Single Meal - Dungeness Crab Shrimp Hong Kong Noodles (北美大肉蟹蝦仁雲吞麵, Bak1 Mei5 Daai6 Juk6 Haai5 Haa1 Jan4 Wan4 Tan1 Min6)

Dungeness crab is now in season, which is a treat in my part of the world. The crab was used in another dish and there was a small amount left over, so I decided to make a noodle dish. I originally posted this recipe: Dungeness Crab Hong Kong Noodles (北美大肉蟹雲吞麵, Bak¹ Mei⁵ Daai⁶ Juk⁶ Haai⁵ Wan⁴ Tan¹ Min⁶), which was adapted the recipe from the Dungeness Crab with Cellophane Noodles recipe at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch website, and this dish is based on that recipe. This is a quick cooking dish, and using Hong Kong noodles, in place of cellophane noodles, and shrimp which works well with the crab. The portion size is reduced, hence the “Single Meal” designation, and produces two servings.

Enjoy!

Single Meal - Shrimp Knife Cut Noodles (蝦炒刀削麵, Haa1 Caau2 Dou1 Soek3 Min6)

With this recipe, I’m introducing a new type of meal. You’ll notice that the title of this recipe is prefaced with, “Single Meal”. Most of my previous recipe postings were for four or more servings per recipe, which is great if you’re cooking for a family or cooking enough to have leftovers for the week. Whenever you see, “Single Meal”, in the recipe title, the portion has been reduced to produce one or two meals, so the name is a bit of a misnomer since it really is more than a one meal recipe. The idea here is to produce recipes, for instance, for a lunch or dinner with enough leftovers for another meal. The meals can be scaled up to produce larger portions, usually by increasing the ingredients and/or sauce amounts.

For this recipe, there was a predecessor: Shrimp Dough Sliced Chow Mein (蝦炒刀削麵, Haa¹ Caau² Dou¹ Soek³ Min⁶), which used frozen dough sliced noodles. I first got introduced to this dish at the local Chinese Muslim restaurant. Ordering this dish and green onion bread makes for a great meal. Dough sliced noodles are aptly named since the noodles are sliced from a block of dough. The noodles have a chewy doughy texture, unlike normal chow mein noodles.

This recipe uses dried knife cut noodles (which is just another name for the same noodles). The good news when using dried noodles is that there’s no overnight thawing required to use the noodles (although they still must be rehydrated). The bad news about these noodles is that my local Asian market had the noodles on closeout, so once I run out, that’s it unless I find a replacement brand. Luckily I bought enough of the dried knife cut noodles to last a while, so hopefully another brand will become available in the meantime. Your local Asian market might stock these noodles, so you might not have the same problem.

Rehydrating the dried noodles is easy. All you need is a covered container, boiling water, the dried noodles, and a microwave oven. All you need to do is to pour boiling water over the dried noodles in a covered container. Place the container into a microwave oven and microwave on high for about 3-4 minutes, until the noodles boil for about 30-60 seconds. The strength of your microwave and the thickness of the dried noodles will dictate the amount of time needed to rehydrate the noodles in the microwave, so you’ll have to experiment to find the time needed microwaving. The noodles should be al dente, in fact they should seem a little undercooked. Stir frying the noodles in a wok later will complete cooking.

Enjoy!

Technique: How to Quickly Rehydrate Dried Noodles

Like the technique to quickly rehydrate dried mushrooms, Technique: How to Quickly Rehydrate Dried Shiitake Mushrooms (冬菇, Dung¹ Gu¹), the microwave is used to quickly rehydrate dried noodles. Usually dried noodles need to be rehydrated by using boiling water in a pot, which means the pot needs to be cleaned afterwards.

