Posted on
7 August 2014
by
Liz Robb
Chicken Chow Mein
Ingredients
2 tablespoons of light soy sauce
Dark soy sauce
2 tablespoons for the marinade and 2 for the stir fry
1 heaped teaspoon of five spice powder
2 teaspoons of rice vinegar
1 level tablespoon of cornflour
3 large or 4 small chicken breast fillets
180g dried medium Chinese style egg noodles
Toasted sesame oil
A small chunk of fresh ginger
3 cloves of garlic
1 large red pepper
160g mangetout
160g baby chestnut mushrooms
Large bunch of spring onions
1 red chilli
2-3 large handfuls of beansprouts
Sunflower oil
1 level tablespoon of chilli sauce
White pepper
Preparation
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1. First make the marinade. In a bowl, mix together the soy sauces, the rice vinegar and the five spice powder. Sprinkle in the cornflour and stir. Slice the chicken breasts into thin strips and place them in the bowl, stirring to make sure they are well coated with the marinade. Leave to chill in the fridge for 2-3 hours if possible.
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2. Cook the noodles in boiling water according to the instructions, usually 4 minutes, then drain well and run under cold water. Place in a bowl and sprinkle over a few drops of sesame oil, mixing to coat the noodles and avoid them sticking together, then set aside for later.
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3. Prepare the vegetables. Peel and chop the ginger very finely and crush the garlic. Slice the mangetout in half diagonally. Deseed the red pepper and slice thinly. Slice the mushrooms. Top and tail the spring onions and slice each one diagonally into 3-4 pieces. Deseed and chop the chilli finely. Rinse the beansprouts.
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4. Heat a tablespoon of sunflower oil and another of toasted sesame oil in a large wok until hot, then cook the ginger and garlic briefly, for about 30 seconds, taking care not to allow it to burn. Tip in the marinated chicken and stir-fry over a high heat for 4-5 minutes, or until cooked right through. Remove the chicken with a slotted spoon and set to one side.
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5. Add a little more oil to the wok and stir-fry the red pepper and mushrooms for 2-3 minutes. Add the spring onions, chilli and beansprouts and cook for a further 2 minutes.
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6. Return the chicken to the vegetables in the wok then stir in the noodles. Drop in in a further 2 tablespoons of dark soy sauce, a level tablespoon of chilli sauce and a sprinkling of white pepper, then stir-fry for a further 4 minutes or until everything is really hot. Serve immediately.
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Additional notes:
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You can, of course, use fresh noodles rather than dried if you prefer, although dried ones work very well.
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Some recipes include oyster sauce as well as soy sauce.
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Other vegetables can be added to the dish, for example, sliced green beans, carrot sticks, sweetcorn or thinly sliced Chinese cabbage.
Cooks Note
This well-known Chinese dish, a favourite to take away, is actually quite simple to cook yourself. Food cooked at home from fresh ingredients and spices is so tasty, so why not try cooking it on your takeaway night this week?
The name Chow Mein comes from a Chinese term simply meaning stir fried noodles, and there doesn’t have to be much more to cooking it than that, except for marinating the chicken a few hours in advance if possible. It really is delicious, well worth the effort!
This recipe serves 4.
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