Chili Oil Bean Curd Chicken and Mixed Mushroom Fish Ball Noodles (紅油腐乳菇魚蛋雞麵, Hung4 Jau4 Fu6 Jyu5 Gu1 Jyu4 Daan6 Gai1 Min6)

Fermented bean curd adds a different flavor to this seafood and chicken noodle dish and is not often used in noodle dishes. I at first thought that fermented bean curd would not go well with and mask the flavor of the fish balls, but I found out that that this is a tasty combination. You of course have to like the taste of fermented bean curd and the brand I used is packed in chili oil, so the noodles are slightly spicy.

Enjoy!

Ingredients

½ lb.	250 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.	Mixed mushroom fish balls (菇魚蛋, gu1 jyu4 daan6), cut into halves
½ lb.	250 g.	Snow peas (荷蘭豆, ho4 laan4 dau6)
1	1	Onion (洋蔥, joeng4 cung1), halved and cut into ½-inch (15 mm.) pieces
8 oz.	227 g.	One package fried tofu (油炸豆腐, jau4 zaa3 dau6 fu6)
3 stalks	3 stalks	Green onions (葱, cung1), cut into 1-inch (2.5 cm.) pieces on the diagonal
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

4 cakes	4 cakes	Laoganma brand chili oil bean curd (紅油腐乳, hung4 jau4 fu6 jyu5) 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

 

Laoganma Brand Chili Oil Bean Curd
(紅油腐乳, hung4 jau4 fu6 jyu5)

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. Open the fried tofu package and discard any liquid.
4. Wash and remove the string from the snow peas by grasping each snow pea in one hand and pulling the tip the length of the snow pea with the other.
5. Remove the tough outer skin of the onion and cut in half lengthwise. Cut ½-inch (15 mm.) pieces from each onion half.
6. Crush the ginger and garlic in a garlic press and put into a small bowl.
7. Wash and cut the green onions into 1-inch (2.5 cm.) pieces on the diagonal.
8. Prepare and mix the sauce in a small bowl: add the Laoganma brand chili oil bean curd 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. Transfer the chicken to a bowl.
3. Reheat the wok over high heat before adding oil and then the onion. Stir fry the onion and then transfer 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 transfer them to the bowl with the chicken.
5. Reheat the wok over high heat before adding oil and then the snow peas. Stir fry the snow peas to brown them. Add the bowl with the ginger and garlic mixture, and then some oil to the mixture. Quickly stir fry all the ingredients until the ginger and garlic mixture becomes fragrant, and transfer the contents of the wok 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 and serve immediately.