market chicken fried noodles
2 min readThese noodles are a bestseller at the market and the recipe has barely changed in 20 years.
We keep the vegetables simple-carrots, cabbage and broccoli, each with their distinct shape,colour and texture-to enhance the star of the show the noodles. Our secret for creating juicy noodles without ladles of oil is simple: create quick one-wok chicken gravy so that every strand of noodle is coated with a light but delicious slick of sauce.
Serves 300g skinless, boneless chicken thighs, cut into strips 250g dried egg noodles 4 tbsp vegetable oil 1 tbsp finely diced ginger 1 clove garlic, finely diced 1 small carrot, thinly sliced small white cabbage (about 260g), roughly shredded 12 head of a medium broccoli, cut into florets 34 tsp salt 114 tsp granulated sugar 1 tsp dark soy sauce chilli sauce, to serve(optional) for the marinade tsp light soy sauce 14 tsp salt 14 tsp granulated sugar pinch ground white pepper tsp cornflour tsp bicarbonate of soda 1 Mix the chicken, marinade ingredients and 2 tablespoons water together in a bowl. Cover and leave to marinate for 20 minutes.
2 Prepare the dried egg noodles according to the packet instructions, reducing the cooking time by a half. Drain in a colander and use pair of scissors to cut through the pile of noodles to shorten them.
3 Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a wok over a high heat and stir-fry half of the ginger and garlic until fra-grant. Add the marinated chicken, spread it over the base in a single layer and allow to brown for 1 minute, then flip the chicken every 30 seconds for a further 3 minutes, or until the chicken pieces have a golden crust.
Pour in 60ml water, cover with a lid or plate and leave for 1 minute until the chicken is cooked through. Transfer the chicken, gravy and any sticky brown bits to a bowl and set aside.
5 Wipe the wok with kitchen paper. Heat 1 tablespoon oil over a high heat and stir-fry the remaining ginger and garlic. Add the carrot slices, cabbage and broccoli and toss the vegetables in the oil for 1 minute, before pouring in 80ml water and covering with a lid. This traps in the wok hei(the smoky flavours or breath’ of the wok). Cook for 2 minutes until the vegetables have softened, then un-cover and reduce the heat to medium-low.
6 Return the chicken and gravy to the wok, together with the noodles, salt, sugar, dark soy sauce and the remaining 1 tablespoon oil. Toss the noodles until they are evenly coated and warmed through.
Serve with chilli sauce, if that’s your style.
