Black Bean Chili Sauce Sugar Snap Pea Shrimp Noodles (黑豆辣椒蜜豆蝦麵, Hak1 Dau6 Laat6 Ziu1 Mat6 Dau6 Haa1 Min6)

The crunchiness of the sugar snap peas contrasts nicely with the texture of the shrimp in this slightly spicy black bean chili sauce noodle dish. You would think that stir fried noodle dishes are easy to make (and they are), but the number of ingredients contained in this common dish can be large, making the preparation and cooking these dishes at home a process longer than one would expect. This really isn’t a problem in a restaurant because of the high heat available to heat the wok. In a restaurant, the ingredients are added one after the other to the wok without really affecting the high temperature, resulting in a tasty quick cooking dish. This is not true for a typical home kitchen because the heat source is not as powerful as that found in restaurants. So if the restaurant method was used at home to cook the dish, the first ingredient would stir fry because the temperature would be high, but the subsequent ingredients would steam rather than brown because the temperature would drop with each added ingredient. Hence the need for the home cook to reheat the wok before adding and then removing each ingredient separately in order to stir fry, rather than steam, the ingredients. I’ve used this wok cooking method at home even though I have a special wok burner in my kitchen, which doesn’t approach the heat generated in a restaurant, but is hotter than the typical heat source found in most home kitchens. So if you’re stir frying over a typical kitchen stove burner, the time needed to cook a dish is longer since the time needed to reheat the wok is longer.

Enjoy!

Abalone Sauce Stone Crab Noodles (鮑魚醬石蟹炒麵, Baau1 Jyu4 Zoeng3 Sek6 Haai5 Caau2 Min6)

This recipe was updated on 26 Aug 2016. The title was changed to incorporate the Cantonese translation for Stone Crab.

My local Asian market had cooked stone crabs available, so I bought four of them (about 2 lb. (1 kg.) total) and after shelling got about ¾ lb. (375 g.) of meat. My previous crab noodle recipes used Dungeness crabs: Creamy Tomato Dungeness Crab Pasta, Dungeness Crab and Quail Egg Shallot Sauce Noodles (紅蔥鵪鶉蛋蟹麵, Hung⁴ Cung¹ Am¹ Ceon¹ Daan⁶ Haai⁵ Min⁶), and Dungeness Crab Hong Kong Noodles (蟹雲吞麵, Haai⁵ Wan⁴ Tan¹ Min⁶). Unlike Dungeness crabs, stone crabs have very thick and brittle shells that break into small pieces, which makes it very difficult to keep shell pieces out of the crab meat, and hence out of the noodle dish. While stone crabs are tasty, you have to eat this dish carefully to avoid any small shell pieces. Stone crab claws are large (when compared to their body size), so if you like claw meat, stone crabs are for you. Another cooked crab meat can be substituted if stone crabs are not available.

Enjoy!

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!

Sea Cucumber, Shrimp, and Chicken Hong Kong Noodles (海參蝦雞雲吞麵, Hoi2 Sam1 Haa1 Gai1 Wan4 Tan1 Min6)

This is not the typical noodle dish that I would make for an everyday lunch because of the ingredients and effort involved in making it. As with many Chinese dishes, seafood and meat are combined together for a tasty combination. In this case, the seafood is sea cucumber and shrimp, and the meat is chicken. In my experience, sea cucumber was served for special occasions and often at banquets celebrating those occasions. While there wasn’t a special occasion for making this dish, just having sea cucumber in a dish signifies that the meal is out of the ordinary. Sea cucumber is available in the USA either frozen or dried. The dried version takes a few days of preparation, so I prefer using the frozen version. Sea cucumber can be black or white in color, with the black type being more common and the white being less available (and more expensive). There’s no difference in taste that I can detect, so use whatever type is available.

Hong Kong noodles are used to make this dish and, in keeping with a dish that’s out of the ordinary, are specially prepared by forming a disc of noodles, and then making them crispy and slightly burnt for flavor on the outside, while still being soft on the inside. This can be accomplished by using a hot wok to crisp and brown the outsides (which is the method I used) or by baking the noodle disc in a hot oven after spraying oil on the surface. Since crispy noodles are used in this dish, the other ingredients used as the topping are “wet”, meaning that the toppings are contained in a corn starch thickened sauce. Finally, the dish is prepared in reverse from most noodles dishes, in that the noodles are cooked first, followed by the toppings.

Enjoy!

Chicken and Snow Pea Hong Kong Noodles (荷蘭豆雞炒雲吞麵, Ho4 Laan4 Dau6 Gai1 Caau2 Wan4 Tan1 Min6)

So the idea for this dish was to use ingredients (outside of the noodles) that were roughly the same size. Since snow peas were the principal vegetable in this dish, the other ingredients were chosen to mimic the snow peas visually. So chicken breast was chosen as the cut of meat to use since regular sized strips can be cut from it. If chicken thighs were used, the cut pieces would be more irregular and rectangular, rather than strip-like. Marinated (five-spice) bean curd was chosen because it comes formed in cakes that are approximately 2-inch (5 cm.) squares that can be thinly sliced. The dish is finished with a basic dark soy based sauce that just coats all the ingredients.

