Hong Kong Soy Sauce Fried Noodles

This is a classic and famous noodle dish from Hong Kong. Egg noodles are fried with bean sprouts, chives and premium soy sauces. It is a simple noodle dish that can be prepared in minutes but is still very satisfiying. Try to use high quality soy sauce and a Chinese wok if you own one.



Hong Kong Soya Sauce Fried Noodles
(adapted from kokken69.blogsppot.com)

• Dried Egg Noodle 200g (blanched quickly in hot water to soften. Drain and set aside)
• Premium light soya sauce 2 tbsp 
  •  (if you can't find light soya sauce, use dark soya sauce instead)
• Premium dark soya sauce 1 tbsp
• Oyster sauce 1/2 tbsp
• Sugar 1/8 tsp
• Pepper Generous dash
• Bean sprouts 1 loose cup
• Chives 1/2 loose cup 
• Toasted Seseame seeds Generous sprinkle.

1. Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a heated wok.

2. Add bean sprouts and fry for 1 minute over medium heat. Add softened noodles and fry for 1/2 minute over high heat.

3. Add all seasoning and continue to fry noodles over high heat for about 2-3 minutes.

4. Add in Chinese chives and fry for another 1/2 minute. Sprinkle on toasted sesame seeds and dish out. Serve with chilli sauce.

Kung Pao Chicken

My Family loves to go to PF Changs. PF Changs is a Chinese restaurant or Bistro here in the US, nothing fancy, but good food and it happens to be right around the corner from our house. One of our favorit dishes there is Kung Pao Chicken. Kung Pao Chicken is an exemplary example of Szechwan cuisine due to its combination of sweet, sour, salty and hot tastes.
I decided to look for a recipe to make this dish on my own since we don't always feel like going out to eat and was very satisfied how this recipe from Cooks Illustrated turned out. Serve with rice and a hearty dark beer.

Kung Pao Chicken

(from Cooks Illustrated)

Serves 4.     

While we prefer this dish made with chicken thighs rather than breasts because the dark meat has richer flavor and is less prone to drying out, if you prefer, you can replace the thighs with chicken breasts. You can substitute plain rice vinegar for the black rice vinegar (available in Asian markets), but we prefer the latter for its fruity, salty complexity. If you prefer roasted unsalted cashews over peanuts, substitute an equal amount. Do not eat the whole chiles in the finished dish.

INGREDIENTS

1	pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs , trimmed of fat and cut into 1-inch pieces
1	tablespoon dry sherry or rice wine
2	teaspoons soy sauce
3	medium cloves garlic , pressed through garlic press or minced (about 1 tablespoon)
1/2	inch piece fresh ginger , peeled and minced (about 2 teaspoons)
3	tablespoons peanut oil or vegetable oil
1/2	cup roasted unsalted peanuts
6	small whole dried red chiles (each about 1 3/4 to 2 inches long), 3 chiles roughly crumbled, or 1 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes
3/4	cup low-sodium chicken broth
2	teaspoons black rice vinegar or plain rice vinegar
2	teaspoons toasted sesame oil
1	tablespoon oyster sauce
1	tablespoon hoisin sauce
1 1/2	teaspoons cornstarch
1	medium red bell pepper , cut into 1/2-inch dice
3	medium scallions , sliced thin

INSTRUCTIONS

1. 1. Toss chicken with sherry and soy sauce in medium bowl; marinate until thighs have absorbed flavors, about 10 minutes. Mix garlic, ginger, and 1 tablespoon oil in small bowl; set aside. Combine peanuts and chiles in small bowl; set aside. Mix chicken broth, vinegar, sesame oil, oyster-flavored sauce, hoisin sauce, and cornstarch in small bowl or measuring cup; set aside.
2. 2. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in 12-inch skillet over high heat until just beginning to smoke. Add chicken and cook without stirring for 2 minutes, allowing chicken to brown on one side; stir and cook 1 1/2 to 2 minutes more, until no longer pink; stir peanuts and chiles into chicken and continue cooking until peanuts have darkened slightly, 30 to 40 seconds longer. Transfer chicken, peanuts, and chiles to bowl; set aside.
3. 3. Return skillet to burner and reheat briefly, 15 to 30 seconds. Add remaining 1 tablespoon oil, swirl to coat pan, and add red bell pepper; cook, stirring occasionally, until slightly softened, about 45 seconds. Clear center of pan, add garlic-ginger mixture, mash into pan with spoon or spatula, and cook until fragrant, 10 to 15 seconds; stir into peppers until combined. Stir broth mixture to recombine, then add to skillet along with reserved chicken, peanuts, and chiles; cook, stirring and scraping up browned bits on bottom of pan, until sauce has thickened to syrupy consistency, about 45 seconds. Stir in scallions and serve.

Ramen Shrimp Pouch

Everybody knows those Ramen noodle packages for a couple of cents that save every student from starving to death, right? But did you know that you can make an impressive dish out of it? This recipe only takes minutes to prepare and everybody will think you were sweating in the kitchen for hours.

Take a big piece of tin foil, stack the ingredients, add the liquid and cook it in the oven for 15 minutes.

In addition, you can make each package individually according to everybody's likings. Shrimp, chicken, or more vegetables can be substituted for fish and since this recipe is so simple it is just as easy to make for one person as it is to make it for a whole dinner party.

