Bang Bang Chicken Noodles

What is Bang Bang Chicken? It's a popular chicken dish in Chinese cuisine. The name bang bang chicken is derived from the manner in which the meat is tenderized using a stick or hammer. 

Bang bang chicken was traditionally served in China by street vendors in Hanyang district who sold cold, cooked chicken drizzled with a spicy sauce as a snack.

Here I am serving the bang bang chicken with simple fried noodles. 

One lazy trick, if you are too lazy to make your own bang bang chicken, you can buy some ready spicy coated chicken breast pieces from supermarket!

Ingredients:

For the chicken:

• 3 chicken breasts, about 525g, cut into bite size chunks or stripes
• 3 tbsp cornflour
• ½ cup buttermilk
• 1 egg
• ½ tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp salt
• ¼ tsp white pepper
• 150g panko crumbs
• 1 tsp paprika
• ½ tsp black pepper
• 2 tbsp olive oil

For the bang bang sauce:

•  ½ cup mayonnaise
• 2 tbsp sweet chilli sauce
• 1 tsp honey
• 1 tbsp sriracha sauce

For the noodles:

• 250g pack medium egg noodles
• 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• ½ tsp crushed chillies
• 3 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp dark soy sauce
• 2 tbsp oyster sauce
• 1 tbsp sesame oil
• 1 tbsp fish sauce
• ½ tsp sugar
• 4tbsp cooking oil
• 1 lime, zested,  ½ juiced, ½ cut into wedges to serve
• 1 packed of pak choi, cut into chunk size pieces, separating the stalk and the leaves
• spring onions and red chilli, thinly slice

 Method:

For the bang bang chicken: Place the cornflour in a bowl. Place the ½ cup buttermilk, 1 egg, ½ tsp garlic powder, ¼ tsp white pepper and ½ tsp salt in a second bowl and lightly whisk to combine.

Place the panko, 1tsp paprika, remaining ½ tsp salt, ½ tsp black pepper and 2 tbsp olive oil in a third bowl and mix together until the olive oil is combined with the breadcrumbs evenly.

Dredge the chicken pieces in the cornflour, then dip in the buttermilk mixture to coat and finally coat the chicken in the panko mixture.

Place the coated chicken on a baking tray.

Place the baking tray in the oven and cook for 20-25 minutes, until no longer pink in the middle and set aside.

For the bang bang sauce: Place ½ cup mayonnaise, 2 tbsp sweet chilli sauce, 1 tbsp sriracha and 1 tbsp honey in a small bowl and mix together, then put to one side while making the noodles.

For the noodles: In a small bowl, mix soy sauce, dark soy sauce, oyster sauce, fish sauce, sesame oil, sugar, lime zest and juice. Set aside

Meanwhile, bring a pan of water to the boil, add the noodles. Simmer for 3-4 minutes until just cooked, then drain well.

Heat the oil in a wok over a high heat. Add garlic and crushed chillies to the wok. Stir fry for 1 minute, add in the pak choi stalks pieces and fry for another 2 minutes. Then add in the noodles and the bowl of sauce. Toss with tongs or chopstick to coat in the sauce. Cook until all the sauce nearly absorb then add in the pak choi leaves. Stir for another 1-2 minutes until the leaves slightly wilted.

To serve, divide the noodles between 4 plates and top with the bang bang chicken. Drizzle the bang bang sauce over the chicken. Garnish with slice spring onions and chilli and lime wedges. If you like more spicy, add extra crushed chillies. Also can sprinkle some sesame seed onto the bang bang sauce just before serving.