Thursday, February 2, 2012

Sesame Rice Noodles with Honey-Soy Drizzle and Chicken

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Where has time gone?

No worries, this is no whimsical post about the finiteness of life.
I mean, seriously? Where did the last weeks go? Christmas, New Years, BAM! Exam time.
It has just been a bit too busy to really catch up. Does anybody else get that feeling sometimes that it is all just an endless stream of overlapping tasks, appointments and work? One little unforeseen bump in the road and the little car that is trying to bring me from A to B is up sh*t creek without a paddle (pardon my French).

Alright whiny little boy, it is time to get yourself together again.

Sesame Rice Noodles with Honey-Soy Drizzle and Chicken

Anyways. When times get tough, the tough get going (and I throw around idioms like they are on sale). And when it comes to cooking, I tend to rely on semi self-made (there may be something in that direction coming up in near future), unmentionworthy or quick and simple. This one is in the last category.

While it certainly is inspired by asian/oriental cuisine, it is by all means no authentic dish but that does not mean that it isn't delicious. Because it is. And quick. In fact, if you leave out the chicken, it can all be prepared in about 30 minutes! I know, the instructions seem a little lengthy but that is only because of all the little steps and preparations that need to be done.

Roasted sesame seeds may become one of my favourite ingredients. Like almonds, they are kinda meh when raw but once you give these bad boys some toasty action they just boast of deep flavour that complements perfectly the salty-sweet drizzle.

Sesame Rice Noodles with Honey-Soy Drizzle and Chicken


Sesame Rice Noodles with Honey-Soy Drizzle and Chicken

  • 5 tblsp. water
  • 5 tblsp. black soy sauce (also called dark thick soy sauce)
  • 1 tblsp. brown sugar
  • 2 tblsp. honey
  • 1/2 ts chili flakes (the amount of heat the chili flakes are providing heavily depends on the kind you are using.)

  • 400g (about 14 oz.) rice vermicelli (Bún tươi)

    • 2 big carrots
    • 150g (5.3 oz.) mung bean sprouts, washed and drained
    • A dash of lime or lemon juice

      • 1 chicken fillet (or to taste, customise amount of marinade accordingly.)
      • 3 tblsp. thin soy sauce (the ordinary kind)
      • 1 tblsp. oyster sauce

        • 3 tblsps. sesame seeds
        • thinly cut scallion for garnish (Highly optional. Frankly, I just put some on top because it adds some colour.)

          • More soy sauce and honey for cooking as well as a bit of oil (I use either light sesame or rapeseed oil)

          Before the actual cooking:

          1. In a large heat proof bowl, soak vermicelli in boiling water. The good thing about rice noodles is that most of them do not need to be boiled, making the whole process a lot quicker. From my experience, even the ones asking to be boiled do not have to as long as you soak them long enough. That is why this is the very first step. When your are not sure, try one before using in cooking process.
          2. Slice chicken fillet as thin as possible. Set aside, letting it marinade in 3 tablespoons of soy sauce and  1 tablespoon of oyster sauce.
          3. Cut carrots diagonally, slice them in about 5mm thin sticks. Add dash of lime juice, stir until all sticks are covered. Set Aside.

          For the drizzle:

          1. In a small pot, combine all ingredients for the drizzle and cook on medium heat until big bubbles develop, stirring occasionally. To check whether it is done. Drop a bit of the drizzle on a plate. If it thickens at becomes syrupy when it cools down, it is good to go.
          2. In the meantime, put a small pot on high heat. Pour in sesame seeds, stirring them continuously. Once the seeds starten to brown, instantly remove from heat. Remain in pot but keep stirring until pot cooled down a little and the roasting process stopped. Set aside.
          Main Part:

          1. Heat up either a pan or a wok to medium heat. Put in carrot sticks, add another shot of black soy sauce. With a wooden spoon, stir continuously until all liquid has evaporated and carrots are heated through well (the carrots will be cooked but still on the crunchy side. If you want them to be softer in texture, add a bit of water in the process so they cook longer). Remove from pan and set aside.
          2. Add chicken along with the marinade to pan/wok, stirring continuously. Make sure that it does not brown at all. The moment they are done (it will not take too long and is easy to see as it is sliced so thin), remove from heat and set aside.
          3. Add a bit of oil to pan, strain noodles and pour them in.
          4. Add about 2-3 dashes of black soy sauce to the vermicelli, as well as another tablespoon of honey (the amount of soy sauce depends on how salty you like it. Remember that the drizzle will give the majority of flavour. 2-3 dashes will not make it too salty but will add a nice and deep colour).
          5. Add 2 of the 3 tablespoons of sesame seeds as well as the carrots. Turn of heat and carefully fold in mungo bean sprouts.
          6. Put servings on plate or into a bowl, lay slices of chicken on top.
          7. Drizzle with the sauce and garnish with remaining sesame seeds and a bit of scallion.


