Patrick has been working on a theory that the fewer utensils you use to eat a meal, the tastier it’s likely to be. Think about it - everything you eat with only a fork is usually delicious. Dispense with cutlery entirely to use your fingers and suddenly you’re in taste bud paradise. That was the thinking behind this Japanese favourite. The first person to finish has to shout “Banzaaaiiii”!
Boxes and ingredients are packed in facilities that handles Peanut, Nuts, Sesame, Fish, Crustaceans, Milk, Egg, Mustard, Celery, Soya, Gluten and Sulphites. Due to the war in Ukraine, it has been necessary to substitute sunflower oil with rapeseed oil in some products without a label change. The FSA have advised that allergic reactions to rapeseed oil are rare.
1.5
Spring Onion
1
Green Beans
1
Red Onion
1
Garlic Clove
3
British Chicken Thighs
1
Chinese Rice Vinegar
(Contains Sulphites)
1
Soy Sauce
(Contains Cereals containing gluten, Soya)
½
Lime
2
Sweet Chilli Sauce
1
Fish Sauce
(Contains Fish)
1
Plain Flour
(Contains Cereals containing gluten)
2
Egg Noodle Nest
(Contains Egg, Cereals containing gluten)
4
Skewers
Slice the spring onions into thin discs, separating the white and the green parts. Cut the very top and bottom off the green beans (i.e. ‘top and tail’ them). Peel the red onion, slice lengthways through the root and thinly slice. Peel and finely dice the garlic and chop the chicken into small bite-sized pieces.
Mix the garlic, chicken, rice vinegar and soy sauce in a bowl. Put the bowl in the fridge for 10 mins. Meanwhile, soak your wooden skewers in water (to stop them burning later). Boil a pot of water for your noodles with 1/4 tsp of salt.
Roll the lime firmly back and forwards on a chopping board under your hand. Tip: Rolling the lime will make it easier to juice. Cut the lime in half and squeeze out all the juice into a bowl. Mix the lime juice with the sweet chilli sauce and fish sauce.
Mix the red onion with the flour and a pinch of salt and pepper in a bowl. Heat 1 tbsp of oil on high heat in a non-stick pan. Fry off the onion in small batches until completely crispy and brown. Keep to the side (preferably on kitchen towel).
Cook the noodles for around 4 mins (the amount of nests you cook depends on how hungry you are!) or until ‘al dente’. Tip: ‘Al dente’ means they are cooked through but are slightly firm in the middle. Drain the noodles but keep back 2 tbsp of the noodle water. Put the noodles back in the pot and cover with cold water for later.
Pre-heat your grill to high. Thread the chicken pieces onto the skewers. Put them under the grill on the top shelf. Cook for around 10 mins, turning occasionally, until browned off on all sides.
Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a non-stick pan on high heat. Cook the whites of the spring onion for 30 seconds, add the green beans and cook for 3 mins. Drain the noodles and add to the pan.
Add the sweet and sour lime juice mixture and the reserved noodle water. Toss ingredients together and continue to cook for a minute. Serve the noodles into warm bowls and top with the chicken skewers. Sprinkle over the green part of the spring onions and the crispy red onion.