MAURITIAN FAMILY FRIED NOODLES

This Is A Book About Noodles Recipe

Serves 4 to 6 Ingredients Marinated Chicken

3 boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into 2cm strips

½ tsp freshly ground black pepper

1 tbsp (15ml) light soy sauce

1 tbsp (15ml) Shaoxing rice wine

1 tsp cornstarch

1 tsp sesame oil

Fried Noodles

3 tbsp (45ml) vegetable oil, divided, for wok (150g) prawns, peeled and deveined

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

3 large eggs, whisked ⅔ cup (60g) shredded Chinese cabbage

⅔ cup (90g) matchstickcut carrot

3 spring onions, white part sliced, green part cut into 4cm lengths

1kg Hokkien noodles or wide egg noodles (storebought)

2 Chinese sausages, microwave with a little water, then sliced

2 tbsp (30ml) light soy sauce

2 tbsp (30ml) oyster sauce 1 cup (100g) mung bean sprouts

To serve

Chilli sauce

Another staple in my family comes from the blending of two cuisines from China and Mauritius, and stems from a preference for authentic, unpretentiously delicious food! It’s similar to a Chinese fried rice and has all the elements you’d expect: lap cheong (Chinese sausage), omelet, prawns and chicken. I prefer to use chicken thigh as they stay moist and the fat gets rendered off, joining the sauce for full flavour. These noodles are oyster sauce-heavy, but with all the usual suspects in there, too.

Prepare the marinated chicken mixture:

In a medium-sized bowl, mix together all its ingredients. Cover and set aside to marinate for at least 30 minutes.

Make the noodles: In a wok, heat 1 tablespoon (15ml) of the vegetable oil until hot and fry the prawns, about 3 minutes. Season with a little salt and pepper, remove and set aside.

Keeping the wok over the heat, add another tablespoon (15ml) of oil. Add the whisked eggs and swirl around the wok to cover as much surface area as possible. After 2 minutes, flip the omelet and cook for another 2 minutes. Slide on to a chopping board and slice into 2cm shreds.

Heat the wok until very hot and add the final tablespoon (15ml) of oil to cook the chicken mixture. Add the marinated chicken and cook until it starts to brown, 4 to 5 minutes. Add the Chinese cabbage, carrot and spring onions, and toss for another 2 to 3 minutes, or until the vegetables are softened. In a microwavesafe dish, microwave your noodles for about 2 minutes, then add to wok. Toss gently with tongs and continue to cook until the noodles are cooked through,

2 to 3 minutes.

Add fried prawns, Chinese sausages, light soy sauce and oyster sauce. Adjust for seasoning as desired. Toss and then add the mung bean sprouts before removing from the heat. Serve with the chilli sauce. This Is A Book About Noodles, by Brendan Pang: Page Street Publishing, $37. Picture: Thomas

Davidson