          Enjoy!


          29 comments:

          1. Welcome back! You are always disappearing on us. You're forgiven because your recipe sounds good and the pictures are beautiful. Ciao!

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          2. Delicious post. The clicks are beautiful and the dish is looking very appetising.

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          3. We enjoy your blog and have awarded you the Liebster Award! We’ve linked to your blog on our site and you can learn more about the award here:
            http://oniongogs.blogspot.com/2012/02/liebster-blog-thank-you.html
            All the best and keep up the great work!
            - The Onion Gogglers

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          4. This looks really lovely...I love noodles and I love ethnic foods!

            Glad to discover your blog through FoodGawker...beautiful photo!

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          5. Weng, dear:
            I KNOW! So sorry. It's beause life is so busy and my intitial aim of posting twice a week turned into my current (actual) aim of once a week and still caves in to posting whenever I have a little bit of time on my hands. I also don't get to cook as often as I would love to (let alone things I'd like to share) and now that the days are so short, it happened more than once that the picture-taking had to be cancelled because it had gotten dark already. :( It will all change soon, I hope.

            easyfoodshmith, well, thank you!

            T-moo, wow. That completely came out of the blue! Thank you SO much! Can't believe it... Doing the happy dance right now! <3

            Charissa,
            Thank you and the pleasure is on my side! I'm happy you discovered my blog, too. ;)

            Cheers,
            Tobias

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          6. God this just looks so scrumptious! I adore roasted sesame seeds and I can only imagine how well they go with dark soy sauce!

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            Replies
            1. Hi Rena!
              Happy to hear we share the love for roasted sesame! :)
              Thanks you for stopping by!

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          7. Your noodles look just splendid. Everything in that dish sounds delicious.

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            Replies
            1. Hi Kristen!
              Thank you for your comment! I am very happy you like the dish.

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          8. Gorgeous photos! This sounds very tasty, too.

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            Replies
            1. Thank you so much, Kaitlin! ;)
              I have so much fun taking the photos and am always trying to improve my photography skills so hearing someline liking the pics means a lot to me!

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          9. I need to pull out my wok! What a gorgeous dish...I need to make a vegetarian version, or I would have to feed it to my family and I am feeling stingy :)
            Beautiful photos as well!

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            Replies
            1. You better do, Magic! ;) Kidding.
              About the vegetarian version: I sometimes just omit the chicken which makes the dish even faster to prepare. As you can see in the list of ingredients, there really is not a lot in here and serves more or less as an extra topping. However, Simple pan-fried tofu stripes marinated in soy sauce and covered in roasted sesame would be my favourite vegetarian (or even vegan in this case) alternative. Thank you for stopping by!
              XOXO

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          10. This looks delicious! Toasting the sesame seeds is a great idea - I bet they are so much better that way. Great photos as well.

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            Replies
            1. Hi Katherine!
              Thank you! And oh yes, they are! It gives them such a flavour boost!

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          11. Ohhh I love how these noodles look! It looks delicious. I love the oyster + soy sauce combo and your honey soy sounds delicious too! It's true, roasted sesame seeds are much better and I only use roasted one for everything. Your noodles make me so hungry especially that closeup shot. YUM!!!

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            Replies
            1. Hi Nami my dear!
              Thank you so much! I always roast them as well. It's a little extra step but makes all the difference, right? :)
              XOXO

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          12. They look amazing!! I can't wait to try it myself

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            Replies
            1. Hi intrepid Baker!
              Thank you! Please let me know how it turned out. ;)

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          13. This looks scrumpy! I love that pair of chopsticks too.

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            Replies
            1. Hi Angie!
              Haha, those chopsticks sure are pretty, right?
              Truth be told, I got them insanely cheap from an Asian market in a 5-pack and they are my favourite ones to use ever since. ;))

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          14. I'm hungry!! Thanks for this!

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          15. Hi,
            First time hear, Magic of Spice from The Ardent Epicure introduced me to your blog. I am loving what I've read and seen. Your photos and recipes are fantastic. Glad to have stopped by and will be back soon!

            ReplyDelete
            Replies
            1. Hi Spicie Foodie!
              Very happy to hear you like my blog!

              Delete
          16. Sounds delicious. I just bought a dark soy sauce this weekend - it is a sweet soy sauce though, but will give it a shot with this recipe anyway!

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            Replies
            1. I'm certain in will work great with the sweeter kind as well! :)
              What I love about dark soy sauce it that it can have a deep almost licorice or molasses kind of flavour.

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          17. This looks so tasty - fantastic flavors going on here! And gorgeous photos, I love these! :)

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          18. It looks really amazing!! I have to try it!! Thanks for sharing :-)
            sesame seeds
            fennel seeds

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          19. Appears to be delightful. I just purchased a black soy marinade this few days - it is a lovely soy marinade though, but will try it out with this formula anyway!cheapest runescape gold
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            ReplyDelete

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