Diana Henry's Chiang Mai Chicken Noodles

Tonight's dinner was superb thanks to Diana Henry and her book Food From Plenty. I first viewed this book at TK Maxx several months back and for some reason, did not immediately snap it up. I saw it again a few months later and read the reviews on Amazon and decided that I must have it - I did go back to TK Maxx and got it cheaper than it was available on Amazon (this is, however, generally not the case)

So I made the Chiang Mai Chicken Noodles recipe:

CHIANG MAI CHICKEN NOODLES

A great change from Thai chicken curry, which I seem to make rather a lot.
You can also make this with leftover pork.

Serves 4
For the noodles
Groundnut oil
1 onion, sliced into crescent moon shapes, or 6 shallots, sliced
4 garlic cloves, sliced
1 tsp ground turmeric
2 tbsp red Thai curry paste
400ml can coconut milk
200ml chicken stock
350g leftover cooked chicken, in chunks
1⁄2 tsp soft light brown sugar, or to taste
2 tsp fish sauce, or to taste
Juice of 1⁄2 lime, or to taste
400g egg noodles

To serve
2 spring onions, chopped on the diagonal
1 red chilli, halved, deseeded and shredded
2 tbsp chopped coriander
Wedges of lime

• Put 1 tbsp of the oil into a saucepan and sauté the onion or shallots until golden. Add the garlic and cook for 2 minutes, then add the turmeric and curry paste. Stir for 1 minute until the spices become fragrant. Add the coconut milk and stock and bring to a simmer. Cook for 15 minutes. Add the chicken and heat through thoroughly. Season with the sugar and fish sauce and adjust it to your taste; you may want lime or more sugar.

• Cook the noodles according to the packet instructions. Divide them between four bowls, spoon over the chicken curry and sprinkle over the spring onions, chilli and coriander. Offer wedges of lime to serve.

My notes: I used olive oil as I do not keep groundnut (peanut oil) in my kitchen. I had 2 organic chicken leg/thigh portions and removed the skin and simmered them with an onion, a celery base and bay leaves (all organic naturally) - after several hours I removed the meat from the bones and chopped into large chunks and reserved enough stock for the recipe. I did not have thai curry paste so instead used my standard Patak's Mild Curry Paste. A note on coconut milk - do read the ingredients, you will be amazed at all the crap that can be put into some products - I have to go to the middle eastern market to get a can of coconut milk that does not have anything other than coconut and water in it (Heera is the brand). I cannot find additive free coconut milk from tescos or morrisons!! I don't have fish sauce as I don't use it often and have read that it will not last indefinitely - so i mash up an anchovy and add soy sauce instead (i do use kikkoman soy sauce and although not organic, it is additive free). I am ashamed to admit that I have a bottle of lime concentrate in the frig as i rarely use limes and did not plan to make this when i did - you could i am sure forgo the lime juice and perhaps i will next time. For the noodles i used clearspring organic udon noodles - i certainly did not use 400 gm worth and it was too much - i used 2.5 wrapped bundles.

To serve I cooked up a steamed serving of freshly collected sea beet and mixed with the main dish and also added fresh coriander, sliced green onion, clearspring sweet white miso, alfalfa sprouts, fried chicken skin (i adhere to sally fallon nourishing traditions and that fats are good for you - must be organic and must not be to excess - i fried the skin from the chicken in a pan and will save the fat for cooking - it is better than a lot of oils) and chopped up the crispy chicken skin and put over the bowl of noodles etc. Finally, I put a large spoonful of my home made sauerkraut which of course is alive!!

Sea Beet - ancestor of modern spinach - superb!!