A favourite

This is one of my favourite recipes - there's quite a bit of preparation involved and that can be a drag mid-week but it's really worth it.  Really.

Chicken in black bean sauce with noodles (Serves 2; 530kcal, 46g protein, 62g carbs, 10g fat, 9g fibre, 3.5 fruit & veg)

• 1 medium onion
• 2 tbsp good soy sauce
• 3-4 fat cloves of garlic
• 1 large red or green chilli pepper
• 25g fermented black beans
• 15ml flavourless oil (groundnut, grapeseed etc.)
• 10g cornflour
• 120g mushrooms
• 2 large chicken breasts
• 1 large piece of ginger (approx 10-15g)
• 1 large green pepper
• 1 Tbsp rice wine/Mirin
• 1 medium carrot
• 84g bundle of Clearspring Noodles, Organic Wheat, Brown Rice
• 100g white cabbage
• 1 vegetable stock cube OR 1 sachet of miso

Measure the cornflour, mirin and one tablespoon of the soy sauce into a dish and mix gently to dissolve the cornflour.  Cube the chicken breast and add to the mixture in a bowl at least 30 minutes before you intend to start cooking.   Stir and turn occasionally to make sure the chicken is well-coated.

Make up the stock/miso with about 200ml water and set aside.  Peel and finely slice the garlic and ginger.  Also finely slice the chilli pepper (leave the seeds in unless you want to keep the fire levels a bit under control in which case de-seed and make sure the white skin/flim on the inside is removed and discarded).

Finely dice the onion.

Finely slice the cabbage and cut the carrot into fine batons - the closer to matchsticks the better.

Slice the mushrooms.

De-seed and slice the peppers (I used yellow ones this time, but green is better).

Finely chop the black beans (a mezza-luna is best for this if you have one).

Prepare and cook the noodles as per the instructions and set aside.

Add oil to a large wok or other round-bottomed non-stick pan and heat.  Add the onions, chilli, garlic and ginger and soften for a few minutes before adding the chicken and marinade into the pan.

Once the chicken is sealed, add the cabbage and carrot and cook for a couple of minutes to soften a little.

Add the peppers.

Add the mushrooms and stock and cook for another minute or two.

Add the black beans and heat through before adding in the cooked noodles. Stir for a few seconds to mix thoroughly and then serve and eat immediately.