As another week rolls around this is a royal go to for the dinner table. I would suggest that it will please tummies and tastebuds of all sizes - perfect for big people and little people alike. You should hopefully know by now that whilst I don’t like a lot of fuss (especially on a busy weeknight!), I do love eating well and getting the good things in. Balancing some protein with some veg and bringing it altogether in a way that is fun and delicious is very important to me.

I know that so many families eat pasta on a regular basis. The good old spaghetti bolognaise is most likely found on most family tables at least once every few weeks. I get it! It’s always a winner. And when something is a winner it is easy to keep trotting it out in your rotation because the idea of trying something new, and having it not go to plan, or facing turned up noses, can be too much to take. But here I am, giving you a polite little regal shove in the direction of something different. If you think of this as another version of spaghetti bolognaise, you might feel more comfortable to give it a try. It’s noodles, meat, veg and sauce. You see? I’ve ticked all the boxes.

Here we are going to use our Combi Steam to cook both the chicken and the veggies in a semi stir fry kind of way. You will get some caramelisation and the veggies will soften just enough, nice and quickly. I love the chicken thighs done like this because they stand up to the high temperature cooking and can cook a bit longer to really get that stickiness happening. You could do chicken breast but I would give them a bit of a bash with a rolling pin, to try to even up the thickness of the fillets, before you sauce them up. This will help them cook more evenly and give you more “surface” area to help create the stickiness. We’re using Combination Steam here - remember that’s your friend when you want that combination of browning and moisture. It will replicate that pan fried effect. Go high with your temperature too, because we want to cook this quickly and get maximum stickiness and browning quickly. For some pieces of chicken and chopped veggies we don’t need to go slow as they are short cooking time items.

Let’s give this one a try.

Serves 6 (or less with leftovers!)

600g thin egg noodles*
1 capsicum (seeds removed & sliced)
1 small zucchini (sliced in half lengthways and then into half moons)
1 small carrot (sliced in half lengthways and then into half moons)
1 bunch pak choy (stalks finely sliced and leaves roughly chopped)
fresh herbs like mint, basil or coriander
6 large skinless chicken thigh fillets
3 tbs hoisin sauce
1 tsp tomato chilli sauce* (or to taste)
1 tbs soy sauce
1 tsp each of rice bran oil and white wine vinegar
1 tbs sesame seeds
fresh lime to serve if you like

To Make:

1. Combine the hoisin sauce, chilli sauce and sesame seeds in a bowl and coat the chicken in the marinade mixture. Set aside for at least 30 minutes (or overnight, covered and refrigerated, if time permits)

2. Select Combination Steam (Hot Air with Steaming) and set the temperature to 230°C (or the highest available). For variable steam select 40% (or Medium). Allow the oven to pre-heat.

3. Line two baking trays with baking paper. Shake off excess marinade and place the chicken onto one tray leaving space between each piece. Spread the veggies onto the second tray in a single layer. Reserve the left over marinade.

4. When the oven is hot add the chicken to the oven. Work carefully and quickly to keep the heat in the oven. Cook for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes add the tray of vegetables to the oven and add the remaining marinade to the chicken. Cook the veggies and the chicken for a further 5 minutes.

5. Remove and set aside.

6. Prepare the noodles according to the packet directions. Once ready, toss gently with the soy sauce, oil and vinegar and the cooked vegetables.

7. Serve the noodles in bowls topped the chicken (you can slice it or serve it whole) and as much of the extra marinade sauce as you like. Dress with fresh herbs.

Writing the post for this recipe has made me hungry all over again. It is really yummy.

Don’t be worried about using a little chilli sauce here - it isn’t too much. It just gives a lovely hum in the background, but that being said, if you are really worried then you can leave it out. My chilli sauce of choice is Sriracha. If you did want to go something a little more mild you could just use some sweet chilli sauce I suppose.

Lining the trays is important here because the baking paper will prevent sticking, especially when we add all the extra marinade to create a sauce. If you don’t use the baking paper it will all just bake onto the tray and cause you a headache when you clean up.

If you want to make this even simpler you could just throw some mixed frozen veggies onto the second tray. You can buy lots of varieties now and there is absolutely nothing wrong with them. You will just need to remember that because they are frozen they will have a higher moisture content which will make them less likely to caramelise when you cook them in the oven.

Feel free to do some firm tofu or eggplant pieces in the same way as the chicken if you prefer to make this vegetarian. Easy!

I like to buy the “fresh” egg noodles rather than the dried ones but it really doesn’t matter as long as you soften them according to the packet directions - usually by blanching in some boiling water.

I hope you enjoy this recipe, just as I hope you enjoy all of my recipes. I also hope that it encourages you to experiment a little more - with your Combi Steam and with your dinner table offerings. Life is too short not to try something new every now and then!

Enjoy and happy Combi Steaming!

Yours in the kitchen,

The CSQ. x