Chicken and Mustard Green Chow Mein (芥菜鷄炒麵, Gaai3 Coi3 Gai1 Caau2 Min6)

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

Mustard greens must be in season since they’ve been on sale at my local Asian market. Chicken and mustard greens is a combination that goes well together. Mustard greens not only add a crunchy texture to this dish, but also a distinctive taste to this noodle dish.

Enjoy!

Ingredients

¾ lb.	375 g.	Chicken thigh or breast meat (雞肉, gai1 juk6), 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)
½ lb.	250 g.	Mustard greens (芥菜, gaai3 coi3), cut into ½-inch (5 cm.) pieces
10	10	Dried Shiitake mushrooms (冬菇, dung1 gu1), rehydrated and cut into ½-inch (15 mm.) pieces
8 oz.	227 g.	One package marinated five spice bean curd (五香豆腐, ng5 hoeng1 dau6 fu6), cut into ¼-inch (7.5 mm.) pieces
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.	454 g.	One package chow mein noodles (炒麵, caau2 min6)
		Oil for cooking

 

Sauce Ingredients

2 Tbs.	30 ml.	Dark soy sauce (老抽, lou5 cau1)
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)

 

Equipment

		Garlic press
14 in.	35.5 cm.	Wok or pan

 

Preparation Instructions

1. Pour boiling water over the dried Shiitake mushrooms in a heat proof bowl and rehydrate the mushrooms for at least one hour or overnight.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. Remove the Shiitake mushrooms from the rehydration liquid, remove the stems, and cut them into ½-inch (15 mm.) pieces. Reserve the rehydration liquid for later use in the cooking process.
5. Wash and cut the mustard greens into ½-inch (15 mm.) pieces.
6. Open the package and cut the marinated five spice bean curd into ¼-inch (7.5 mm.) pieces.
7. Crush the ginger and garlic in a garlic press and put into a small bowl.
8. Prepare and mix the sauce in a small bowl: add the dark soy sauce, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, Shaoxing rice wine or dry sherry, ground white pepper, and sesame oil.

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. Set the chicken aside in a bowl.
3. Reheat the wok over high heat before adding oil and then the Shiitake mushrooms. Stir fry the mushrooms and then remove them to the bowl with the chicken.
4. Reheat the wok over high heat before adding oil and then the marinated five spice bean curd. Stir fry the bean curd and then remove them to the bowl with the chicken.
5. Reheat the wok over high heat before adding oil and then the mustard greens. Stir fry the mustard greens 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 remove the mixture to the bowl with the chicken.
6. Reheat the wok over high heat, add more oil, and then add 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 a household kitchen, is 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 a small amount of the mushroom rehydration liquid (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.
7. Add the contents of the bowl with the chicken back into the wok and stir fry all the ingredients together. Add the sauce ingredients to the wok, mix the ingredients together, and then put the cooked ingredients into a serving dish.