Lunch Al Desko: Thai Chicken with Celeriac Zoodles
My last Al Desko lunch post got quite a good reception, so here's another idea as no one wants to eat the same every day. This one is a marinated chicken breast on spiralised celeriac, which is a bit beefier than the usual courgetti so you can kind of kid yourself its a big fat udon noodle. There is a selection of mixed veggies in here too, but just use whatever you have to hand. This one can be eaten hot if you have a microwave to reheat, or straight out the box cold.
Ingredients:
Chicken breast
Marinating herbs - thumb size grated ginger, chilli, coriander, garlic, chopped lemongrass
Tablespoon sesame seeds
Good hunk of celeriac
Veg - I used broccoli, red pepper and radishes
Handful coriander if you like it
For the dressing:
Tablespoon light soy
Tablespoon white wine vinegar
Splash lime juice
Squeeze of honey if you have a sweet tooth
Method:
Give your chicken breast a good few hours to marinate in the mixture of marinating herbs - overnight would be good if you have the time. Cook by frying over a high heat in a little bit of coconut oil. Give it a good few minutes on each side to get some nice colour on there otherwise chicken breast is one of the most boring things known to man. Once you've got colour aka flavour you can turn down the hob and let the residual heat continue to cook the chicken through.
You need a spiraliser for this, I'm afraid as the usual vegetable peeler trick won't really work. Spiralise your celeriac and then blanche along with any veg you want a bit cooked (like broccoli) in boiling water for about a minute and then plunge into iced water to stop it cooking. This, I've found, gives the best consistency for celeriac zoodles. Once cool, muddle the zoodles together with remaining raw veg ie. radishes, red pepper and coriander. Toast the sesame seeds and toss through the zoodles. If you've the calories to play with then a spoonful of peanut butter instead of the sesame seeds would be delicious.
Once the chicken is cooled sufficiently, slice thinly and lay on top of the zoodles. The dressing is made by just mixing the dressing ingredients together and then putting in a little pot ready to add at lunchtime.
Depending on the size of your chicken breast, this yummy lunch is around the 270-300 calorie mark. Compared to a Pret Chicken & Broccoli Super Noodle Salad at 385 calories, this is way tastier and do bear in mind that Pret calorie counts never include the dressing which is ridiculous. A pot of dijon dressing would be an extra 80+ calories at least. You know it makes sense.