- Serves 2 to 3 - Ready in 30 minutes -
Gather together…
4 metal skewers (optional).
500g raw chicken fillet, sliced into approx. 12 pieces.
2 tbsp low-salt soy sauce.
¼ tsp chilli flakes.
2 tsp light brown sugar (or any type of brown sugar is fine).
1 ripe, room-temperature papaya OR ripe mango, peeled, de-seeded / de-stoned and cut into 12 pieces (1/4 it then cut each quarter into 3). If the fruit is a bit unripe, microwave it (whole) for a minute or two, to soften it.
150g dried wholewheat noodles.
2 big handfuls of watercress (or baby spinach leaves), roughly chopped up with scissors.
Serve with… (as a dressing)
3 tbsp palm-oil-free peanut butter (crunchy or smooth).
1 lime - juice and zest.
1 tsp sesame oil (optional).
1 small handful Coriander, chopped. (Chop and freeze the rest of the bunch).
1 small handful Basil leaves, chopped. (I grow / buy herbs in bulk and then chop and freeze them, so they are ready to use quickly in recipes).
Get cooking…
1. Pre-heat the oven to 190 C (170 C fan) or gas mark 4.
2. In a bowl, marinate the 500g of chicken pieces in the 2 tbsp soy sauce, the 1/4 tsp flakes and the 2 tsp sugar, for 5 minutes.
3. Meanwhile prepare the papaya / mango (peel, de-seed and chop into 12 pieces, by quartering it and then cutting each quarter into three).
4. Thread the marinated chicken pieces and the fruit chunks, alternately, onto metal skewers and put on a large baking tray. (Or, if you have no metal skewers, just lay the chicken pieces and papaya pieces directly on the baking tray). Drizzle over any leftover marinade.
5. Cook for 20 minutes, turning halfway through the cooking time, until the chicken is cooked through and has caramelised on all sides.
6. Boil a full kettle of water.
7. Meanwhile use a fork to whisk together the dressing ingredients (3 tbsp peanut butter, lime zest and juice from 1 lime, 1 tsp sesame oil, plus the handful each of Coriander and Basil) in a jug with 5 tbsp kettle-hot water. Stir well. Set aside.
8. When there is only 10 minutes of oven-cooking time left, put the 150g of dried noodles in a large pan (with enough room to add the watercress to later) and cover them with boiling water. Heat and then simmer the noodles for 5 minutes.
9. Add the 2 big handfuls of chopped watercress to the noodles and hot water, stir and leave to sit in heating water for 1 more minute so the watercress wilts a bit.
10. Drain the noodles/watercress and put them back into the big pan on the hob. Add the dressing and stir well whilst the dressing heats through on the hob, or it will stick to the pan.
11. Share the dressing-covered noodles/watercress between the plates then lay the papaya / mango and chicken skewers on top to serve.
12. Pour a jug of water onto the baking tray to soak whilst you are eating - it will make washing-up much easier afterwards!
Adapted from a Tesco Real Food recipe (the obscure ingredients -fish sauce and coriander seeds - are removed and it is less spicy as the fresh chilli has been replaced with chilli flakes. The grilling has been changed to oven-cooking, as it is less likely to burn if you get distracted during the cooking.)