Jamie Magazine
By Jamie Oliver
1 hr 20 mins
Not Too Tricky
serves 6
About the recipe
This recipe is all about control – let the chicken stick to the pan at the start of the cooking so it develops a barbecue vibe, then stop the process by adding the liquid and letting it cook through to get soft and lovely.
Recipe From
Ingredients
4 free-range chicken thighs, skin on, bone in
2 teaspoons Chinese five-spice powder
olive oil
1 fresh red chilli
3cm piece of ginger
1 bunch of spring onions
4 cloves of garlic
2 tablespoons runny honey
6 ripe plums
8 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
2 tablespoons low-salt soy sauce
sesame oil
300g free-range medium egg noodles
200g sugar-snap peas or mangetout
125g baby spinach
1 jasmine tea bag
¼ of a bunch of fresh mixed soft herbs
1 lime
Method
- Put the chicken and five-spice in a large bowl, drizzle with olive oil and toss together.
- Heat a drizzle of olive oil in a large pan over a medium heat, then add the chicken, skin-side down and cook for 5 minutes, then throw in the whole chilli.
- Peel and add the ginger, trim and add 4 spring onions, along with the unpeeled garlic cloves. Drizzle over the honey and fry until dark, golden and sticky.
- When it’s all looking good, add the whole plums, vinegar, soy and a little sesame oil to stop everything from sticking. Put the lid on, reduce the heat and let it cook slowly for 20 to 30 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through and tender.
- Remove the lid and allow the liquid to reduce and get sticky, then transfer everything to a board. Let it all cool a little, then shred the chicken and return it to the pan, discarding the bones.
- On a board, chop up the plums and garlic (discarding the stones and skin), the chilli and remaining spring onions, mixing to create a kind of hot chopped salad. Discard the ginger, then scrape it all back into the pan with the chicken.
- Place the noodles, sugar-snap peas or mangetout, spinach and tea bag in a pan and cover with boiling water. Bring to the boil and simmer for 3 minutes, then discard the tea bag.
- Use a slotted spoon to transfer the noodles and veg to the pan with the chicken. Use a little cooking liquid to loosen the sauce, then toss it all together.
- Pick and roughly chop the herbs, then sprinkle on top. Serve with wedges of lime for squeezing over.
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