Ken Hom’s Chinese New Year main Chow mein
Celebrate on 12 February with a popular noodle dish from the chef, author and presenter
The name means ‘stir-fried noodles’, and this egg noodle dish is as popular in the West as it is in southern China. You can add almost any ingredient, such as meat, fish, poultry or your favourite veg.
SERVES 4 PREP 10 mins plus marinating COOK 20 mins EASY
225g dried or fresh egg noodles
1 tbsp sesame oil, plus
1 tsp 100g boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into thin lengths
21/2 tbsp groundnut oil
2 garlic cloves, inely chopped
50g mangetout, inely shredded
50g parma ham or cooked ham, inely shredded
2 tsp each light and dark soy sauce
1 tbsp Shaoxing rice wine
1/2 tsp freshly ground white pepper
1/2 tsp golden caster sugar
2 spring onions, inely chopped For the marinade
2 tsp light soy sauce
2 tsp Shaohsing rice wine
1 tsp sesame oil
1/2 tsp freshly ground white pepper
1 Cook the noodles in a large pan of boiling water for 3-5 mins, then drain and put them in cold water. Drain, toss them with 1 tbsp of the sesame oil and set aside.
2 Combine the chicken with all the marinade ingredients and 1/2 tsp salt, mix well, then leave to marinate for about 10 mins.
3 Heat a wok over a high heat. Add 1 tbsp of the groundnut oil and, when it’s very hot and slightly smoking, add the chicken. Stir-fry for about 2 mins, then transfer to a plate. Wipe the wok clean. Reheat the wok until it is very hot, then add the remaining groundnut oil. When the oil is slightly smoking, add the garlic and stir-fry for about 10 seconds. Tip in the mangetout and ham, and stir-fry for 1 min.
4 Add the noodles, soy sauces, rice wine, pepper, sugar, spring onions and 1 tsp salt, then stir-fry for 2 mins. Return the chicken and any juices to the noodle mixture. Stir-fry for about 3-4 mins until the chicken is cooked. Add 1 tsp sesame oil and give the mixture a final stir.
PER SERVING 399 kcals • fat 18g • saturates 4g • carbs 41g • sugars 3g • ibre 3g • protein 18g • salt 4.2g
For more of Ken’s recipes and ideas for Chinese New Year, go to bbcgoodfood. com. You can watch classic Ken Hom cookery shows on BBC iplayer, including an episode about noodles in Ken Hom’s Chinese Cookery series.