I use boiling water, a microwave safe covered container, and the microwave to speed up the process, and not have to clean a pot afterwards (the covered container gets placed into the dishwasher). Depending upon the type and thickness of the dried noodle and the strength of the microwave, the time required to rehydrate the noodles in the microwave is about 3-4 minutes after boiling the water. Using this method allows just about any dried noodle to be rehydrated using this technique. I have not tried using this method with long thick noodles, like spaghetti, since those noodles don’t fit into normal microwave safe covered containers. However dried noodles that are smaller in length, such as those found in Asian markets, this is a quick and easy method to rehydrate the noodles before making a stir fry noodle dish. These noodles usually come in 3.5 oz (100 g.) packages, so two of these packages are good for two meals (one portion to eat now, one portion to eat later).

Enjoy!

Basil Cilantro Lobster Noodles (紫蘇芫茜龍蝦麵, Zi2 Sou1 Jyun4 Sai1 Lung4 Haa1 Min6)

Happy New Year! For the first dish of the New Year, here’s a lobster noodle dish seasoned with basil and cilantro. The normal lobster dish found in restaurants is usually made with a fresh whole lobster (shell included) and you have to remove the meat from the shell in order to eat the dish. The dish is visually stunning with the bright red lobster shell, but a messy pain to eat (at least in my opinion). I would rather not have the visually stunning presentation and use cooked (not fresh) lobster meat removed from the shell. I use kitchen shears to remove the meat from the lobster shells, especially the small legs that contain that hard to get at lobster meat. If a whole lobster is too much of a challenge, you can substitute cooked lobster tails. For this dish, I used basil and cilantro for added flavor in this dish. The traditional lobster noodle recipe just uses lobster, so this variation adds a nice fresh herbal note to the dish.

Enjoy!

Chicken and Cantonese Sausage Hong Kong Noodles (臘腸鷄炒雲吞麵, Laap6 Coeng4 Gai1 Caau2 Wan4 Tan1 Min6)

I always have a package of Cantonese pork sausage in my refrigerator. The sausages have a characteristic deep red color and provide a tasty addition to any dish, in this case, Hong Kong noodles. The sausages are dried, so they are dense and hard, and not at all like fresh sausages. The sausages can be purchased at your local Asian market. Cantonese pork sausage can be made with many ingredients, but this dish uses the pork only version. The sausages are also available lean, with less fat content. Oil may be need to be added to the wok if the lean version is used, otherwise the sausages produce their own oil when cooked.

Enjoy!

Shabu Shabu Beef Chow Mein (涮涮锅牛肉炒麵, Saan3 Saan3 Wo1 Ngau4 Juk6 Caau2 Min6)

Shabu Shabu beef can be purchased at your local Japanese or Asian market, and is thinly sliced beef used as an ingredient to the Japanese dish by the same name. The price of Shabu Shabu beef will vary widely depending upon the cut of the meat, so pick a type that’s affordable to you. There’s no need to use any baking soda to tenderize the beef since thinly cut meat is already tender. Shabu Shabu beef is an easy to use ingredient for noodle dishes, since the beef’s already cut into thin pieces.

Enjoy!

Ginger Scallion Dungeness Crab Noodles (薑葱北美大肉蟹炒麵, Goeng1 Cung1 Bak1 Mei5 Daai6 Juk6 Haai5 Caau2 Min6)

Dungeness crab is a crab that’s native to the West coast of the North America. Whenever it’s available, I try to purchase freshly cooked crab to use in dishes. Any crab can be used in this dish if Dungeness crab is not available, and if you’re not fortunate enough to be able to buy fresh cooked crab, canned or frozen can be substituted. For this dish, I used a variety of herbs (ginger, scallion, cilantro, and mint) to give this noodle dish a fresh and distinctive flavor. The shredded spice tofu gives the dish a texture contrast (to the other ingredients) and adds to the flavor of this noodle dish.

Enjoy!

