Chicken and Chinese Broccoli Dough Sliced Noodles (芥蘭鷄刀削麵, Gaai3 Laan4 Gai1 Dou1 Soek3 Min6)

Chicken and Chinese broccoli are two of my favorite taste combinations. The ingredients can be made into a dish all by itself, as in the Chinese Broccoli Oyster Sauce Chicken (芥蘭蠔油雞, Gaai³ Laan⁴ Hou⁴ Jau⁴ Gai¹) recipe, or used together with noodles, as in the Chicken and Chinese Broccoli Noodles (芥蘭鷄乾撈麵, Gaai³ Laan⁴ Gai¹ Gon¹ Lou¹ Min⁶) recipe. Both of the previously mentioned recipes use oyster sauce (another favorite ingredient of mine). So this noodle dish uses dough sliced noodles with all the previously mentioned ingredients. Dough sliced noodles are formed by cutting the noodles from a dough ball, so they’re also known as knife-cut noodles. The noodles have a chewy texture and are available in the frozen section of your local Asian market (if you can’t get them fresh). Just thaw the noodles overnight, even though the package instructions tell you not to, and stir fry. A flat noodle can be substituted if dough sliced noodles are not available, but the texture won’t be the same.

Enjoy!

Ingredients

¾ lb.	375 g.	Chicken thigh (鷄髀, gai1 bei2) or breast meat (雞胸肉, gai1 hung1 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.	Chinese broccoli (芥蘭, gaai3 laan4), cut into 1-inch (2.5 cm.) pieces
3 leaves	3 leaves	Cabbage (青椰菜, ceng1 je4 coi3), cut into ½-inch (15 mm.) pieces
1	1	Onion (洋蔥, joeng4 cung1), halved and cut into ½-inch (15 mm.) pieces
6 oz.	170 g.	One package cloud ear fungus (雲耳, wan4 ji5)
½ lb.	250 g.	Bean sprouts (芽菜, ngaa4 coi3)
10.5 oz.	297 g.	One 20 oz. (566 g.) can bamboo shoot strips (筍, seon2), drained, or use fresh if available
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
21 oz.	600 g.	Three 200 g. packages dough sliced noodles (刀削麵, dou1 soek3 min6)
		Oil for cooking

 

Sauce Ingredients

2 Tbs.	30 ml.	Lee Kum Kee brand Premium Oyster Sauce (蠔油, hou4 jau4) 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

 

Lee Kum Kee Brand
Premium Oyster Sauce
(蠔油, hou4 jau4)

Preparation Instructions

1. If using frozen dough sliced noodles, thaw in a covered container overnight in the refrigerator. Take the noodles out of the refrigerator at least one hour before cooking.
2. Prepare the chicken thigh or breast meat by removing any bones, excess fat, and skin. Cut the chicken 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. Wash and cut the Chinese broccoli into 1-inch (2.5 cm.) pieces.
5. Wash and cut the cabbage leaves into ½-inch (15 mm.) pieces.
6. Remove the tough outer skin of the onion, cut in half, and cut each half into ½-inch (2.5 cm.) pieces.
7. Wash the bean sprouts and remove as much liquid as possible to facilitate stir frying later.
8. Open and drain the can with the bamboo shoots, or use fresh if available (wash first). Remove as much water as possible to facilitate stir frying.
9. Crush the ginger and garlic in a garlic press and put into a small bowl.
10. Wash and cut the green onions into 1-inch (2.5 cm.) pieces on the diagonal.
11. Prepare and mix the sauce in a small bowl: add the Lee Kum Kee brand Premium Oyster Sauce or equivalent, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, Shaoxing rice wine or dry sherry, ground white pepper, and sesame oil.

Cooking Instructions

1. If using dried noodles, cook according to the instructions on the package until the noodles just become al dente, drain the noodles, and set aside. If using thawed, ready-made, or fresh noodles, “fluff” to separate the individual noodles (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 cloud ear fungus. Stir fry the fungus and then transfer them to the bowl with the chicken.
5. Reheat the wok over high heat before adding oil and then the cabbage. Stir fry the cabbage and then transfer them to the bowl with the chicken.
6. Reheat the wok over high heat before adding oil and then the Chinese broccoli. Stir fry the Chinese broccoli to brown them. Add the bowl with the ginger and garlic mixture to the wok, and then some oil to the mixture. Quickly stir fry all the ingredients until the ginger and garlic become fragrant. Transfer the contents of the wok to the bowl with the chicken.
7. Reheat the wok over high heat before adding oil and then the bamboo shoots. Stir fry the bamboo shoots and then transfer them to the bowl with the chicken.
8. Reheat the wok over high heat before adding oil and then the bean sprouts. Stir fry the bean sprouts and then transfer them to the bowl with the chicken.
9. 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.
10. 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.