Baby Choy Sum Chicken Chow Mein (小菜心雞炒麵, Siu2 Coi3 Sam1 Gai1 Caau2 Min6)

This noodle dish uses bay choy sum as the vegetable. Baby choy sum is used rather than regular choy sum because of its small size. Due to its size, you can use it whole in the dish and also cooks quickly in a hot wok. Baby choy sum can be “made” from normal choy sum by peeling off all the outer stalks, leaving the tender center, if you can’t find the baby version at your local Asian market (but then you’ll have to find another use for all those choy sum stalks).

Using bamboo shoot strips with noodles is a way to give the dish an added invisible crunch. By invisible, I mean that the bamboo shoot strips will blend in with the noodles and most people will not even notice that they’re present in the dish. The fresh bamboo shoot strips, which you can usually find in bulk bins at your local Asian market, are crunchier than the canned version and you can buy just the amount that you need for a recipe. I usually use a ratio of ½ lb. (250 g.) fresh bamboo shoot strips to 1 lb. (500 g.) of noodles, but drained, the canned version is 10.5 oz. (300 g.), which is close enough.

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.	Baby choy sum (小菜心, siu2 coi3 sam1)
7.4 oz.	210 g.	One 15 oz. (425 g.) can peeled straw mushrooms (草菇, cou2 gu1), drained
10.5 oz.	300 g.	One 20 oz. (567 g.) can bamboo shoot strips (筍, seon2), drained, or use ½ lb. (250 g.) fresh if available
3 stalks	3 stalks	Green onions (葱, cung1), cut into 2-inch (5 cm.) 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.	500 g.	Chow mein noodles (炒麵, caau2 min6)
		Oil for cooking

 

Sauce Ingredients

2 Tbs.	30 ml.	Laoganma brand black bean chili sauce (黑豆辣椒油, hak1 dau6 laat6 ziu1 jau4) or equivalent
1 Tbs.	15 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

14 in.	35.5 cm.	Wok or pan

 

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. Add the baking soda to the chicken, allow to tenderize for 10 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 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 the baby choy sum.
4. Open and drain the can of peeled straw mushrooms.
5. Open and drain the can of bamboo shoot strips, or wash if using fresh.
6. Crush the ginger and garlic in a garlic press and put into a small bowl.
7. Wash and cut the green onions into 2-inch (5 cm.) pieces.
8. Prepare and mix the sauce in a small bowl: add the Laoganma brand black bean chili sauce or equivalent, 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 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 high heat and 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 straw 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 bowl with the ginger and garlic. Quickly stir fry the ginger and garlic until fragrant before adding more oil and then the baby choy sum. Stir fry the baby choy sum to brown them and then remove to the bowl with the chicken.
5. Reheat the wok over high heat before adding oil and then the bamboo shoot strips. Stir fry the bamboo shoots and then remove them to the bowl with the chicken.
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 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.
7. 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 ingredients to the wok and mix the ingredients together. Put the cooked ingredients into a serving dish.