Basil Shredded Spice Tofu Chicken and Cantonese Pork Sausage Chow Mein (紫蘇五香豆腐絲臘腸鷄炒麵, Zi2 Sou1 Ng5 Hoeng1 Dau6 Fu6 Si1 Laap6 Coeng4 Gai1 Caau2 Min6)

I always have a package of Cantonese pork sausage in my refrigerator. The sausages have a characteristic deep red color and provide a tasty addition to any dish, in this case, chow mein noodles. The sausages are dried, so they are dense and hard, and not at all like fresh sausages. The sausages can be purchased at your local Asian market. There are many variations (of content), but this dish uses the pork only version. The sausages are also available lean, with less fat content. Oil may be need to be added to the wok if the lean version is used, otherwise the sausages produce their own oil when cooked.

Enjoy!

Oyster Sauce Snow Crab Hong Kong Noodles (蠔油雪蟹炒雲吞麵, Hou4 Jau4 Syut3 Haai5 Caau2 Wan4 Tan1 Min6)

Snow crab (Chionoecetes opilio) was available at my local market, so I used it to make a noodle dish with Shiitake mushrooms and fried tofu. I usually use Dungeness crab, since it is seasonally more readily available where I live, but since snow crab was available, I decided to use this crab instead. I really couldn’t tell any difference in taste when I used the snow crab, but it always good to try cooking a dish using ingredients that you’ve never used before.

Enjoy!

Abalone Sauce Shrimp and Dungeness Crab Chow Fun (鮑魚醬蝦北美大肉蟹炒粉, Baau1 Jyu4 Zoeng3 Haa1 Bak1 Mei5 Daai6 Juk6 Haai5 Caau2 Fan2)

This recipe was updated on 30 Aug 2016. The Cantonese for Dungeness crab was added to the title.

This is a luxurious seafood chow fun dish using shrimp and cooked Dungeness crab meat with Gold Coin Shiitake mushrooms. Abalone sauce compliments this dish, but oyster sauce can be substituted if abalone sauce is not available. I happen to live in an area where freshly cooked Dungeness crab can be obtained seasonally (you just have to take the time to remove the meat from the shell), but you can substitute any cooked crab meat, fresh, frozen, or canned.

Gold Coin Shiitake mushrooms are just small Shiitake mushrooms that can be purchased at your local Asian market or Asian herb store. Small mushrooms are used because they can be eaten whole in one bite, but you can substitute regular sized mushrooms cut into strips if the small mushrooms are not available. The small mushrooms are more expensive than the regular sized Shiitake mushrooms, and they vary in price depending upon the quality of the mushroom. You can get the best quality Shiitake mushrooms at an Asian herb store (with the prices to match), but while Asian markets have lower quality mushrooms in comparison, the mushrooms at Asian markets are still very tasty. The main differences between the mushrooms at the herb store and the Asian market are the appearance and “meatiness” of the mushrooms.

Shiitake mushrooms sold in Asian herb stores are whiter in color than black, with a pattern (resembling a flower, as opposed to being a solid black), are prized and priced accordingly. These mushrooms also are more “meaty” than their counterparts, being thicker and having more texture when eaten than the thinner mushrooms normally sold at Asian markets. Some of the best Shiitake mushrooms sold at Asian herb shops come from Japan and are sold for higher prices than the Asian market mushrooms. Asian markets sell higher grade Shiitake mushrooms, but their best mushrooms do not match the quality found at Asian herb shops. If you’re fortunate enough to have an Asian herb shop near you, I would urge you to go in and explore their dried goods offerings (not just mushrooms, but dried fish maw, shrimp, abalone, cloud ear fungus, and the list goes on…).

Enjoy!

Chicken Crab Chow Mein (蟹鷄炒麵, Haai5 Gai1 Caau2 Min6)

Noodles with meat and seafood are a tasty combination. For this recipe, chicken and crab are combined in this dish. If you’re fortunate enough to live in an area where fresh Dungeness crab is seasonally available, by all means take the effort to extract the meat from the cooked crabs to make this dish. If you’re not so fortunate, canned or frozen crab can be substituted. I think I’ve commented on this before, but noodle dishes seem so simple to make, but require many steps to make, and are always worth the effort.

