Golden chicken with rice noodles & crispy shallots

Serve these noodles straight from the dish so people can tuck in and serve themselves. The star of the show is the chicken, with a fabulous mix of flavours

Prep:25 mins
Cook:30 mins
plus overnight marinating

Serves 4
Easy

Nutrition per serving

kcal 725
fat 41g
saturates 19g
carbs 54g
sugars 0g
fibre 6g
protein 31g
salt 2.13g

Ingredients

400ml coconut milk (whisk well to combine the cream and water, if it has separated in the can)
2 tsp ground turmeric
15g piece ginger , finely grated
2 large garlic cloves , finely grated
2 limes , 1 zested and juiced, 1 cut into wedges to serve
½ large red chilli , frozen and finely grated (see tip below)
2 tbsp light brown soft sugar
2 tsp fish sauce
6 boneless and skinless chicken thighs
vegetable oil , for frying
4 shallots , finely sliced into rings
180g wide rice noodles (4 nests)
2 carrots , cut into matchsticks
6 baby cucumbers , sliced or ½ a cucumber, halved lengthways and sliced
small bunch mint , leaves picked
small bunch Thai basil , leaves picked
100g salted peanuts , roughly chopped

Method

In a large bowl, combine the coconut milk, turmeric, ginger, garlic, lime zest and juice, chilli, sugar, fish sauce and 1 tsp salt. Add the chicken thighs, stirring to coat, then put in the fridge to marinate overnight. Will keep covered and chilled for up to two days.
Heat the oven to 220C/200C fan/gas 7. Transfer the chicken to a large roasting tin with high sides. Roast for 30 mins, spooning the sauce over the chicken a few times during cooking, until the chicken is cooked through and a little charred, and the sauce has reduced. At the end, if the chicken needs more colour, grill it for a few minutes, if you like.
While the chicken cooks, heat enough vegetable oil to cover the base of a large, deep frying pan, separate the shallot rings and cook in a single layer for 6-8 mins, or until golden brown (you may have to do this in batches). Drain on kitchen paper and season generously with salt.
Cook the noodles following pack instructions (or bring a pan of water to the boil, add the noodles, take off the heat and leave for 5 mins, then drain and rinse with cold water).
Remove the chicken from the tin and slice into chunks. Toss the drained noodles through the sauce in the roasting tin. Top with the chicken, veg, crispy shallots, herbs and peanuts. Serve with lime wedges for squeezing over.