Merry Christmas and Happy holidays!
I sincerely thank each and every one of you who have been part of the YiReservation community in the past year (I apologize if I sound just like a year ago).
Your visits, subscriptions, and the comments are the reason why I keep this site constantly filled with delicious recipes and food pictures.
I am really excited about the New Year and I can’t wait to share more authentic Chinese regional dishes that I have been working on.
In this possibly last post of the year 2011 I would like to share a dish with one of my favorite Cantonese noodle dishes – stir-fried noodles with soy sauce.
This classic Cantonese dish is simple and delicious to make not to mention it is the very original form of much well known takeout dish lo mien (in the States anyway).
Compared to the ordinary lo mien you get from one of the 5000+ takeout restaurants across the US, this dish calls for premium soy sauce (extra savory) and a special ingredient called Chinese yellow chives.
Yellow chives have this intense pungent garlicky taste, more so than the regular chives. They are fairly common in Chinese cooking but are rarely seen in the Western markets. Use the regular chives instead if your local Chinese supermarkets don’t carry them.
As for the noodles I like to use the think curly Chinese egg noodles. They are just perfect for stir frying. Make sure use the mung bean sprouts instead of the soy bean sprouts. They taste quite different.
Blanche the noodles in a wok-full of boiling water
Rinse in cold water to cool down the noodles
Make the stir-fry sauce ahead of the time
Brown the scallion until aromatic
Stir fry the noodles in high heat
Add the bean sprouts, chives, and scallions to the noodles. Mix in the sauce and cook for another minute. Add sesame seeds and you are ready to serve!
Stir-Fried Noodles with Soy Sauce (豉油王炒麵) For 2-3 servings
Ingredients:
- ½ lb fresh Chinese egg noodles (the thin ones are preferred)
- 6 oz mung bean sprouts
- 4 oz Chinese yellow chives (can be substituted with regular chive)
- 2 scallions
- 1.5 tbsp Soy sauce + 1 tbsp dark soy sauce
- 1 tbsp cooking wine
- 2 tsp sugar
- ½ tsp sesame oil
- toasted sesame seeds
- salt to taste
Instructions:
1. Rinse the bean sprouts, yellow chive, and scallion in cold water. Cut the yellow chives and scallion into 2 inch long segments. Separate out the white parts of scallion and cut again into 1 inch long.
2. Blanched the egg noodles in boiling water for about 20 seconds. If you use the dried noodles extend the time until the noodles are loose but still hard. Be generous with the amount of the water to avoid noodles getting stuck together. Cool the noodles in cold water. Drain off the water on a mesh drainer.
3. To make the stir-fry sauce, combine the soy sauce, cooking wine, sugar, and sesame oil in a bowl. Stir to mix well.
4. Heat up wok, grease the wok with 3 tbsp of cooking oil. Add the white parts of scallions and cook until aromatic, about 30 seconds. Add noodles and turn up the heat to high.
5. Rigorously stir fry the noodles for about 1 minute. Mix in the bean sprouts and the yellow chives. Slowly add the pre-mixed sauce while constantly stir the noodles. Fry for another 1 minute when the bean sprouts are just about to wilt (overcooking will result wilted bean sprouts which is saggy). Add salt if needed. Sprinkle some sesame seeds and plate the noodles.
tips:
1. Add some Sriracha sauce if you love the noodles spicy.
2. If you have any leftover roasted chicken meat, you can also add to the noodles to make a chicken stir-fried noodles – aka chicken lo mien:)
