I got this recipe watching a Jamie Oliver video on YouTube. It looked yummy and quite simple to make so we made it last night for dinner while James was visiting from Portland. I pretty well followed Jamie’s recipe, but I added some sliced red pepper for added color and crunch. I got a bit carried away with the black bean sauce, which is salty, so watch out for that, it made the chicken a little too salty. But the noodles and broccoli were perfect. I cut back on the amount of black bean sauce I used in the following recipe, so if you follow the recipe you should be good. By the way, we were able to find the baby broccoli at Trader Joe’s. Black bean sauce can be found at any good Asian market and many supermarkets are now offering well-stocked Asian food sections. This recipe serves 2 people.
Chicken Noodle with Baby Broccoli Stir-fry.
Ingredients:
1 boneless skinless chicken breast
1/4 cup unsalted peanuts
2 tablespoons black bean sauce, divided
1/2 pound egg noodles
1/2 pound baby broccoli, ends trimmed and sliced into bite-sized pieces
1 tablespoon olive oil, plus more for dressing
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1/2 red bell pepper, sliced 1/4″ thick optional
Method:
1. Score the chicken lengthwise at 1/2 inch intervals, going about halfway through. In a large plastic bag, add chicken, 1 Tablespoon black bean sauce, olive oil and vinegar. Close bag and massage the bean sauce into the chicken.
2. In a large sauce pan over medium heat toast the peanuts until golden brown. Let them cool and place 1/2 of the nuts into a mortar and grind them to a coarse powder. Set aside.
3. In the same pan, over high heat, cook the chicken about 3 minutes on each side. Set aside and keep warm.
4. Cook the noodles in a large pot of boiling salted water. 2 minutes before the noodles are done add the broccoli.
5. Lift out the noodles along with the broccoli and some of the pasta water into the pan. Add the remaining bean sauce, the crushed peanuts and red pepper if using and toss to combine.
6. Serve in bowls, topped with remaining peanuts and drizzled with additional olive oil.
