Chicken and Abalone Mushroom Hong Kong Noodles (鮑魚菇雞雲吞麵, Baau1 Jyu4 Gu1 Gai1 Wan4 Tan1 Min6)

I had a can of abalone mushrooms and decided to make a noodle dish with them. Chicken and mushrooms are one of my favorite combinations, and all you have to do is to add some fired tofu and vegetables (in this case baby bok choy), and your dish is complete. In the USA, only canned abalone mushrooms are available in Asian markets, but any mushroom can be used if abalone mushrooms are not available.

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)
4 stalks	4 stalks	Baby bok choy (小白菜, siu2 baak6 coi3), quartered lengthwise
7.4 oz.	210 g.	One 15 oz. (425 g.) can abalone mushrooms (鮑魚菇, baau1 jyu4 gu1), drained
8 oz.	227 g.	One package fried tofu (魚豆腐, jyu4 dau6 fu6)
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.	Hong Kong noodles (雲吞麵, wan4 tan1 min6)
		Oil for cooking

 

Sauce Ingredients

2 Tbs.	30 ml.	Kim Ve Wong brand thick soy sauce (膏油醬, gou1 jau4 zeong3) or equivalent
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)
½ Tbs.	7.5 ml.	Sesame oil (麻油, maa4 jau4)

 

Equipment

		Garlic press
14 in.	35.5 cm.	Wok or pan

 

Kim Ve Wong Brand
Thick Soy Sauce
(膏油醬,
gou1 jau4 zeong3)

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 baby bok choy into quarters lengthwise. If the baby bok choy is small, the number of stalks should be increased and cut into halves instead of quarters.
4. Open and drain the liquid from the can of abalone mushrooms. Separate the individual mushrooms.
5. Open the fried tofu package and discard any liquid.
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 Kim Ve Wong brand thick soy sauce or equivalent, 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 abalone 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 fried tofu. Stir fry the fried tofu and then remove them to the bowl with the chicken.
5. Reheat the wok over high heat before adding oil and then the baby bok choy. Stir fry the baby bok choy 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.
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 all the ingredients together. Put the cooked ingredients into a serving dish and serve immediately.