A few days ago I ordered a pack of udon noodles from Amazon on a whim. I love trying different kinds of noodles as long as they’re not a pain to cook. I’d seen several udon noodle recipes but almost all of them were made with fresh udon noodles. Fresh ones are much plumper, thicker and whiter than their dried counterparts. They looked like they could soak up any sauce in seconds. The dried ones though didn’t disappoint. I absolutely loved them. They’re thicker, flatter and chewier than regular noodles. And tasted fantastic with the chicken I made.
Don’t be alarmed by the ‘caramel’ in the chicken. Yes, there’s a fair amount of sugar for the caramel but it is balanced with the right amount of acidity, saltiness and chilli heat. But you do need that kind of sugar for the caramel like effect and the texture of the sauce. It cooks in a very short time and can be had with regular noodles, udon kind or even plain steamed rice.
The sauce
Prep time:
10 mins
Cooking time:
20 mins give or take
Ingredients:
Chicken – 250-300 gm boneless cut into small pieces
Cooking oil – 1 tbsp
Fresh red chilli – 1 sliced
Sauce:
Brown sugar (ideal) or regular sugar – 1/4 cup
Rice wine vinegar or regular vinegar or lemon juice – 2 tbsp
Chilli garlic paste – 2 tbsp (preferably homemade)
Garlic – 3 cloves grated or finely chopped
Ginger – a small knob grated or finely chopped
Soy sauce – 2 tsp
Fish sauce – 1 tbsp (optional)
Method:
Whisk together all the ingredients for the sauce. Use 1/3 of it and marinate the chicken for about an hour.
Heat the oil in a nonstick pan. Place the marinated chicken pieces in the oil and let them brown on both sides. It should take around 2-3 mins on each side. By this time they’re almost cooked.
Now add the sauce mixture and the chilli into the chicken. Give it a good stir.
Let it come a boil and then simmer on low heat for 5 – 7 mins or till the chicken has cooked through.
Cook the noodles of your choice, or as my case, udon noodles as per instructions on the package and toss them into the chicken. Mix well and serve.
Garnish with spring onions.
