Chicken and Chinese Broccoli Noodles (芥蘭鷄乾撈麵, Gaai3 Laan4 Gai1 Gon1 Lou1 Min6)

This recipe was updated on 29 Jun 2015. Some instructions and ingredient quantities were changed.

Here’s another variation of Noodles in Sauce (乾撈麵, Gon¹ Lou¹ Min⁶) and is very easy to make. The combination of chicken, Chinese broccoli, and oyster sauce is very tasty. If you’re really in a hurry to eat, you can just use oyster sauce alone to make the sauce, but the other ingredients add more flavor, so take the time to prepare the complete sauce.

Enjoy!

Ingredients

¾ lb.	375 g.	Chicken thigh or breast meat (gai1 juk6, 雞肉), cut into 1-inch (2.5 cm.) pieces
1 tsp.	5 ml.	Baking soda (蘇打粉, sou1 daa2 fan2)
½ in.	15 mm.	Knob of ginger (薑, goeng1), crushed in a garlic press
2 cloves	2 cloves	Garlic (蒜, syun3), crushed in a garlic press
1 Tbs.	15 ml.	Corn starch (粟粉, suk1 fan2)
2 Tbs.	30 ml.	Soy sauce (豉油, si6 jau4)
1 Tbs.	15 ml.	Hoisin sauce (海鮮醬, hoi2 sin1 zoeng3)
2 Tbs.	30 ml.	Shaoxing rice wine (紹興酒, siu6 hing1 zau2) or dry sherry
½ tsp.	2.5 ml.	Ground white pepper (白胡椒, baak6 wu4 ziu1)
1 tsp.	5 ml.	Sesame oil (麻油, maa4 jau4)
4 stalks	4 stalks	Chinese broccoli (芥蘭, gaai3 laan4), cut into 2-inch (5 cm.) pieces
4 stalks	4 stalks	Green onions (葱, cung1), cut into 2-inch (5 cm.) lengths
½ in.	15 mm.	Knob of ginger (薑, goeng1), crushed in a garlic press
2 cloves	2 cloves	Garlic (蒜, syun3), crushed in a garlic press
1 lb.	500 g.	One package chow mein noodles (炒麵, caau2 min6)
		Oil for cooking

 

Sauce Ingredients

2 Tbs.	30 ml.	Lee Kum Kee brand premium oyster sauce (蠔油, hou4 jau4) or equivalent
2 Tbs.	30 ml.	Shaoxing rice wine (紹興酒, siu6 hing1 zau2) or dry sherry
½ tsp.	2.5 ml.	Ground white pepper (白胡椒, baak6 wu4 ziu1)
1 tsp.	5 ml.	Sesame oil (麻油, maa4 jau4)

 

Equipment

		Garlic press
14 in.	35.5 cm.	Wok or pan

 

Lee Kum Kee Brand
Premium Oyster Sauce
(蠔油, hou4 jau4)

Preparation Instructions

1. Prepare the chicken thigh or breast meat by removing any skin or bones, and cut into 1-inch (2.5 cm.) pieces. Wet with water and add baking soda to the chicken, allow to tenderize for 15 minutes, and then wash the baking soda from the meat. The baking soda can be omitted but results in the tender meat experienced in restaurant dishes.
2. Marinate the chicken in a covered container for at least one hour or overnight in the refrigerator with the ginger and garlic crushed in a garlic press, corn starch, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, Shaoxing rice wine or dry sherry, ground white pepper, and sesame oil. If marinating the chicken overnight, take it out of the refrigerator at least one hour before cooking.
3. Wash and cut the Chinese broccoli into 2-inch (5 cm.) pieces.
4. Crush the ginger and garlic in a garlic press and put into a small bowl.
5. Wash and cut the green onions into 2-inch (5 cm.) pieces.
6. Prepare and mix the sauce in a small bowl: add the Lee Kum Kee brand premium oyster sauce or equivalent, Shaoxing rice wine or dry sherry, ground white pepper, and sesame oil. You can only use oyster sauce (poured straight from the bottle) without the other ingredients and the dish will still taste good.

Cooking Instructions

1. Cook the noodles according to the instructions on the package and until the noodles are al dente. Drain the noodles and set aside. If using thawed, ready-made, or fresh noodles, “fluff” the noodles to separate them (i.e. you don’t want put a single mass of noodles into the wok).
2. Heat a wok or pan over high heat before adding oil. Add the chicken pieces to the wok in a single layer on the bottom and brown the outside. You may have to cook the chicken in batches, so be sure to reheat the wok over high heat before adding more oil. Transfer the chicken to a bowl.
3. Reheat the wok over high heat before adding oil and then the Chinese broccoli. Stir fry the Chinese broccoli to brown them. Add the bowl with the ginger and garlic, and then some oil to the mixture. Quickly stir fry all the ingredients until the ginger and garlic become fragrant, and then transfer to the bowl with the chicken.
4. Reheat the wok over high heat before adding more oil and then the noodles. The wok should be very hot before adding the oil and then the noodles. Noodles cooked in a restaurant wok (over much higher heat than that available in your kitchen) are served slightly burned, which gives the noodles an extra added flavor.  To try to emulate slightly burned noodles, try to put the noodles in one layer in the hot wok and add some liquid (water, stock, or Shaoxing wine; but not too much liquid otherwise you’ll steam the noodles) to facilitate the heat transfer from the wok to the noodles, and leave the noodles alone. You want the noodles to get burned before adding more oil to the noodles and turning them over, repeating the process.
5. Add the green onions and the contents of the bowl with the chicken back into the wok, and stir fry all the ingredients together. Add the sauce to the wok and combine the ingredients. Put the cooked ingredients into a serving dish and serve immediately.