets too thick for your liking, all you need to do is add a little fresh boiled water till its at the consistency you like.
• Add the coriander and red bullet chilli just before serving, and as an extra serve the crisped fried onions, fresh ginger slices**, spring onions and lime wedges separatley and your guests can help themselves.

*stirring the milk until boiling point prevents the yogurt from splitting and ending up from looking like curds/ cottage cheese. I tend to stir in circular clockwise motions at a slow speed so i can see the bubbles form as it comes to boil

** for the ginger i use a vegetable peeler to get really thin slithers and that way it's perfect to bite straight into and gives a really nice kick

Dial up or dial down Beef noodles

I don't know about you but I'm a nando's fan and I love that I can get my hands on them from practically any supermarket now and play around with recipes to my hearts content.. As well as saving a few pennies and keeping my purse that little bit heavier !



This one is a twist on my Sweet Chilli Chicken & Noodles and uses their hot peri peri sauce .. Question is are you one to crank up the heat or turn the heat dial down ?


To serve 4 people you will need :

500g cooked egg noodles
400g Beef Strips
1 red onion
1 x red & green pepper
handful mini corn on the cob
Nando's hot peri peri sauce

• Start by finely slicing your onion, and frying in a large frying pan till they soften, add the beef strips and cook on a high heat for about 5-8 minutes 
• Add in the mini corn on the cob and cook for a further 3-5 minutes- i like mine to have a slight crunch and not cooked all the way through. Finally add in the sliced peppers, and again just till they still have a slight bite to them .. soggy cooked peppers are a no no for me
• Add in the noodles and lower the heat as they just need heating through and they will burn quite quickly on a high heat, and stir in the  Nando's sauce to your  liking. Are you dialling up the heat or turning it down ?
• Finish off by garnishing with a sprinkling of sesame seeds and fresh chopped coriander 

Sweet Chilli Chicken & Noodles

Today's post is one of those dishes that comes about from just experimenting with bits that are either left overs from the day before or just plain & simply ingredients that need to be used up as they are about to expire - I really am one of those 'waste not want not' types.

Chicken  definitely makes regular appearances at our table, so I've always got some in the freezer and am always trying to do something different with it. This recipe was literally made with 10 ingredients, which was eaten for tea and we even had left overs which served as lunch the next day

Now this recipe technically isn't an Asian dish, but it does have a touch of spice ! The 10 ingredients you will need are :

2 x 300g pack of pre cooked noodles

1 kilo / 2 lb chicken breast - cut into chunks/strips

1 medium onion

1/2 teaspoon chilli flakes/powder

BBQ sauce

honey

1/2 yello sweet pepper

1 tbsp sesame seeds 

coriander to garnish (optional)

• start by dicing your onion, then fry till golden brown on a medium heat in a heavy based pan or wok, when the onions have browed, add your chicken and cook till browned and no pinkness remains.
• add the chilli flakes and pepper. Sprinkle in a pinch of salt, lower the heat and stirring occasionally,  cook till the  pepper has cooked but still has a slight crunch. (soggy peppers for me are a no )
• add a good squirt of honey and BBQ sauce of your preference. Keeping on a low heat, add in the noodles, stir through.
• at this point I normally do a taste test to see if I want to add more honey, sauce or chilli flakes.
• finally sprinkle over the sesame seeds and coriander & serve