When it comes to pleasing the kids, I will say go with 'noodles'! I am yet to come across a kid who doesn't like noodles! My kids, although quite grown up now, still will vote for noodles any day :)
When my son was little, 'Maggie' noodles used to be his favourite meal! And even now whenever I ask him what he would like for dinner, he immediately responds with a twinkle in his eye 'Noodles'! I never liked feeding him those Maggi noodles and whenever I did, I added a ton of vegetables to them! He didn't complain and slurped them away merrily!
I do the same even now however, I get different kinds of noodles for variety. Despite my kids not being sensitive to gluten, I regularly get rice noodles as they are healthy and delicious. This particular Chicken and noodle recipe is made using Vietnamese rice noodles that I found at our Asian supermarket. You can use any variety of rice noodles. I cook the chicken separately and then add the chicken stock to the noodles to get a really yummy noodle dish! Slurp! Slurp!
This is a really healthy meal with high nutritional value, since it has vegetables, protein and starch all combined in the same dish! Do give it a try!
Ingredients
300 grams pack of Vietnamese Rice noodles (or any rice noodles)
1/2 kg chicken thigh pieces
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 tbsp fresh ginger chopped
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
4-6 whole black peppercorns
2 cups water
2 tbsp olive oil/ sesame oil
1 tsp fresh ginger, chopped fine
1 tsp garlic, chopped
1 green serrano chilli, chopped very fine (optional)
1 cup cauliflower florets
1 cup broccoli florets
1 cup cabbage shredded
1/2 cup green beans, cut french style
1/2 cup carrots, sliced thin about 1 inch long
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 tbsp white pepper
1 - 2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp red chilli flakes (optional)
2 tbsp soy sauce (or as needed)
1/2 cup spring onions(scallions), chopped fine
Fill a large cooking pot about 3/4 th with water and bring to boil. Then add the noodles to this and cook for about 3-4 mins (Follow exact timing based upon directions on package). Drain the noodles and wash them in cold water. Again drain by placing on a strainer and set aside. If the noodles seem too long, cut them into a manageable length using kitchen scissors.
In a cooking pot, add the chicken pieces along with the salt, ginger, ground black pepper, whole pepper corns and water. Let come to boil and then simmer covered (with lid slightly ajar) for 10-12 mins until the chicken is well-cooked and soft. Turn heat off and keep aside to cool. When cooled, get the chicken pieces out and shred them using your hands. Keep them aside. Take the chicken stock and strain it to remove the ginger and peppercorns. Reserve the stock.
Heat a large wok or kadai. Once hot, add the oil, the ginger, garlic and serrano chillies (if adding). Turn the heat to medium and stir fry for 30 secs. Then add all the vegetables and the salt, white pepper, black pepper and chilli flakes (if adding). Stir everything well and then cover with a lid and cook on low heat for 3-4 mins until the vegetables are cooked but still crispy. Finally, add the noodles and the shredded chicken and the soy sauce. Add the reserved chicken stock too and mix everything well. Let the stock come to a boil and add the spring onions and then turn heat off.
Serve these delicious noodles hot!
Tip: You can add any variety of vegetables to this dish - for instance mushrooms, capsicum etc.
Indira Shyju is a healthy food blogger who blogs at 'Indu's International Kitchen'. Originally a pharmacist, she turned to food to control her severe and painful Rheumatoid Arthritis. She is now studying Nutritional Therapy and hopes to help other people suffering from autoimmune and other chronic diseases maintain a normal, healthy life.
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