Yantai Chicken
By Chris Ferguson

Yantai is an industrial province in north-east China which has been forging links with Scotland. During the Open golf tournament at Carnoustie in 1999 I met the civic leader of Yantai and had the chance to discuss Scottish cuisine. At the Carnoustie Country stand he sampled cold Aberdeen Angus beef. Thinly sliced the beef melted and the marls of fat topped the experience. He grazed on venison sausages, Forfar Bridies and fruit picked from the fields around Arbroath and Carnoustie. In return he offered me a recipe for a Chinese dish. To my regret I did not write it down but here is my interpretation of a Chinese dish, named after a region which could become a key business partner to Scottish industry.

Ingredients
Two cooked fillets of chicken breast (Tesco, £1.99).
Two packets of Wanda noodles, curry flavour, (Asda 9p, yes 9p).
Tea spoon of oil.
Four medium-size mushrooms.
Dark soy sauce.
Pinch of cayenne pepper.
400 ml of water.

Method
Slice and fry mushrooms for a minute.
Remove from pot and add water.
Boil the water for three minutes.
Break in the noodles and add the curry flavour sachets.
Then add the mushrooms, dark soy sauce (plenty of it) and the cayenne pepper.
Slice the chicken breast into small pieces.
Boil noodles and water for one minute before adding chicken breast.
Cook until chicken is hot and the noodles have absorbed the water.
Serve immediately with bread.

This should be ample for two.

Accompaniment

A mug of red wine, followed by a tot of spicy rum to finish the meal off.