Enjoy!

This dish is not in the Recipe Index due to blog problem.

Black Pepper Sauce Kurobuta Pork Chow Mein (黑椒汁豬肉炒麵, Hak1 Ziu1 Zap1 Zyu1 Juk6 Caau2 Min6)

Here’s another recipe using Kurobuta (aka Berkshire) pork, which is a heritage breed with more flavor. The last recipes to use Kurobuta pork were made with spareribs in a clay pot: Clay Pot Black Bean Sauce Kurobuta Pork Spareribs (砂煲豆豉豬排骨, Saa¹ Bou¹ Dau⁶ Si⁶ Zyu¹ Paai⁴ Gwat¹) and Clay Pot Basil Pork Sparerib and Fish Ball (砂煲紫蘇魚蛋豬排骨, Saa¹ Bou¹ Zi² Sou¹ Jyu⁴ Daan⁶ Zyu¹ Paai⁴ Gwat¹). This recipe uses thinly sliced Kurobuta pork butt in a stir fry noodle dish. Regular pork butt sliced thinly can be used if Kurobuta is not available at your local Asian market.

I was asked recently about making the dishes found on this blog when a particular manufacturer’s brand was specified in the recipe. If you notice in the ingredient list where a brand is specified, I specify a brand and add the words “or equivalent”. For this recipe, I’ve specified Lee Kum Kee’s brand of Black Pepper Sauce. Lee Kum Kee is not the only manufacturer of Black Pepper Sauce, so while it is the brand I use, feel free to substitute another manufacturer’s Black Pepper Sauce (which would be the “or equivalent) that’s easily available to you. Adapt your recipe to use the local ingredients and brands, and don’t worry about using the exact brand specified.

Enjoy!

Basil Shrimp Chow Mein (紫蘇蝦炒麵, Zi2 Sou1 Haa1 Jan4 Caau2 Min6)

Fresh basil leaves add a nice flavor to this shrimp chow mein recipe. Some oyster sauce is added to the sauce to further enhance the taste of this dish. The sauce is absorbed by the noodles, so the dish is a “dry” chow mein without a much liquid.

Enjoy!

Doenjang Fish Cake Noodles

This noodle dish uses ingredients from my local Korean market and is definitely not an authentic Korean recipe. Like my previous Korean-style recipe, Korean-Style Pork Belly and Fish Cake Stew (韓燉魚片豬腩肉, Hon⁴ Dan⁶ Jyu⁴ Pin³ Zyu¹ Naam⁵ Juk⁶), the three principal sauce ingredients are Korean Hot Pepper Powder (고추가루, Gochugaru), Korean Hot Pepper Paste (고추장, Gochujang), and Korean Fermented Soybean Paste (된장, Doenjang) – in different ratios with the Doenjang being the principal part of the sauce in this case. The other major ingredient to make this noodle dish is Korean flat fish cake (어묵, Eomuk), which is purchased already cooked and then cut into strips. You can, of course, use another type of fish cake that’s more available to you if you cannot find Eomuk.

Enjoy!

Black Bean Chili Oil Snow Pea Lamb Chow Mein (黑豆辣椒油荷蘭豆羊扒炒麵, Hak1 Dau6 Laat6 Ziu1 Jau4 Ho4 Laan4 Dau6 Joeng4 Paa4 Caau2 Min6)

Here’s another lamb loin chop meat recipe, this time using noodles. The dish is slightly spicy through the use of Laoganma brand’s Black Bean Chili Oil. As in the previous lamb loin chop meat recipe, Black Bean Chili Oil Lamb with Bean Curd Sticks (黑豆辣椒油腐竹羊肉, Hak¹ Dau⁶ Laat⁶ Ziu¹ Jau⁴ Fu⁶ Zuk¹ Joeng⁴ Juk⁶), more common (and cheaper) cuts of lamb can be substituted, such as lamb leg or shoulder cut into 2-inch (5 cm.) pieces. Lamb loin chops have two distinct pieces of meat separated by a bone as in a beef T-bone steak. The larger piece of meat is the loin and the smaller is the tenderloin. The two pieces of meat need to be removed from the bone, and then the loin and tenderloin pieces cut thinly using a very sharp knife.

