I’m always, and I really mean always, down for some Chinese food. If there were no health and financial consequences, I would gladly agree to live on Chinese takeout until the end of time or the end of my days, whichever comes first. But reason dictates that some compromises have to be made, so I often replicate my favorite stir-fry and noodle recipes at home and try to keep them on a relatively healthier side. If you are a Chinese food fiend like me, definitely try out this recipe and you won’t be disappointed.

INGREDIENTS:

(Yields 4 servings / 1.31 EUR per serving / 5.23 EUR for all)

For the chicken:

1 large boneless skinless chicken breast (2.00 EUR)

1 tbsp sunflower seed oil (0.01 EUR)

1 tbsp soy sauce (0.07 EUR)

Good pinch of salt (0.01 EUR)

Good pinch of freshly ground black pepper (0.02 EUR)

For the stir-fry:

3 squares of Chinese noodles (1.60 EUR)

2 tbsp sunflower seed oil, divided (0.03 EUR)

2 onions (0.20 EUR)

2 red peppers (0.80 EUR)

3 garlic cloves (0.10 EUR)

1 tsp Gochujang – Korean chili paste (0.13 EUR)

2 tbsp soy sauce (0.13 EUR)

1 tsp toasted sesame oil (0.13 EUR)

METHOD:

Cut the chicken into thin strips. Toss it with oil, soy sauce, salt and pepper and leave to rest in the fridge for at least 30 minutes, but best overnight. In the meantime, cook the noodles according to package instructions to al dente. Rinse under cold water to get rid of residual heat and stop the cooking process, then drain. Wash, peel and chop up all the veggies.

Place a wok or a deep skillet on medium high heat and allow to thoroughly warm up. Add in a bit of oil, then fry the chicken until crispy. It’s best to do this in two batches, so you don’t overcrowd the pan. Remove all the chicken from the wok and set aside. Add in the remaining oil and dump in the onions and peppers. Cook for a few minutes to slightly caramelize before adding in minced garlic and Gochujang. Give a good stir and cook briefly. Dump in the noodles, chicken, soy sauce and sesame oil. Cook for about five minutes, until everything is thoroughly warmed up and the noodles at the bottom of the pan start crisping up slightly. Serve immediately.

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Ja sam uvijek, ali baš ono, uvijek, raspoložena za kinesku hranu. Da to nema nikakvih zdravstvenih i financijskih posljedica, krkala bi klopu sa kineske dostave dok svemir ne implodira ili dok ja ne otegnem, štogod već došlo prije. Ali razum ipak nalaže neke kompromise pa sam se naučila da svoje najdraže recepte izrepliciram doma u nekoj malo zdravijoj varijanti. Ako ste ludi za kineskom hranom koliko i ja, definitivno isprobajte ovaj recept jer se nećete razočarati.

SASTOJCI:

(Za 4 porcije / 9,80 kn po porciji / 39,21 kn za sve)

Za meso:

1 velika pileća prsa bez kostiju i kože (15,00 kn)

1 žlica suncokretovog ulja (0,10 kn)

1 žlica soja sosa (0,50 kn)

Dobar prstohvat soli (0,01 kn)

Dobar prstohvat svježe mljevenog crnog papra (0,15 kn)

Za wok:

3 kocke kineskih rezanaca (12,00 kn)

2 žlice suncokretovog ulja, podijeljene (0,20 kn)

2 luka (1,50 kn)

2 crvene paprike (6,00 kn)

3 češnja češnjaka (0,75 kn)

1 žlica Gochujanga – korejske čili paste (1,00 kn)

2 žlice soja sosa (1,00 kn)

1 žličica tostiranog sezamovog ulja (1,00 kn)

PRIPREMA:

Piletinu narežite na tanke trakice. Pomiješajte sa uljem, soja sosom, soli i paprom, te ostavite u hladnjaku da se marinira minimalno pola sata, a najbolje preko noći. U međuvremenu skuhajte rezance prema uputama na pakiranju da budu al dente. Isperite ih dobro pod mlazom hladne vode da se prestanu kuhati od zaostale topline te ocijedite. Operite, ogulite i nasjeckajte svo povrće.

Wok ili duboku tavu stavite na srednje jaku vatru i pustite da se dobro ugrije. Dodajte malo ulja, pa na njemu ispržite piletinu dok ne bude hrskava. Za najbolje rezultate je najbolje to napraviti u dvije manje ture kako vam wok ne bi bio prenatrpan. Gotovu piletinu maknite iz woka i stavite na stranu. Dodajte u wok preostalo ulje, luk i paprike. Kuhajte oko pet minuta, da se povrće lagano karamelizira, pa onda ubacite sjeckani češnjak i Gochujang. Dobro promiješajte i još kratko kuhajte te dodajte tjesteninu, piletinu, soja sos i sezamovo ulje. Kuhajte jedno pet minuta da se sve dobro ugrije, a tjestenina na dnu woka blago zahrska. Poslužite odmah.