serves
2
prep
15 minutes
cook
10 minutes
difficulty
Easy
serves
2
people
preparation
15
minutes
cooking
10
minutes
difficulty
Easy
level
My Hokkien noodles are, I guess, like me – they’re a bit radical! They’ve got all my favourite ingredients in them: Chinese black vinegar, luscious kecap manis, sesame oil, shao hsing wine and a little bit of sugar, as well as pickles and mint. And I just love eating them with chillies. Again you can see the recurring theme in Asian cooking of each dish being a balance of sweet, sour, salty and hot flavours. In this recipe I’ve used organic chicken breast fillets, but any good-quality chicken is fine. I like to leave the skin on, to keep the chicken moist.
Ingredients
- 5 tbsp roughly chopped ginger
- 4 garlic cloves, crushed
- ⅓ cup kecap manis
- 2 tbsp Chinese black vinegar
- 2 tbsp Maggi seasoning
- ⅔ cup shao hsing wine
- 2 organic chicken breast fillets, thickly sliced on the diagonal
- 600 g (1¼ lb) fresh Hokkien noodles
- 2 tbsp peanut oil
- 1 small cucumber, peeled and finely sliced on the diagonal
- ¾ cup
- 2 tbsp oyster sauce
- ⅔ cup fresh black cloud ear fungus
- ¼ cup mint leaves
- pinch of
Serve as a simple lunch or supper for 2, or as part of a banquet for 4–6
Marinating time: 1 hour
Instructions
- Pound ginger and garlic with a pestle and mortar until you have a coarse paste. Combine half the paste in a bowl with kecap manis, vinegar, Maggi seasoning and half the wine. Add chicken and, using your hands, mix thoroughly. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour.
- Meanwhile, blanch noodles in boiling salted water until ‘al dente’ – about 4 minutes. Drain, refresh in cold water, then thoroughly drain again and set aside.
- Heat oil in a hot wok until the surface seems to shimmer slightly, then stir-fry chicken for about 2 minutes, or until almost cooked. Remove from wok and set aside. Add remaining ginger and garlic paste, cucumber and noodles and stir-fry for 1 minute. Add remaining wine, pickled vegetables, oyster sauce and mushrooms and stir-fry for a further minute. Return chicken to wok and stir-fry until chicken is just cooked through and noodles are hot.
- Stir mint leaves through noodles. Arrange in bowls, sprinkle with Sichuan pepper and salt, and serve immediately.
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Cook's Notes
Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.
My Hokkien noodles are, I guess, like me – they’re a bit radical! They’ve got all my favourite ingredients in them: Chinese black vinegar, luscious kecap manis, sesame oil, shao hsing wine and a little bit of sugar, as well as pickles and mint. And I just love eating them with chillies. Again you can see the recurring theme in Asian cooking of each dish being a balance of sweet, sour, salty and hot flavours. In this recipe I’ve used organic chicken breast fillets, but any good-quality chicken is fine. I like to leave the skin on, to keep the chicken moist.