Paul Rankin's Chicken Sautéed with Thai Spices and a Crispy Noodle Cake

Paul Rankin’s Chicken Sautéed with Thai Spices and a Crispy Noodle Cake

Paul Rankin's chicken dish is a real crowd pleaser and is packed with fresh and fragrant flavours including galangal, lime leaves, coconut milk, chillies, fish sauce and coriander! A great dinner party dish!

James Martin's Saturday Morning | Poultry

Ingredients

1 whole chicken, (1 ½ – 2 kg.), cut into 10 serving pieces
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
Salt and pepper
250 ml chicken stock
6 lime leaves
2 inch piece fresh galangal (or 1 tablespoon dried galangal pieces)
200 ml coconut milk
2 small serrano chillies, sliced
2 tablespoon fish sauce
1/2 teaspoon cracked black pepper
150 ml whipping cream
2 tablespoons fresh coriander, chopped
1- 2 tablespoons lime juice

To garnish:

Stir fried slices red pepper
Sauteed shittake mushrooms
Lightly cooked Chinese greens, (Bok choy, Gai lin, etc.)

For the crispy noodle cake:

225g thin Chinese egg noodles, dried or fresh
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
2 tablespoon soy sauce
2 tablespoon vegetable oil

Method

Print Recipe

Season the chicken pieces with salt and pepper. In a large casserole or sautépan, brown the chicken pieces in the butter and oil over moderately high heat.

When the chicken is nicely browned, cover and turn the heat down. Cook for about 25 – 30 minutes, turning the pieces occasionally. (This can also be done ina moderate oven (180C).

Meanwhile, infuse the chicken stock with the galangal and lime leaves for 10 minutes.

When the chicken is cooked, remove to a warm plate, and pour off the fat from the casserole. Deglaze the casserole with the chicken stock infused with the galangal and lime leaves. Reduce the stock by half by boiling vigorously then add the coconut milk, fish sauce, chillies, black pepper, and cream.

Boil until the sauce has thickened slightly, and then add the chicken pieces back to the casserole with the sauce. Finish with the fresh coriander and lime juice, followed by the garnish of peppers and mushrooms. Serve with some Chinese greens, and the crispy noodle pancake.

To make the crispy noodle pancake

First cook the noodles for about a minute or until softened, then refresh in plenty of cold water. Drain thoroughly in a colander, patting them dry with a paper towel.

Season with the sesame oil and soy sauce then toss well. Heat some vegetable

oil in a medium sized saute pan. When the oil is hot add a generous amount of noodles pressing them down into the pan with a spatula to form a cake about 1½ cms thick. Cook until golden brown on the bottom, which should take about 4- 5 minutes. Adjust the heat so that they sizzle without scorching.

Flip the cake over, and brown the second side, using a bit more oil so that it sizzles around the edges. When golden brown, slip the cake into 2 – 3 layers of paper towel and allow it to drain for a few minutes.

(Note, these noodle cakes can be made in advance and reheated in a moderate oven 180C)