Monday
29 November 2010
TERIYAKI CHICKEN
WITH STIR-FRIED NOODLES
If you want to avoid the wrath of
the Japanese, then make these two dishes separately,
and serve the stir-fry in a bowl and the chicken
on the side.
The first time I made it, I combined
the two in one dish.
It was delicious, but I kept having visions of Samurai
warriors intent on chopping my head off.
But that could also be because I
did not have teriyaki sauce, or mirin or brown sugar
to properly make my own, so I used white wine and
added some honey!
Although a combination
of two authentic Japanese meals, these two work
deliciously well together as a meal.
Teriyaki is a combination of two
words ‘teri’ means ‘’lustre’
and ‘yaki’ means ‘grilled’.
Teriyaki sauce is what gives the meat or seafood
that shiny look.
If you
want to make your own teriyaki sauce, you
will need mirin, a sweet Japanese rice wine.
But white wine and brown sugar mixed works.
Just don’t let the Samurai catch you
doing it this way.
Alternatively, most supermarkets sell bottled
teriyaki sauce. |
|
To make your own teriyaki sauce,
simply mix one cup of mirin with one cup of light
soya sauce, add three heaped teaspoons of brown
sugar and bring to a boil. Let it simmer for a few
minutes and then allow to cool.
THE
CHICKEN
About 500g of deboned chicken, you can use breasts
or thighs. You can even use wings on the bone. In
fact you can probably use any part of a chicken.
Or a duck even. Ostrich?
Cut chicken into bite sized chunks
or strips and marinate in half-a-cup of teriyaki
sauce for at least an hour. The longer the better.
In a heavy-based frying pan or wok,
add about 2-3 tablespoons of canola oil and fry the
chicken on a medium heat until done. (About 10 minutes)
Remove chicken with any left over sauce from pan and
set aside.
THE
VEGGIES
You can use just about any combination.
Red bell peppers, green beans, carrots, onion, mushroom
and bean sprouts work well, but hey, improvise.
Heat about 3 tablespoons of oil
in the same pan as you did the chicken.
Add a heaped teaspoon of freshly crushed garlic
and the sliced/chopped onion.
Stir-fry on high heat for about two minutes, then
add the rest of the veggies and two teaspoons of
oyster sauce and stir-fry until veggies are done.
About 5 minutes.
Remove from pan and set asise.
THE
NOODLES
We are supposed to use Japanese Udon or Chinese
Lo-Mien noodles, but from Athlone to Brooklyn they
only sell the Fattis & Monis variety so linguini
or spaghetti works just fine if you break it into
short pieces before cooking.
Boil the noodles for about 3 minutes
if you are using the real thing. For the Fattis
& Monis version boil for 8 minutes.
Drain noodles in a colander and run cold water over
it to stop it from cooking any further.
Now, at the risk of evoking the
wrath of the Sanurai, add 3 tablespoons of oil,
a third of a cup of teriyaki sauce and a teaspoon
of oyster sauce to the pan.
When it starts to boil, reduce the heat to medium
and add a third of the cooked noodles.
Stir regularly until the sauce is absorbed. (About
3 minutes) Remove from pan and set aside.
Continue stir-frying the rest of the noodles in
two batches, adding more oil, teriyaki and oyster
sauce as required. (Not too much oil!)
Mix noodles and veggies in a bowl,
adding salt, pepper and soya sauce to taste.
Sprinkle some sesame seeds over chicken and serve
on a bed of stir-fried noodles.
