CHICKEN CHOW MIEN

This one takes me back to my late teen-age years and grabbing a Chinese meal on a shady lane in Tariq road, which btw had the best food ever!!. It's perfect for using loads of veg from the fridge and making this wonderful rich sauce, noodles and chicken. Swap out the chicken for tofu for a veggie version! This is one of my favourite comfort dishes.

With big chunks of juicy chicken and a rainbow of crispy, crunchy and flavorful vegetables, the noodles bring everything together in a savory tangle of al dente curls.

You can use all the veggies in your fridge. This a super simple chicken chow mien. It’s for me one of those firm classics.

Whether you’re dining in a shopping center food court or at a proper restaurant, Chow Mein is often thrown on the plate as a mere afterthought to go with your Orange Chicken and Mongolian Beef. How many people do you know that would order a plate of Chow Mein as their main course for dinner?

What is Chow Mein

Chow Mein (炒面) literally means “fried noodles,” and is usually made with noodles, a protein, and vegetables stir-fried with a sauce. If that sounds vague, it’s because there are dozens of variations of this dish depending on the part of the world in which you happen to live.

As you might guess from all the variations of Chow Mein, there are literally dozens of ways in which this humble noodle dish gets seasoned. My personal favorite is oyster sauce. This is a delicious savory seasoning with just a hint of balancing sweetness that’s perfect for stir-fries. Using oyster sauce to season your Chow Mein results in noodles that aren’t too dark in color and have a mild taste which is bolstered by the intense umami from the oysters. Ideally, you want to use a sauce that actually has oysters in it (as opposed to artificial flavors and MSG).

Other than the oyster sauce I use some chicken stock and a pinch of white pepper to give it a little kick. The rest of the flavor comes from caramelized ginger and garlic along with all the chicken and vegetables that are stir-fried together with the noodles.

Ingredients:

2-3 Tbsp Oyster sauce

3 Tbsp Soy sauce

1 cup water

1 tbsp Corn flour

2 tsp white pepper

1 Tbs Rice wine vinegar

1 Tsp sesame oil

1 Red chilli

3 Spring Onions

2 cloves garlic

1 Tsp ground ginger

2 chicken breasts

3 Cabbage leaves

2 Finely sliced carrots (matchsticks Julienned)

Large handful of Bean sprouts

2 Tsp honey

Sesame Seeds

chilli sauce (siraacha) optional

METHOD:

Right so take a pan of water and get it to boiling.

Take a glass bowl and into it we’re going to make the sauce.

Add the oyster sauce, soya sauce ,honey and rice wine vinegar.

Then add the garlic and corn flour and white pepper and ginger.

Give that a really good mix and that’s your wet ingredients ready. Keep it aside.

Take the chicken breast and cut into nice thin little strips. Add all of the chicken into the sauce for a marination. Keep aside.

Next take the carrots and with your knife clean the skin and cut them into thin Julian. Take the spring onion and chop them at a slight angle. Last chop the chilli and the cabbage.

That’s all your prep work done.

The whole idea of this style of cooking is to cook it as quickly as possible at a night heat.

Take a non stick pan and get it nice and hot. Add some sesame oil. Take the chicken and add in the hot pan. Cook for 3-4 minuets on each side. Making sure not to add the marinade now. Just add a splash of water to it, this will help in stop everything sticking to the pan. You will see a beautiful caramelization happen to the chicken, more like poaching then going tough.

In the mean time add the noodles to the boiling pot.

Now the veggies. We want to retain the crunch so first add the chilli and spring onion. Then the carrots and mix well. We want to bite through the veggies so don’t over cook it. Add the bean sprouts and the marinade now and mix through. Lastly add the cabbage and the noodles. Stir it around and make sure all the flavors go through the noodles.

Serve in a bowl of your choice and Finish it off with some hot sauce (siracha-optional) and finally some sesame seeds!!

ENJOY