Bang-Bang Chicken
Ken Hom and Ching-He Huang's take on traditional Bang-Bang Chicken is light and refreshing, featuring radish, carrot and cucumber.
Introduction
The name ‘bang-bang’ comes from the Mandarin word for ‘stick’, which is bung. The chicken meat is beaten with a stick to help tenderise it, so it shreds easily; you could use a rolling pin to flatten the cooked chicken and then use your fingers to tear it into shreds.
Ingredients
| 100g (4oz) | vermicelli mung bean noodles (or rice noodles), pre-soaked in hot water for 5-6 minutes and drained (optional) |
| 250g (9oz) | poached chicken breast, shredded |
| ½ | cucumber, cut in half lengthways, de-seeded and sliced into long, thin julienne strips |
| 40g (1½oz) | radish, sliced |
| 40g (1½oz) | carrot, peeled and sliced into long, thin julienne strips |
| For the dressing: | |
| 2 tbsp | groundnut oil |
| 1 tbsp | toasted sesame oil |
| 2 tbsp | sesame paste (or tahini blended with 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil) |
| 1 tbsp | crunchy peanut butter |
| 1 tbsp | light soy sauce |
| 1 tbsp | freshly grated root ginger |
| 2 tbsp | Chinese black rice vinegar (or balsamic vinegar) |
| ½ tsp | dried chilli flakes |
| ½ tsp | ground Sichuan peppercorns |
| For the garnish: | |
| 1 | medium fresh red chilli, de-seeded and finely chopped |
| 1 | large spring onion, finely sliced lengthways toasted black and white sesame seeds |
Essential kit
You will need: a blender.
Method
Arrange the noodles, if using, on a plate. Layer the chicken, cucumber, radish and carrot on top, then chill.
Before serving, put all the ingredients for the dressing into a blender and whizz to combine. Drizzle the dressing over the dish, then sprinkle with the fresh chilli, spring onion and toasted sesame seeds. Serve immediately.
