Dumpling Sisters — 13-Spiced Crispy Chicken

An irresistibly crunchy treat for Lunar New Year

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The Year of the Pig is almost upon us! Lunar New Year is all about feasting with friends and family. It’s also a good excuse to have some treats. Christmas was ages ago, right? 😉

To mark the occasion, we’ve developed a brand new recipe for Screen to Plate, a meal kit company that delivers everything you need to recreate recipes from YouTubers like us.

Fried chicken feels suitably celebratory, and we reckon that our version served with delightfully slippery udon and naturally sweet baby gem blows Colonel Sanders’ chicken out of the water. A whopping 13 spices, used in three different ways, mingle together to create a flavour that is both complex and warming. You can find 13 spice in Asian supermarkets, it comes in a box as shown in the gallery below.

The other awesome thing about this recipe is that it is fuss free and takes no time to put together: you don’t need to marinate the chicken for ages or deep fry it, and the noodles and veg go in the same pot! Easy peasy!

Happy New Year, everyone ^_^

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To make life *even* easier, this recipe also comes as a Screen To Plate meal kit. Get it on its own or as part of a special, limited edition banqueting box for Chinese New Year. Head over to their website now to choose your boxes and book your deliveries – the banqueting boxes are available until 22 Feb 2019.

Serves
2

Ingredients

For the chicken
250g boneless and skinless chicken thigh, cut into strips
1 clove garlic, diced
1 tsp grated ginger
1 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tbsp cornflour
2 tbsp water
1 tsp + 1 tsp 13-spice powder

For the chicken coating
25g cornflour
25g plain flour
1 tbsp 13-spice powder

For the noodles
400g fresh udon noodles
2 tbsp oyster sauce
½ tsp dark soy sauce
1 tsp sesame oil

For the lettuce
2 baby gem lettuces, sliced lengthwise into quarters
1 tsp chilli oil

Chicken Chilli Noodles Oyster Sauce Soy Sauce Dinner Lunch

Story
Method

Ingredients
Method

Serves
2

Ingredients

For the chicken coating
25g cornflour
25g plain flour
1 tbsp 13-spice powder

For the noodles
400g fresh udon noodles
2 tbsp oyster sauce
½ tsp dark soy sauce
1 tsp sesame oil

For the lettuce
2 baby gem lettuces, sliced lengthwise into quarters
1 tsp chilli oil

The Year of the Pig is almost upon us! Lunar New Year is all about feasting with friends and family. It’s also a good excuse to have some treats. Christmas was ages ago, right? 😉

To mark the occasion, we’ve developed a brand new recipe for Screen to Plate, a meal kit company that delivers everything you need to recreate recipes from YouTubers like us.

Happy New Year, everyone ^_^

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GET THE METHOD →

Combine the chicken thigh strips with the rest of the ingredients in the ‘for the chicken’ list. Be sure to use only 1 teaspoon of the 13-spice powder at this stage.
In a large shallow bowl, make the coating for the chicken by stirring together the flours and 1 tablespoon of 13-spice powder.
Transfer the chicken to the coating mix, and use your hands to press the mix onto the chicken. Ensure each strip is encrusted.
Pour vegetable oil into a saucepan or frying pan to a height of 5mm, and place over a medium high heat. You can test the oil with a wooden spoon or chopstick; the oil is ready when it fizzes.
Shallow fry the chicken in batches for a few minutes on each side until golden brown. Drain on kitchen towels. While the chicken is still hot, sprinkle on the remaining 1 teaspoon of 13-spice powder.
Lightly salt a pot of boiling water and add a dash of vegetable oil. Cook the lettuce and noodles in the water at the same time. Remove the lettuce to a bowl as soon as it starts to soften, shaking off the excess water.
Cook the noodles for a few more minutes until they are warmed through. Drain most of the water, leaving behind about 3 tablespoons. Stir in the oyster sauce, dark soy sauce and sesame oil.
Divide the noodles, lettuce and chicken between 2 bowls or shallow plates. Drizzle the chilli oil over the lettuce, and serve.

Andrew S

Hi guys absolutely love your recipes – could this be made with 5 spice powder as I cannot source 13 spice powder where I live in Australia
- Rob
  
  As Amy noted, 13 spice varies, so I might recommend making your own – perhaps mix some Chinese 5 Spice (cinnamon, cloves, fennel, star anise, and Szechwan peppercorns) powder with garam marsala ingredients (Black and white peppercorns, cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom, bay leaf, cumin, and coriander) and a hint of paprika – voila – 13 spices, and just to make it clear and easy to read:
  
  1 – cinnamon
  2 – ground cloves
  3 – fennel
  4 – star anise
  5 – Sichuan peppercorns
  6 – nutmeg
  7 – cardamon
  8 – bay leaf
  9 – cumn
  10 – coriander
  11 – black peppercorns
  12 – white peppercorns
  13 – paprika
  
  Play around with the volume of each until you find a comfortable mix for yourself. Feel free to switch out the white or black peppercorns for turmeric as well (which might explain the yellow-y colour of the chicken).
  - dumplingsisters
    
    Thanks for the amazing breakdown of spices Rob!
- dumplingsisters
  
  Hi Andrew, 5-spice and 13-spice do differ in overall flavour but if you like 5-spice, then go for it! Or you could try mixing a bunch of your own spices together to arrive at something you like – see Rob’s suggestion 🙂
Rob

Why add oil to the water? I know some people suggest oil in water for noodles and pasta, but this creates a barrier to sauces sticking – maybe udon noodles are too slippery to hold much of a sauce anyway, but wouldn’t it be better not to oil them if you plan to sauce them so the noodles can absorb some of the sauce?

Xin nian kuai le, ladies!

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