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Big Plate Chicken with Belt Noodles
Xinjiang's great sharing plate: chicken fried crisp, braised with potatoes in a chilli-bean sauce, served over wide hand-pulled belt noodles that drink the sauce. Adapted for a home kitchen from the original ClouChef R&D report — 大盘鸡, report 140.
Original poster image from clouchef.com (poster: 大盘鸡_140.jpeg). This is the hero poster only, not a step-by-step photo set.
Prep: 50 minutesCook: 25 minutesTotal: 1 hour 15 minutesServings: 3–4 (adaptation: the source portion is ~500 g chicken plus 200 g noodles)Difficulty: MediumRegion: XinjiangFlavour: Spicy-savoury
Why this works
Big plate chicken is two dishes that only make sense together: a braise rich enough to sauce noodles, and noodles wide enough to carry it. Frying the marinated chicken first at 180 °C gives it a crisp edge that survives fifteen minutes of simmering instead of turning to plain boiled chicken. Potatoes are the quiet thickener — as they soften they shed starch into the sauce, so the braise ends glossy and clinging without any added starch. The sauce target is precise: about 200 ml left at the end, enough to coat every noodle but not so much that the plate swims. And the belt noodles themselves need their thirty-minute rest, because rested dough stretches into wide ribbons without snapping, and those ribbons are what make the final mixing at the table worth doing. A big plate and a crowd are part of the recipe, so scale it generously and let everyone mix their own noodles at the table.
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Ingredients
| Ingredient | US | Metric | Substitute / note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken leg pieces, bone-in | 1.3 lb | 600 g | Three-yellow chicken or ordinary chicken in the source. |
| Potatoes, cut into rolling chunks | 5.3 oz | 150 g | — |
| Green pepper, cut into chunks | 1.8 oz | 50 g | — |
| Onion, cut into chunks | 1 oz | 30 g | — |
| Sichuan peppercorns | 1 tbsp | 5 g | — |
| Dried chillies | 0.35 oz | 10 g | — |
| Broad bean paste (doubanjiang) | 1 oz | 30 g | — |
| Light soy sauce, divided | 1 tbsp | 15 ml | 5 ml for the marinade, 10 ml for the braise — split labelled as an adaptation, since the source lists one total and a 5 ml marinade use. |
| Dark soy sauce | 1 tsp | 5 ml | — |
| Salt | ½ tsp | 3 g | For the marinade. |
| Shaoxing wine | 1 tsp | 5 ml | For the marinade; the source lists wine in the marinade step. |
| Sugar | 1 tsp | 5 g | — |
| Plain flour, for the noodles | 7 oz | 200 g | — |
| Water, for the noodle dough | ⅓ cup + 1 tbsp | 100 ml | — |
| Oil, for the noodle dough | 1 tsp | 5 ml | — |
| Stock or water, for braising | 2 cups | 500 ml | Appears in the source braise step but not its ingredient table; included here and labelled as such. |
| Neutral oil, for frying the chicken (reusable) | about 2 cups in the pot | about 500 ml in the pot | The source lists 500 ml as reusable frying oil; only a fraction is absorbed. |
| Oil, for frying the spices | 2 tbsp | 30 ml | From the source braise step. |
| Scallions or coriander, to garnish | To taste | To taste | — |
Equipment
- Large wok or deep pot for frying, plus a heavy pot for braising — or one large pot for both (adaptation)
- Thermometer for the 180 °C frying oil (recommended, adaptation)
- Separate pot for the noodles
Steps
- Marinate and make the dough. Wash and drain the chicken pieces and marinate with salt, 5 ml light soy sauce and wine for 15 minutes. Mix the flour, water and dough oil into a smooth dough, rest for 30 minutes, then roll into long strips, cut into wide ribbons and brush lightly with oil to stop sticking.
