Chili Lemongrass Shrimp Hong Kong Noodles (辣椒檸檬葉蝦雲吞麵, Laat6 Ziu1 Ning4 Mung4 Jip6 Haa1 Wan4 Tan1 Min6)

While this recipe is similar to the Chili Lemongrass Shrimp Dough Sliced Noodles (辣椒檸檬葉蝦刀削麵, Laat⁶ Ziu¹ Ning⁴ Mung⁴ Jip⁶ Haa¹ Dou¹ Soek³ Min⁶), Hong Kong noodles are used in this recipe together with eggs. Shrimp goes really well with the scrambled eggs in noodle dishes, and the spiciness from the dried red chili peppers goes well with the lemongrass.

Enjoy!

Ingredients

1 lb.	500 g.	Shrimp (蝦仁, haa1 jan4), shelled and deveined
1 Tbs.	15 ml.	Corn starch (粟粉, suk1 fan2)
½ tsp.	2.5 ml.	Ground white pepper (白胡椒, baak6 wu4 ziu1)
1 tsp.	5 ml.	Sesame oil (麻油, maa4 jau4)
3	3	Eggs (雞蛋, gai1 daan6), scrambled
10	10	Dried Shiitake mushrooms (冬菇, dung1 gu1), rehydrated and cut into ½-inch (15 mm.) pieces
2 stalks	2 stalks	Baby bok choy (小白菜, siu2 baak6 coi3), leaves separated
3 stalks	3 stalks	Green onions (蔥, cung1), cut into 1-inch (2.5 cm.) pieces on the diagonal
2 cloves	2 cloves	Garlic (蒜, syun3), crushed in a garlic press
2 slices	2 slices	Ginger (薑, goeng1), crushed in a garlic press
8	8	Dried red chili peppers (指天椒, zi2 tin1 ziu1), cut into ½-inch (15 mm.) pieces – to taste
3 stalks	3 stalks	Lemongrass (檸檬葉, ning4 mung4 jip6), white inner core sliced thinly
1 lb.	500 g.	Hong Kong noodles (雲吞麵, wan4 tan1 min6) – 1 package
		Oil for cooking

 

Sauce Ingredients

2 Tbs.	30 ml.	Soy sauce (豉油, si6 jau4)
2 Tbs.	30 ml.	Dark soy sauce (老抽, lou5 cau1)
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

14 in.	35.5 cm.	Wok or pan

 

Preparation Instructions

1. If using frozen shrimp, defrost the shrimp overnight in the refrigerator. Wash, shell, and devein the shrimp or prawn. In the USA, the names are used interchangeably and prawn usually means a large shrimp; either will work in this dish. Put the shrimp into a bowl and add the marinade ingredients – corn starch, ground white pepper, and sesame oil. Marinate the shrimp for one hour.
2. Pour boiling water over the dried Shiitake mushrooms in a heat proof bowl and rehydrate the mushrooms for at least one hour or overnight. Remove the Shiitake mushrooms from the rehydration liquid, remove the stems, cut them into ½-inch (15 mm.) pieces, and set aside. Reserve the rehydration liquid for later use in the cooking process.
3. Scramble the eggs in a bowl.
4. Wash and separate the leaves from the baby bok choy.
5. Wash and cut the green onions into 1-inch (2.5 cm.) pieces on the diagonal.
6. Crush the ginger and garlic in a garlic press and put into a small bowl.
7. Remove any stems from the dried red chili peppers, cut into ½-inch (15 mm) pieces, and place into the bowl with the crushed ginger and garlic. The amount of red chili peppers to use in this dish depends upon personal taste, so feel free to reduce or increase the amount.
8. Remove the tough outer leaves of the lemongrass, as these parts are inedible, exposing the softer inner white core near the root. Cut the inner core into thin pieces and place into the bowl with the crushed ginger and garlic.
9. Prepare the sauce in a small bowl by adding the soy sauce, dark 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 ready-made or fresh noodles are used, “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 medium-low to medium heat and before adding oil. Add the shrimp to the wok in a single layer on the bottom. Once the shrimp just turns pink, flip the shrimp over and cook the other side until it just turns pink. The shrimp will look slightly undercooked and will remain tender when cooked later with all the other ingredients. Set the shrimp aside in a bowl.
3. Reheat the wok over medium-low to medium heat before adding more oil and then the bowl with the scrambled eggs. Scramble the eggs and place into the bowl with the shrimp.
4. 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 shrimp.
5. Reheat the wok over high heat before adding oil and then the bowl with the crushed ginger and garlic, red chili peppers, and lemongrass. Stir fry the ingredients until fragrant before adding and stir frying the baby bok choy leaves to brown them. Remove the contents of the wok to the bowl containing the shrimp.
6. 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 a small amount of liquid (water, stock, or Shaoxing rice 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.
7. Add the green onions and the contents of the bowl with the cooked shrimp back into the wok, and stir fry the ingredients together. Add the sauce to the wok and combine the ingredients. Put the cooked ingredients into a serving dish and serve immediately.