MIKE'S CRISPY RAMEN CHICKEN AND FRIES

Well, this is a quirky way to use up those instant noodles drying up at the back of your cupboard! Use some to coat and fry some juicy chicken and turn the rest into fries! Then drizzle the whole lot in a banging coconut curry sauce.

Ingredients

2 large chicken breasts

2 tbsp light soy sauce

3 tbsp Sriracha sauce

100 g instant ramen noodles

1 large egg

2 tbsp peanut butter

1 brown onion

2 cloves garlic

2 green chillies

10 g galangal

1 lemongrass stalk

1 tbsp vegetable oil

200 ml coconut milk

1 tbsp fish sauce

1 tbsp soft light brown sugar

100 g plain flour

2 large eggs

100 g instant ramen noodles

2 tsp Thai 7 spice

300 ml vegetable oil for frying

Method

Put a medium saucepan of water over a high heat, cover it with a lid and bring it to a boil. Season the water with salt.
Roll a sheet of Cling Film out over a chopping board and place your chicken breasts onto it. Roll another sheet of Cling Film over the top and use a rolling pin to bash the breasts out to about 1cm thick slabs.
Combine the soy sauce and Sriracha in a mixing bowl then add the chicken breasts. Coat them and leave to marinate as you carry on with the recipe.
Tip 100g of noodles in the boiling salted water for 1-2 minutes, or according to packet instructions. Drain and leave to cool for a few minutes.
Crack 1 egg into a mixing bowl, add the peanut butter and beat them together. Toss in the noodles and coat them in the egg. Tip them out onto a sheet of tin foil and wrap them up into a thin rectangle, using the foil to create a 'container'. Transfer the package to the freezer for 20 minutes, until it sets up enough to be cut into chips.
Return the chips to the freezer until you need them.
Peel and roughly chop the onion and garlic. Trim the chillies, peel the galangal and bash, then roughly chop the lemongrass. Add the onion, garlic, chillies, galangal and lemongrass to mini food processor and blitz to a smooth paste.
Put a medium saucepan over a medium heat, add the oil, then add the paste. Fry for 2-3 minutes until fragrant. Pour in the coconut milk then add the fish sauce and sugar. Simmer for 20 minutes, until it's reduced to a thick sauce.
Grab 3 mixing bowls. Tip the flour into a bowl and beat the eggs in another bowl. Season them with a little salt and pepper. Crumble the remaining 100g of ramen noodles into the final bowl and season them with the ramen seasoning.
Coat the marinated chicken breasts in the flour and shake off any excess. Transfer them to the eggs and coat them, letting any excess drip off again. Finally, coat in the noodle crumb - the more on there, the better!
Pour the oil into a deep frying pan so that it comes about 2cm up the sides (make sure it's maximum 1/2 way up the sides of the pan). Put it over a high heat and bring it to 180oC. Add the ramen fries and fry for 3-4 minutes, turning if necessary, until they're a golden brown all over. Remove them and transfer to a plate lined with kitchen towel. Season with salt and Thai 7 spice while they're still hot!
Keep the pan over a high heat and carefully add the coated chicken. Fry until golden brown on the bottom, then carefully flip and repeat on the other side. Transfer the fries to your serving plates and your cooked chicken to the plate lined with kitchen towel, then to your serving plates.
Drizzle over a generous amount of curry sauce and serve!