The Art of the Imperfect Pepper Chicken Noodles

There has been a recent bout of rainfall and I'm happy to be greeted by a navy blue sky every day that's not too overcast or gloomy. It has a tinge of warmth that draws me look at it and then takes my thoughts far, far away.

The weather has really inspired me to cook something comforting. It should be something that has minimal prep but takes its time to form wonderful caramelized tastes. Off the top of my head, the most basic comfort food on a wet day is piping hot porridge with a little bit of salt and black pepper.

I was attracted to using black pepper primarily because it's toasty, earthy and has a little zing that excites the palate. So I created a new dish today that is perfect as a sharing platter at home or if you want to bring for potluck, since a long stretch of holiday is coming up!

The Imperfect Pepper Chicken With Flat Rice Noodles

Add about a little oil into the wok. When it's medium hot, add fennel and cumin seeds followed by some cardamom pods.

Now add shallots fry them in medium to high heat until they turn translucent.

Now add dried chillies...

Followed by a tomato (in my case I'm using cherry tomatoes because that's all I have in my fridge), ginger garlic paste, onion powder, grounded black and Szechuan pepper.

Add a little water if the bottom is drying out, but not too much. Now add chicken, a little bit of sea salt and close the lid.

I recommend flipping the chicken every 5 minutes, they will brown beautifully.

Look how beautifully messy it is.. like out-of-bed hair. I couldn't have styled it better but I guess I had a little help from Gravity. The bowl slipped as I adjusted it and landed squarely on its behind. Thank goodness only one piece of chicken bounced out. The rest of the chicken and noodles wrapped themselves around each other and that sparked an idea to make this a sharing plate.

Hopefully my Imperfect Pepper Chicken Noodles spark some ideas in you too.

Recipe serves 4

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 30 minutes

Chicken thighs, halved - 4 pcs (marinate chicken in a little bit of salt and black pepper)

Flavour oil

Fennel seeds - 1/2 tsp

Cumin seeds - 1/4 tsp

Cardamom pods - 5

Aromatics

Shallots - 4

Ginger garlic paste - 1 tsp