Korean crispy Sesame chicken with fried chilli noodles

My take on Sesame chicken – Korean style.

Chicken marinated for 2-3 hours in dark soy sauce and sesame then coated in corn flour just before being deep fried. I used a chicken supreme breast with bone in to give extra juicy flavour, although you could use diced breast, wings, thighs or drumsticks if you wish. Don’t be concerned by the dark colour of the fried chicken, its not overdone, the dark soy colours the crispy corn flour coating.

Noodles are stir fried along with vegetables, ginger, garlic, gochujan (Korean fermented chilli paste) , honey, vinegar and dark soy sauce – they are so tasty they would be a great meal by themselves.

A rich sesame sauce completes the dish, made from Tahini, peanuts, gochujan, dark soy, sesame oil, garlic and vinegar. This is warmed through in a separate sauce pan then poured over the crispy fried chicken.

Serves two people

Preparation 30 minutes (plus 2-3hrs marinating time)

Ingredients

For the fried chicken:

2 chicken breasts, bone in (I used chicken supreme cut- see above notes)

4 desert spoons sesame seeds

2 desert spoons sesame oil

2 desert spoons dark soy sauce

Vegetable oil to deep fry (approx 180०c)

Approx 75g corn flour (enough in a bowl to coat chicken) 

Use a food bag, put all the ingredients in and massage them into the chicken. Tie the bag and marinate in fridge for 2-3 hours or overnight. Remove from fridge at least 20 minutes before cooking to bring chicken to room temperature.

For the stir fried noodles:

1 tablespoon wok oil

6 trimmed broccoli spears

8 trimmed green beans (cut into 3-4cm lengths)

1 carrot (cut into thin matchsticks)

1 red chilli (thinly sliced)

6 baby corn (thinly sliced)

1 red onion (cut into thin strips) 

2 portions of cooked medium thick egg noodles

Handful of peanuts

Thumb of ginger (cut into very fine matchsticks)

2 teaspoon sesame seeds

1 desert spoon gochujan

1 desert spoon honey

1 desert spoon vinegar

2 desert spoons dark soy sauce

4 cloves garlic (crush, finely chop)

Place all of the chopped vegetables in a bowl ready to fry. In a separate bowl make the noodle flavour mixture – mix the ginger, sesame seeds, gochujan, honey, vinegar and garlic. Stir well until combined.

For the sesame sauce:

Get cooking!

You need a wok, pan for deep frying and a small saucepan to heat the sesame sauce.

1. Start by pre heating the oil to around 180०c. Remove the chicken from the bag and roll in the cornflour ensuring the chicken is well coated. Place carefully in the oil and deep fry for 6-8 minutes until chicken turns dark brown and floats in the oil. Remove and sit on a plate with absorbent paper.
2. Add a tablespoon of wok oil to the wok and heat on maximum hob setting until smoking hot. Add the bowl of vegetables and stir fry for 1 minute, keeping hob at maximum setting. Next add the noodle flavour mixture and stir fry for a further minute. Next add the noodles and stir through so the noodles are coated in the sauce. Stir fry for a further minute until piping hot.
3. In a separate saucepan heat the sesame sauce through to the boil, stirring to make sure the sauce does not burn on the pan bottom.
4. Place the noodles on serving plates, place chicken on top then pour the sesame sauce over the chicken.
5. Serve and enjoy!