1/4 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon Asian sesame oil
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons Chinese rice wine (preferably Shaoxing) or medium-dry Sherry
2 tablespoons oyster sauce*
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon Asian sesame oil
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons Chinese rice wine (preferably Shaoxing) or medium-dry Sherry
2 tablespoons oyster sauce*
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon Asian sesame oil
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons Chinese rice wine (preferably Shaoxing) or medium-dry Sherry
2 tablespoons oyster sauce*
2 teaspoons cornstarch
Back in college I thought I'd wow everyone with my Chinese cooking skills. Here I am in the dorm kitchen cooking up chow main and the second I combined the sesame oil, garlic and ginger the smell lured my friends and other hungry college students from their rooms.
Let me back up and brief you on cooking chow mein. Chow mein is one of those recipes that is really easy, but it's all about sequence and heat. Unfortunately that day in college my two biggest weaknesses kicked in: I like to skip steps in recipes and I like to merge steps together. My chow mein turned out to be a mess of oily and sticky noodles, vegetables and meat. My friends regrettably ate the noodles, and new friends that I almost acquired from the smell of the chow mein set their bowls aside telling me they were "too full" to finish.
I'm older, I'm wiser, I'm more patient and I've foiled this recipe enough times to only do it the right way now. Follow this recipe closely, I promise I'll make it an easy and painless.
Chicken Chow Mein
Marinade for chicken
1/4 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp sesame oil
2 tbs soy sauce
2 tbs rice wine vinegar
3 tbs oyster sauce
2 tsp corn starch
1 tsp garlic
1 tsp ginger
1 chicken breast
4 tbs peanut oil (or olive oil)
4 tsp sesame oil
2 garlic cloves minced
2 tsp ginger minced
1 can water chestnuts
5 asparagus sprigs
1/2 bell pepper
1 bok choi
1 celery stock
1/8 c chicken stock
2 tbs soy sauce
1 tbs oyster sauce
1/4 c cilantro
1 green onion
one package of Asian noodles
Slice the chicken breast at a diagonal angle in thin strips. In a bowl, mix together the sugar, sesame oil, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, oyster sauce, corn starch, garlic and ginger.
Put the sliced chicken in the bowl, put plastic wrap over the top of the bowl and let it marinade for about 20 minutes.
Chop up all of your vegetables. Any vegetables can be used in chow mein so feel free to throw in whatever you have in your fridge, just remember when cooking some veggies take longer to cook than others. For example, broccoli takes longer to cook than asparagus.
In a wok or large frying pan, put it on high heat. Add the peanut and sesame oil, once it swirls around the wok easily you're ready to stir fry. Pour the entire bowl of chicken and marinade into the wok, you should get a good sizzle. Keep the wok on high heat, the chicken (if sliced thin enough) should cook in about 5-8 minutes). When finished, put the cooked chicken and sauce into a bowl and set it aside.
Get your wok hot again (get used to this, you'll need to do it one more time). Pour more peanut and sesame oil into the wok. Take a pinch of garlic and ginger and throw it into the wok, the smell by now should be amazing. Add the vegetables, cook for about a minute. Pour the chicken broth over the vegetables and cook for about 5 more minutes. Last, drain the water chestnuts and throw them over the stir fry. Put the cooked vegetables into the bowl with the chicken and set aside.
For the last time, heat up the wok, pour in the peanut and sesame oil. Toss the remaining garlic and ginger into the wok. Before adding the noodles read this: the trick to this next step is to keep the noodles moving, do this by holding the wok/pan slightly above the heat and shimmy the wok/pan back and forth (tossing the noodles around) or use a flat wooden spoon to continuously push the noodles around. On three add the noodles: one . . . two . . . three. Pour the remaining soy sauce and oyster sauce over the noodles.
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| To take the picture of these noodles I had to stop moving the wok, guess what . . . they stuck! |
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In a serving dish layer the noodles and spoon the stir fried chicken and vegetables on top of the noodles. Garnish with cilantro and green onions and enjoy your perfectly fried up noodles, crisp vegetables and teriyaki style chicken in a one wok meal.
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