This is a cool take on a classic chicken stir-fry. These crispy birds nests are made from noodles and as a bonus they are baked not deep fried. The sauce is really delish!

Ingredients:

– 2 nests of noodles
– 1 tbsp Cornflour and 2 tbsp oil
– Spray oil
– 2 chicken fillets
– corn flour & soy sauce – for velveting
– Spring onions
– Garlic
– Carrots
– Red Pepper
– Yellow Pepper

For the Marinade & Sauce:

– ¼ tsp Chinese 5 spice
– 1 tbsp Soy sauce
– 1 tbsp Fish sauce
– 1 tbsp mirin
– 1 tbsp seasame
– ¼ tsp Chilli powder/fresh chilli
– 1 tbsp maple syrup/honey
– 100mls water

Food stylin’

– Coriander
– Carrots – flowers
– Red Pepper – hearts
– Yellow Pepper – stars
– Quails eggs – hardboiled optional

Method:

Prep your Noodles
1. Preheat the oven to 220oc and boil a kettle of water. Soak the noodles for 5 mins and allow to soften.
2. Drain, allow to cool and combine with 1 tbsp oil and 1 tbsp corn flour. Toss all together.
3. Spritz the muffin tins with spray oil. Mould the noodles in and around the muffin tin and using your fingers create a hollow in the centre. Spritz with oil on top.
4. Place in the oven and bake for 15mins until crisp and golden brown.

For the Chicken
1. To velvet the chicken, chop it into long thin strips.
2. Mix corn flour and soy sauce until it forms a thin paste.
3. Add the chicken and allow to marinade for 20 minutes while you prepare the vegetables and make the sauce.

Sauce & Shapes
1. To make the sauce combine all the ingredients in a bowl: soy, mirin, sesame, fish sauce, honey and fresh chilli. Set aside.
2. Cut the spring onions with a scissors, smash the garlic.
3. Peel the carrot and cut out flower shapes.
4. De-seed the pepper and cut out heart and star shapes.

Now for the stir fry!
Top tip: Have a glass of water by the wok when stir-frying. Add water while cooking to stop sticking & create steam for quicker cooking.
1. Heat 1 tbsp oil in the wok. Add in all the vegetables and chicken and cook quickly, moving all the time for about 5 mins.
2. Pour in the sauce and cook for another 3 mins.

Serve!
1. Remove from the heat and serve into the birds nests.
2. Garnish with fresh coriander and quail eggs.

Foodoppi is a creative fun online food network for children set up by Louise Lennox and Aisling Larkin. As Ireland’s children’s food experts and busy mums they understand the daily struggles of parents and the importance of reconnecting our future generations with food in a positive way. They are training children to try new foods, appreciate tastes and develop an appetite for real, good food.

Louise Lennox is best known as the bubbly chef on our TV screens. She has hosted and worked on food shows for children’s television. She runs her own children’s cookery school and has been visiting schools throughout the country; working with teachers and pupils for many years since completing her studies in diet, health and nutrition in DIT Kevin Street.

Aisling Larkin has a B. Ed in Home Economics from Trinity and M.Sc in Food Product Development & Culinary Innovation from DIT. She founded The Academy for Junior Chefs, Ireland’s premier children’s cookery school over 4 years ago and has hosted children’s cookery events at The Taste of Dublin and Electric Picnic. Aisling has a natural flair for recipe creation & food styling for children.
Louise and Aisling have over 20 years’ experience between them, developing and devising new recipes that children can cook, will eat and enjoy.