Enjoy!

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!

Chicken Abalone Sauce Noodles (鮑魚醬鷄乾撈麵, Baau1 Jyu4 Zoeng3 Gai1 Gon1 Lou1 Min6)

This is actually a variation on the previous noodles in sauce recipes: Noodles in Sauce (乾撈麵, Gon¹ Lou¹ Min⁶), Chicken and Chinese Broccoli Noodles (芥蘭鷄乾撈麵, Gaai³ Laan⁴ Gai¹ Gon¹ Lou¹ Min⁶), and Basil Noodles in Sauce (紫蘇乾撈麵, Zi² Sou¹ Gon¹ Lou¹ Min⁶). Rather than using oyster sauce, as was done in the previously mentioned recipes, abalone sauce was substituted, and the dish used many fresh ingredients that are more often used to make chow mein. I would characterize the taste of the noodles as being more subtle by using abalone instead of oyster sauce. So the next time you reach for the oyster sauce, try substituting abalone instead.

Enjoy!

Chinese Broccoli Beef Heart Hong Kong Noodles (芥蘭牛心炒雲吞麵, Gaai3 Laan4 Ngau4 Sam1 Caau2 Wan4 Tan1 Min6)

My previous noodle recipe using beef hearts, Curry Tomato Beef Heart Chow Mein (咖哩番茄牛心炒麵, Gaa³ Lei¹ Faan¹ Ke⁴ Ngau⁴ Sam¹ Caau² Min⁶), was a variation on a tomato beef curry noodles using chow mein noodles. This recipe uses the thinner Hong Kong noodles (also known as Won Ton Noodles), so the ingredients are cut small to compliment the noodles width, and uses a simple soy based sauce for flavoring. As a reminder, beef hearts have the same texture as chicken gizzards and, of course, taste like beef. You can think of them as a crunchy version of beef. Also since the heart is a muscle, beef hearts do not have an organ taste, for instance, like liver. You can purchase beef hearts at your local Asian market, usually already cut into pieces.

Enjoy!

Basil Black Bean Chili Sauce Chicken Cabbage Chow Mein (黑豆辣椒紫蘇青椰菜鷄炒麵, Hak1 Dau6 Laat6 Ziu1 Zi2 Sou1 Ceng1 Je4 Coi3 Gai1 Caau2 Min6)

Here’s another variation of the Chicken Cabbage Chow Mein (青椰菜鷄炒麵, Ceng¹ Je⁴ Coi³ Gai¹ Caau² Min⁶) recipe, with basil and slightly spicier sauce. I’ve been adding cabbage to my chow mein recipes lately, probably because a nearby Chinese noodle restaurant does the same to their dishes. The cabbage adds a nice crunch to the recipe and a good textural contrast to the soft noodles. Depending upon the size of the cabbage, two to four leaves are needed for the dish. Other than the added cabbage, the rest of the ingredients used in this recipe are fairly common in chicken chow mein. This is a “dry” noodle dish and not a dish with a lot of “wet” sauce.

Enjoy!

Chicken Cabbage Chow Mein (青椰菜鷄炒麵, Ceng1 Je4 Coi3 Gai1 Caau2 Min6)

 

I’ve been adding cabbage to my chow mein recipes lately, probably because a nearby Chinese noodle restaurant does the same to their dishes. The cabbage adds a nice crunch to the recipe and a good textural contrast to the soft noodles. Depending upon the size of the cabbage, two to four leaves are needed for the dish. Other than the added cabbage, the rest of the ingredients used in this recipe are fairly common in chicken chow mein. This is a “dry” noodle dish and not a dish with a lot of “wet” sauce.

Enjoy!