So, after weeks of deliberations, the votes have been counted and the winner of the great SK sandwich ‘off’ is (drumroll) Chef Oliver.
His Chinese Crispy Chicken Bao Bun wowed the SK judges (for that read the New Product Development Team and Marketing & Communications Executive Katie) and those of you who voted on social media
The Winning Sandwich
It may not have been a traditional sandwich (but who likes cucumber sandwiches anyway?) but it had SK stamped all over it.
It consisted of sesame, ginger soy and red chilli Asian slaw with lemongrass mayo, topped with a tempura spring onion and finished with crispy chicken skin. Oh, and that came with a side of prawn crackers with a spicy siracha mayo. We had you at ‘sesame’ didn’t we?
It’s fair to say we’re crazy about Asian food here in the SK kitchen; it’s what we do after all and the chances are that if you pick up something from the chilled aisle in any of the big supermarkets this weekend, they probably started life being devised by Oliver and our four other developments chefs – Sean, John, Chris and Jane.
The recipes they provide each week as part of our chefs’ blogs are all done with lots of thought and pre-planning. They don’t just throw things together at the last minute and most are inspired by what they are cooking up each day in the SK development kitchen. In other words, there’s a method to the madness!
So, who knows, one day you may even be able to buy Chef Oliver’s sandwich, or a variation on it, in the supermarket. How great would that be?
Recipe:
Bao Bun:
250g Jupiter flour
180g ‘00’ Flour
100g water
180g semi skimmed milk 2 litre
10g vegetable shorting
35g white sugar
15g fast acting yeast
2g salt
70g skimmed milk powder
Mix all the ingredients and slowly add the wet ingredients and then allow dough to prove for 30-40mins. While you are waiting for the dough you will need a steamer. Add water to steamer and place on the hob to boil the water, once boiled turn to simmer.
Depending on the size of the buns you want 25-30g balls should be great. Roll these out and fold over to half-moon place grease proof paper in the steamer so the buns do not get stuck. Steam for 20-30 min
Marinated Chicken Thigh:
4 x Chicken thigh boneless fillets (keep the skin for later)
1 x tbsp fresh ginger
2 x tbsp soy sauce
Mix well and leave for 20-30min
3/4 tbls maize starch
You will need a deep fryer 180 degrees just before you are about to fry the chicken mix well with the maize starch cover and fry for 3 minutes. Place on a tray with paper.
Crispy Chicken Skin:
Use the chicken skin, from large thighs. Preheat oven 180c. Lay the skins stretched out flat on greaseproof-lined baking sheet. Sprinkle with a pinch of sea salt. Lay a second sheet of greaseproof paper over the skins then weigh down with another tray. Place in the oven for 10-15 min be careful not to colour too much or they will taste bitter. Place the skins on kitchen paper and sprinkle with salt.
Tempura Spring Onion:
4 Spring onions cut in half on an angle. Take 1 outer leaf and trim the bottom off.
Tempura Batter (make your own or shop bought is perfect). Just mix with sparkling water.
100g Corn Flour
150g plain flour
10g baking powder
Enough sparkling water to mix batter should coat your finger
Deep fry on 180 for 2-3min until nice and crispy
Asian Slaw:
10g fresh basil
150g shredded carrot
1 clove garlic finely chopped
1 tbsp ginger, fresh
200g green cabbage
200g red cabbage
A whole fresh chilli finely diced
1 whole spring onion finely sliced
Tbsp honey
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp white sesame seeds
Pinch of salt
1 tbsp rice vinegar
1 tbsp sesame oil
Mix well in a bowl.
Lemongrass mayonnaise:
10g lemongrass finely diced mix with 200g mayonnaise
Mix well
Prawn crackers & spicy sriracha mayonnaise side accompaniments (shop bought)
Assemble your sandwich. Take the Bao Bun and place some of the lemongrass mayo on 1 half. Add some of the Asian Slaw, place 3 pieces of chicken, more of the Asian slaw and top with the tempura fried spring onion and broken chicken skin.
Serve immediately Enjoy!!
To view more of our food, please visit the Your Food section of our website.
About Sean Flint
Development & Innovation Chef of SK Foods.
Your food. Our Passion.
