Chinese Chicken Recipes for Busy People

Somehow didn’t really feel like going out to get food today.  It’s one of those days that I would look at my pantry and see if there’s anything that can fill me up.  So I decided to make fried noodles.  This is not any fancy pan fried noodles that you order at a Chinese restaurant. This is another poor man’s food cos there isn’t much ingredients needed.  I had this as my breakfast occassionally when I was in middle/high school.  There were street hawkers selling fried noodles, congees and other goodies in the morning.  I would pay a few bucks for my fried noodles.  They put the noodles in a small white plastic bag, and stick a plastic folk in it, it’s totally unfancy.  I could put hot sauce or hoisin sauce in if I like.  I would eat that in the bus. By the time I got to school, I was done with breakfast.

 

 

Ingredients (serve 2 -3):

• Chinese dried noodles (prefer the skinny noodles, see the picture), 1/2 pound (which is half a bag)
• Ground meat, 1/4 pound (Optional. I usually use pork/beef, you can use chicken, or even turkey, or totally skip this)
• Carrot, 2 sticks
• Bok choy, 4 or 5 leaves
• Scallion, 4 stems
• Garlic, 1 clove
• Soy sauce, 1 tsp
• Chinese cooking wine, 1 tsp
• Fish sauce, 1 tsp
• Oyster sauce, 1 Tbsp
• Teriyaki sauce, 1 Tbsp
• Black bean sauce, 1 tsp
• Sesame oil, 1 tsp

Steps:

1. Cut the carrots into thin strips.  Put it aside.
2. Cut the bok choy into thin strips.  Put it aside.
3. Finely chopped the garlic.  Put it aside.
4. Cut the scallions into thin strips. Put it aside.
5. To prepare the sauce, add the following in a bowl and put it aside: oyster sauce, fish sauce, teriyaki sauce, and black bean sauce.
6. In a big pot, boil 8 or 9 cups of water.  Use high heat.  When the water boils, add the dried noodles.  Separate them with a fork or chopsticks.  Let it cooked for 5 mins or so. 
7. When the noodles are cooked. Turn off the heat.  Run it under cold water.  Rinse it with cold water for a couple of times to get rid of the starch.  Drain them well.
8. In a frying pan, add a tablespoon of cooking oil, or spray oil to the pan.  Use high heat. Add carrot. Stir fry it for 2 mins.
9. Add ground meat to the pan.  Stir fry it for a couple of minutes until it is cooked.  Add a teaspoon of cooking wine.  Add a teaspoon of soy sauce.  Mix it well.
10. Add bok choy to the pan.  Mix it well.
11. Add the drained noodles to the pan.  Turn down the heat to medium.
12. Add the sauce to the noodles.  Mix it well.  Stir fry the noodles for a couple of minutes. 
13. Add chopped scallion to the noodles.  Add a few drops of sesame oil.  Mix it well. Let it cook for 1 more minute.