- Fry the chicken. Heat the frying oil to 180 °C — a chopstick dipped in should bubble vigorously. Fry the chicken pieces until golden and crisp, about 3 minutes. Lift out and drain.
- Bloom the spices. In a clean pot with 30 ml oil, fry the peppercorns and dried chillies over low heat for about 30 seconds, then add the bean paste and fry until the oil turns red.
- Braise. Add the fried chicken and potatoes, toss, and pour in 500 ml stock or water. Bring to a boil, then simmer over low heat for 15 minutes until the potatoes are soft but not falling apart.
- Reduce. Add the green pepper and onion and fry over high heat for 1 minute, reducing until about 200 ml of thick sauce remains. Season with the remaining soy sauces and sugar.
- Cook the noodles and plate. Boil the belt noodles until they float, about 2 minutes, and drain. Lay the noodles on the bottom of a large plate, spoon the chicken and sauce over them, and scatter scallions or coriander. Mix at the table.
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Technique: fry first, let the potato thicken
Frying before braising seems like extra work, but it is what keeps the chicken from turning sodden: the crisped surface holds up to simmering and gives the sauce something to cling to. The potatoes do the thickening work that starch would do in a stir-fry — their starch leaks into the braise as they soften, which is why the sauce reduces glossy rather than thin, and why the potato must be soft but not dissolved when you stop.
Variations
- Shop-bought noodles: use fresh wide wheat noodles or dried wide noodles instead of hand-pulled belt noodles (adaptation).
- Milder: halve the dried chillies and bean paste; the dish will be less red and less hot but still savoury.
Frequently asked questions
Why fry the chicken before braising?
For texture: fried chicken keeps a firm, crisp-edged bite through the braise, while unmarinated boiled chicken turns soft and plain. The source makes frying a required step.
My sauce is too thin — what went wrong?
Usually the braise was not reduced to about 200 ml, or the potatoes were undercooked and gave up no starch. Simmer until the potatoes are soft and the sauce coats a spoon.
Can I skip making noodles?
Yes — use shop-bought wide noodles. The dish is still big plate chicken; the hand-pulled belt noodle is the traditional finish, not a requirement for the braise.
Storage
Best eaten fresh; noodles go soft on standing. Keep chicken and noodles separate for up to 2 days refrigerated; reheat the chicken until steaming hot throughout and cook fresh noodles to serve. Do not freeze the assembled plate.
Big Plate Chicken with Belt Noodles — Recipe Card
Crisp-fried chicken braised with potatoes in chilli-bean sauce, served over belt noodles.
Prep: 50 minutesCook: 25 minutesTotal: 1 hour 15 minutesServings: 3–4 (adaptation: the source portion is ~500 g chicken plus 200 g noodles)
Ingredients: 600 g chicken leg pieces; 150 g potatoes; 50 g green pepper; 30 g onion; 5 g peppercorns; 10 g dried chillies; 30 g bean paste; 15 ml light soy; 5 ml dark soy; 3 g salt; 5 ml wine; 5 g sugar; 200 g flour; 100 ml water; 500 ml stock; frying oil (reusable).
Steps: 1) Marinate chicken 15 minutes; rest dough 30 minutes, cut ribbons. 2) Fry chicken at 180 °C ~3 minutes. 3) Bloom spices 30 seconds, fry bean paste to red oil. 4) Braise chicken and potatoes 15 minutes. 5) Add pepper and onion, reduce to ~200 ml sauce. 6) Boil noodles ~2 minutes, plate noodles under chicken.
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Source note: ingredients, quantities and steps are adapted from the original ClouChef R&D report for 大盘鸡 (data/reports/140.md). The report's pricing, margin and marketing sections are deliberately omitted here; no B2B cost is presented as a home-cook cost. Original poster image: clouchef.com (大盘鸡_140.jpeg). The braising stock appears only in the source method, not its ingredient table, and is labelled as such; the soy-sauce split between marinade and braise and the 3–4 serving presentation are adaptations.