Cantonese Chow Mein

By á-44083

A Cantonese chef -- my roommate-- gave me this recipe that I translated into English. It's pan-fried egg noodles (crispy brown in places) topped with a mix of vegetables and seafood in a light white sauce. Very nice.

Ingredients

• FLAVOURING MIX:
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 tablespoons chicken bouillon
• 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
• 1 1/2 tablespoons oyster sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
• MEAT INGREDIENTS:
• 1/2 lb chicken breast, sliced
• 1/2 lb barbecued pork (char xiu)
• 6 -8 medium shrimp
• 7 -8 baby bok choy
• VEGETABLES:
• broccoli
• cauliflower
• 3/4 cup shiitake mushroom (rehydrated or fresh, i buy the dried black ones)
• 1/2 cup sliced bamboo shoot
• 1/4 cup sliced water chestnuts
• 1/2 cup baby corn
• 3 tablespoons minced garlic
• 2 (250 g) packages fresh egg noodles
• 1/4 cup water
• OTHER INGREDIENTS
• 1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 5 tablespoons oil

Preparation

Step 1

1 Immerse egg noodles into boiling water for 30 seconds, then remove and set aside.
2 Heat your wok at high heat, keep it dry. Add 5 tbsp oil and coat the wok evenly with oil.
3 Fry the noodles for about 2 minutes, and keep shaking it back and forth, until the noodles turn golden brown. Flip and repeat.
4 The outer noodles should be golden, inner ones are soft. Remove noodles and arrange in center of a plate.
5 Blanch the vegetables in boiling water (30 seconds). You can arrange the bok choy in a circle around the noodles if you like.
6 Put some oil and fry minced garlic in the work, then add the blanched vegetables and stir fry. Add the meat ingredients, 1 tbsp water, cover the wok and steam for 1 - 2 minutes.
7 Add the flavouring ingredients, the water with corn starch, and fry gently. Add a bit more water if you want more sauce. 8 Pour the veggies and meat over the noodles.
9 Note #1: Char xiu (Honey BBQ pork) is available in Chinatown or a good Chinese grocery store, as well as baby boy choy (also known as Shanghai bok choy).
10 Note #2: Ideally you should use a large non-stick wok for frying noodles. Traditionally, Chinese people use a carbon steel wok, which is baked in the oven after purchase, and then rubbed with oil after washing each time to protect it. It turns black over time, and is pretty much non-stick. You could also use a non-stick pan, but non-stick coatings are poisonous and will accumulate in your body. Non-stick pans should generally be only used with medium or low heat. If you like them, get a professional grade non-stick pan for high heat cooking, it feels like ceramic.
11 Note #3: I often add a dash of rice wine (sake) to the meat and vegetables. It just gives it a little extra flavour and isn't salty like most cooking wines.