Ramen Shrimp Pouch

(Alton Brown)

serves 4

2 packages Ramen noodles, divided ½ cup dried mushrooms, chopped 20 large raw shrimp, peeled and deveined ½ cup finely chopped onion ½ cup sliced scallions ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes ½ teaspoon kosher salt 1 quart vegetable broth ½ cup mirin, (sweet rice vinegar) ¼ cup soy sauce 4 teaspoons sesame oil Special equipment: 4 (18-inch) squares aluminum foil 1.Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. 2.Divide ramen noodles evenly in center of each of the 4 pieces of aluminum foil. Stack the following ingredients on top of noodles, in this order: mushrooms, shrimp, onions, scallions, red pepper flakes, and salt. Pull sides and corners of pouch up to form a small basket shape leaving an opening at the top to pour in liquid. 3.In small bowl, combine vegetable broth, mirin, soy sauce, and sesame oil. Distribute liquid evenly among packs. Press foil together, leaving a small opening to allow steam to escape. Place on cookie sheet and bake in oven for 15 minutes. Serve immediately.

Vietnamese Shrimp and Glass Noodle Salad

Still suffering from those additional holiday pounds?  This salad makes it easy to get started with a fresh and light diet.

Vietnamese cuisine is well known for its contrasts of taste and texture and this salad is no exception. Crunchy bean sprouts and sugar snap peas are mixed with light glass noodles and dressed in a tangy ginger-lime dressing. The shrimp add great flavor and protein and the Chile rounds the dressing with a slight spiceness. I was a little bit worried that the flavor of the fish sauce would be overwhelming so I started out using a small teaspoon. I ended up adding the whole amount and it worked out perfectly.

Vietnamese Shrimp and Glass Noodle Salad
(From Nigella Lawson)


Vietnamese Dressing:
2 Cloves Garlic, minced or crushed
2 Fresh Long Red Chiles, seeded and finely diced or julienned
2 Tbsp Finely Minced Fresh Ginger
4 Tbsp Fish Sauce (Nam Pla)
1 Lime, juiced
4 Tbsp Water
1 Tbsp Sugar
2 tsp Groundnut Oil
1 tsp Sesame Oil

Salad:
8 ounces Cooked Small Shrimp
6 ounces Glass Noodles
4 ounces Sugar Snap Peas
4 ounces Bean Sprouts
3 Scallions, sliced into thin circles
½ cup Finely Chopped Fresh Cilantro Leaves, to garnish



To make the Vietnamese Dressing, simply mix all the ingredients together. This will keep very well in a tightly sealed jar in the refrigerator for at least a week.

To make the salad, marinate the shrimp in ½ cup of the Vietnamese Dressing. While this is going on, soak the noodles in freshly boiled water according to packet instructions. Once re-hydrated, refresh the noodles in cold water, then drain. Put the sugar snaps and bean sprouts into a colander and pour over freshly boiled water from a kettle. Rinse them with cold water and drain well, just shaking the colander, so they're not actually wet.

In a large bowl, mix the marinated shrimp with the drained noodles, scallions, sugar snaps, and bean sprouts. Dress with 2 tablespoons more of the Vietnamese Dressing; add more dressing, to taste, if desired.

Sprinkle over the chopped cilantro and toss everything together well before arranging onto a large plate.

Dan Dan Noodles

Another recipe of Jamie Oliver that turned out beautifully...

Dan Dan Noodles

(Jamie's America)

In the western Sichuan province of China, they make this dish in huge buckets that they carry on poles over their shoulders. “Dan” means pole, so these are, quite literally, “pole pole” noodles. It’s a simple dish, full of soft, silky noodles, lovely veg, some great crispy meat and a wonderful hum from the raw garlic. So there is a load of punchy flavours here, and then, of course, you’ve got the Sichuan pepper and the wonderful chilli.

I absolutely love chilli, but this dish is right on the edge of my chilli tolerance. Personally, I think that’s the beauty of it, and you’ve just got to go for it, but by all means halve or quarter the amount of chilli for a mellower dish.

Serves 4

1 beef or chicken stock cube, preferably organic

500g minced beef

2 tbsp runny honey

300g wheat noodles

4 handfuls of mixed green veg (chinese cabbage, sprouting broccoli, bok choy, spinach)

4 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely chopped

3 tbsp dark soy sauce

2 tsp freshly ground Sichuan pepper

5 tbsp good-quality chilli oil (see PS below)

2 spring onions, trimmed and finely sliced

1 lime, quartered, to serve

Crumble your stock cube into a large pan of water and get it on the heat. Add the beef to a dry pan and, on a medium to high heat, keep moving it around until it’s golden and crunchy, about 10-15 minutes. Pour away any excess fat, then add the honey and toss until all the mince is nicely coated. Cook for about 30 seconds, then take the pan off the heat.

Stir your noodles into the boiling stock and move them about so they don’t stick together. Cook according to the packet instructions. Shred your cabbage into 1cm strips, quarter your bok choy and snap up the broccoli spears. When the noodles have 1 minute to go, throw in the prepared greens to blanch them. Drain the whole lot in a colander, reserving a mugful of the cooking water. Tip your noodles, veg and the mugful of water back into the hot pan.

Add your garlic, soy sauce, Sichuan pepper and chilli oil. Give it all a good mix with tongs and divide between 4 bowls. Sprinkle over the crunchy beef (you can reheat this at the last minute if you like), finish with a scattering of spring onions and serve each dish with a lime quarter to squeeze over. A serious noodle dish.

PS To make your own chilli oil, get a handful of mixed dried chillies (as many as you like), toast them in the oven to bring out the flavour, whack them in a food processor with a bottle of groundnut oil and pour back into the bottle. This will keep well in your cupboard for a year.