Ramen Salad with Ginger Chicken

This doesn't really... go out on a limb. But it has classic Japanese flavours and is light and delicious. Perfect for a solid lunch or light dinner. A delicious ramen noodle salad, delicious ginger chicken and mushrooms, laden with a mixture of sweet, savoury and spicy, it really hit the spot for me.

Ingredients (feeds four)

250g Fresh Ramen Noodles

800g Chicken Tenderloins/Thighs

2 Carrots, peeled and Juilienned

2 Handfuls of Mung Beans

10 Button Mushrooms, quartered

A Big Bunch of Spinach Leaves (big ones, not baby) cut into ribbons

1 Brown Onion, Finely Sliced

3 Shoots Spring Onions, finely sliced

6-7 Cloves of Garlic, peeled and minced

1 Inch of Ginger, grated

1 Red Thai Chilli, minced

6 Tablespoons Rice Wine Vinegar

4 Tablespoons Sweet Mirin

Sushi Soy Sauce

White/Black Sesame Seeds

Salt

Pepper

Sesame Oil

Method

Preheat the oven to 190 C.

Put chicken and mushrooms into a bowl. Mix with 2 tablespoons of rice wine vinegar, 3 tablespoons of sesame oil, all the ginger, garlic and red thai chilli. Marinate for twenty minutes, then spread it out into a roasting dish or onto a baking tray. Roast for 20-25 minutes or until cooked through. In the meantime, continue on with the following.

In another bowl, mix the ribbons of spinach with the mung beans, carrot and spring onions.

In another tray, salt the onions really well. A whole lot of salt. A silly amount of salt. Then add warm water.

Bring a pot of water to the boil. Do not salt it. Loosen up your bundle of egg noodles, and blanch them in the water for 30-45 seconds. Strain through a colander and rinse well under cold water. This firms them up and stops them being gluggy.

Mix the vegetables in with the noodles. I try to be delicate - pull the noodles apart, incorporate the vegetables through the middle.

Drain and rinse the onions in warm water, then turn that, plus the rest of vinegar and mirin through the mixture.

Check to see if the chicken is cooked through. If so, mix the mushrooms through the salad and serve with the chicken on top. Sprinkle sesame seeds of both colours on top and pepper well. Add a few lashes of soy sauce to sharpen everything up, and you've got yourself a deliciously light dinner or lunch.

Enjoy!