Lately I have really been in the mood for a big bowl of noodles full of vegetables so I am off to the kitchen to cook this up for lunch…..
Before, I start, a little info on Sambal Oelek….. “Sambal is a hot sauce typically made from a mixture of variety of chili peppers with secondary ingredients such as shrimp paste, fish sauce, garlic, ginger, shallot, scallion, palm sugar, lime juice, and rice vinegar or other vinegars.”
The red pepper flakes and ginger add a little spice that goes a long way for flavour. These noodles are not soupy as the broth will boil off and the rice noodles will soak them up. Just thinking about this dish is making my mouth water!
What You Need:
- -2 leg quarters of bone-in chicken
- -1 TBSP light brown sugar
- -1 TBSP rice vinegar plus 1 TBSP water
- -2 radish, thinly sliced
- -½ cup vinegar
- -1 TBSP sea salt
- -1/2 pound dried rice noodles
- -3 tablespoons vegetable oil
- -2 cloves garlic, minced
- -4 cups Bok Choy, chopped
- -1 TBSP soy sauce
- -1 TBSP fish sauce
- -1 TBSP Sambal Oelek
- -1 cup bean sprouts, rinsed and drained
- -3 spring onions, sliced
- -½ cup roasted peanuts
- -4 TBSP tablespoons cilantro leaves (optional)
- -1 lime, cut into small wedges
Let’s Get Cooking:
- Place chicken in a bowl, add the sugar and rice vinegar mixture and toss to coat. Heat oven to 175 degrees and bake. Chicken thighs should be baked for 40 to 50 minutes, though time may vary depending on how many chicken thighs are in the oven. The juices run clear when the chicken is done.
- Add the radishes to the sea salt and vinegar inside a glass jar or bowl. Cover and allow pickling for 30 minutes.
- Before the chicken has completed baking, soak the rice noodles in very warm water for 10 minutes.
- When the chicken is 10 minutes from being done, place a large skillet over high heat. Add about 1 1/2 tablespoons of the oil to the pan. When the oil is hot but not smoking, add the garlic and stir-fry briefly just until it begins to change colour, about 15 seconds. Add the bok choy and cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Press the vegetables to the side of the pan and add the remaining oil to the skillet. Toss in the drained rice noodles, soy sauce, fish sauce and Sambal Oelek. (Note: this can be found in most grocery’s Asian food aisle and is simply chilies to give a dish heat without altering the flavours in the dish like using Sriracha, its chili sauce cousin). Briefly stir fry for one minute or less to combine the noodles and vegetables.
- In a shallow serving bowl, plate a serving of noodles. Top with bean sprouts, scallions, roasted peanuts, cilantro leaves and pickled radish. Squeeze a lime wedge over the entire mixture and serve with a piece of chicken. Serves 4.
As Always, Happy Cooking & Let me Know How You Get On….
rossbkitchen.com 