Saturday, May 27, 2006
House Special Chow Mein - My House That Is
Last night was a bit strange. A
friend of ours had invited us round to her place, and as we hadn't seen her in months we accepted gladly. We should have known that this was not going to be a straightforward dinner invitation, but we did not expect to spend the evening watching crime dramas on TV and eating mediocre Chinese take-out. Oh well, you learn from your mistakes. I used this one as an inspiration for today's shopping and cooking. Before even going down to the market, I made my way to the Oriental Emporium on South George's Street. And unlike the last few times I actually bought more than the usual staples of soy sauce and bok choi. I filled by basket with kai lan (Chinese broccoli), galangal, bean sprouts, baby bok choi, banana leaves, Chinese coconut buns, fresh egg noodles, fish sauce, tom yum soup paste, a few noodle pots for quick easy lunches, some lovely jasmine tea... The list goes on. In fact, I bought so much, I arrived at the market with a full bag.I really wouldn't have needed to buy anything else, besides maybe a few more bits and pieces to go into the chow mein I was going to make for dinner. And in my defence, I did get a few shiitake mushrooms, some carrots and onions, but somehow I managed to fill another shopping bag with a bunch of entirely unneeded, albeit very nice looking foods. That left me spoilt for choice tonight. But I still opted for chow mein, this time with slightly more authentic ingredients than the times I posted here before. So, let me bug you with another recipe for fried noodles Asian style:
5 tbsp vegetable oil
2 portions fresh Chinese egg noodles
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
2 to 3 cm fresh ginger, grated
½ onion, sliced into wedges
1 boneless, skinless chicken breast (about 6 ounces), cut into thin strips
a big handful of prawns (fresh or frozen defrosted)
1 carrot, cut diagonally into thin slices
6 to 8 shiitake mushrooms, sliced
a handful Chinese broccoli
6 to 8 heads of baby bok choi, cleaned and halved lengthways (or 3 big bok chois, sliced)
2 handfuls bean sprouts
3 tbsp dry sherry (Chinese cooking wine is more authentic, but I rarely have any at home)
2 tbsp lime juice
1 to 2 tbsp fish sauce
2 tbsp light soy sauce (plus extra to taste)
a few spoonfuls chicken stock (plus extra stock granules to taste)
chilli powder or ground pepper to taste (optional)
I needed, boil the noodles according to package instructions. Drain well and set aside.
Heat the oil in a wok or large frying pan over medium high heat. Add the garlic and ginger, and stir-fry until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the chicken and fry, until lightly browned, about 1½ minutes. Now add the onion and mushrooms and continue frying for another minute. If you are using fresh prawns, put them in the pan now. Then add the broccoli, carrots and a few splashes of chicken stock and stir-fry until crisp-tender, about 2 minutes. Add the sherry, lime juice and fish sauce, followed by the noodles and frozen defrosted prawns, if you are using those. Toss to combine, adding chicken stock if the mixture appears sticky. Stir in the bean sprouts and remove from the heat. Season to taste with extra stock granules, soy sauce and chilli or pepper.
Christine at 1:16 am
