Chicken tights with noodles

We rarely prepare Asian cuisine at home. Mainly that’s because we don’t really crave them, and secondly, because I can never seem to prepare it the way I want – it’s a whole new world for me.

That is why we also have not managed to travel to an Asian country to study the cuisine. I believe I should study the culture, manners, and traditions for a few months, and then go. Plus, I am afraid that I won’t be able to get croissants (that’s a joke, of course). Yes – it’s my lack of knowledge of Asian cuisine that keeps me from preparing Asian dishes. Rarely do they work for me. But this one – I would even call it perfect.

Ingredients

4 large chicken thighs
160 g carrots, peeled, quartered lengthwise
250 g pear, seeded and sliced in wedges
100 g soba (buckwheat) noodles
a few purple basil leaves

marinade:
20 ml fish sauce
40 ml tamari soy sauce
20 ml teriyaki sauce
40 ml grape seed oil
30 ml rice syrup or golden corn syrup or honey
sea salt to taste*
freshly ground black pepper to taste
finely diced red chili to taste
pinch of cinnamon
10 g sesame seeds
1 orange zest, finely grated

Prepare

Score each chicken thigh diagonally 2-3 times, 5mm deep (this will help the chicken cook more quickly and allows the marinade to really soak in). Put the meat in a bowl with the marinade ingredients and leave for 1-12 hours, or you can cook it right away.

Heat the oven to 200°. In a ceramic dish, place the carrots and pears, add the marinating liquid and mix. Arrange the chicken thighs on top and bake in the centre of the oven for about 40 minutes.

While the chicken is baking, boil the soba noodles, following the directions on the package. When boiled, rinse with cold water. When the chicken is done, remove from the pan onto a cutting board. Add the noodles to the pan and mix. Place onto a serving platter and arrange the chicken on top. Sprinkle with purple basil leaves.

Recipe from my book "Time to cook"
Photo: Armands Meirans

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