Enjoy!

Salted Radish Shrimp Chow Mein (菜脯蝦炒麵, Coi3 Pou2 Haa1 Caau2 Min6)

Salted radish and shrimp make a great taste combination. The crunchiness and saltiness of the radish contrast nicely with the softness and sweetness of the shrimp. In the USA, the names prawn and shrimp are used interchangeably, with prawn usually meaning a large shrimp; either ingredient can be used in this recipe. Baby bok choy adds a nice color contrast to the dish. The baby bok choy is cut into quarters lengthwise, but if the stalks are small, they should be cut in half.

Enjoy!

Chicken and Shrimp Hong Kong Noodles (蝦雞炒雲吞麵, Haa1 Gai1 Caau2 Wan4 Tan1 Min6)

Chicken and shrimp taste great together, and for this recipe, are paired with Hong Kong noodles (in Cantonese: won ton noodles). The noodles are flavored with just the basics – soy sauce (thick and regular) and some Shaoxing wine - so the taste of the chicken and shrimp aren’t hidden by the sauce.

Enjoy!

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!

Black Bean Chili Sauce Cabbage Lamb Chow Mein (黑豆辣椒青椰菜羊肉炒麵, Hak1 Dau6 Laat6 Ziu1 Ceng1 Je4 Coi3 Joeng4 Juk6 Caau2 Min6)

I used brown beech mushrooms for the first time in a noodle dish. These mushrooms are also known as Shimeji (Hypsizygus tessellatus) mushrooms and are available at your local Asian market. The mushrooms are firm with a nutty taste. Any mushroom can be substituted if beech mushrooms are not available. This lamb noodle dish actually has a lot of texture to it, through the use of cabbage, bamboo shoots, and onions, and is similar to the Cabbage Lamb Dough Sliced Noodles (青椰菜羊肉刀削麵, Ceng¹ Je⁴ Coi³ Joeng⁴ Juk⁶ Dou¹ Soek³ Min⁶) recipe, except for the addition of the black bean chili sauce.

Enjoy!

Cabbage Lamb Dough Sliced Noodles (青椰菜羊肉刀削麵, Ceng1 Je4 Coi3 Joeng4 Juk6 Dou1 Soek3 Min6)

I published the Lamb Dough Sliced Noodles (小羊炒刀削麵, Siu² Joeng⁴ Caau² Dou¹ Soek³ Min⁶) recipe in an earlier post, but this has now become the recipe I use to make this dish. I was able to purchase a portion of a lamb leg (as opposed to a whole leg) to make this dish. While the lamb leg has some of the best potions of meat, you need to remove the skin, bone, excess fat, and sinew from the leg meat before cutting into pieces that can be stir fried.

 

The addition of cabbage is a fairly common ingredient to stir fried noodle dishes. For some reason, I never used cabbage in my noodle dishes, but now I try to use it whenever I have it available. The cabbage adds a good vegetable component and a nice crunchy texture to noodles dishes, as well as being a good visual addition. The list of ingredients is long for this recipe, and there’s some effort involved to stir fry all the ingredients, but the resulting dish is worth all the work.

 

Enjoy!

Creamy Tomato Dungeness Crab Pasta

This recipe was adapted from the Creamy Tomato Crab Pasta recipe at jeanetteshealthyliving.com. The key technique that I learned from the recipe was mixing an egg with the Greek yogurt (yes, this recipe uses yogurt) to prevent breaking when cooked. It actually works! The yogurt provides the creaminess for this dish. The other neat aspect of the recipe was the use of a garlic breadcrumb topping, which really helps to make this dish tasty. I used cooked Dungeness crab to make this dish rather than canned crab meat, but you can use whatever’s available. As is usual for my pasta recipes, I use a wok to stir fry the pasta before adding the sauce. Making a pasta dish is no different to me than making chow mein – the techniques are the same, I’m just using a different sauce to make the noodles.

Enjoy!

Dungeness Crab and Quail Egg Shallot Sauce Noodles (紅蔥鵪鶉蛋北美大肉蟹麵, Hung4 Cung1 Am1 Ceon1 Daan6 Bak1 Mei5 Daai6 Juk6 Haai5 Min6)

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

Crab and eggs is a tasty combination in any dish. In this case quail eggs, rather than chicken, are used. Quail eggs are small enough to be placed entirely into your mouth with the other ingredients when eating (try that with a chicken egg!). Fresh quail eggs can be purchased at your local Asian market, but then you have to hard boil and then peel them before use, or you can buy a canned quail eggs and just open the can. Unpeeled straw mushrooms (they also come in a can) are used because they match the shape and size of the quail eggs. Peeled straw mushrooms can be substituted if the unpeeled version is not handy.

Enjoy!

Basil Long Bean Chicken Chow Mein (紫蘇豆角雞炒麵, Zi2 Sou1 Dau6 Gok3 Gai1 Caau2 Min6)

Fresh basil adds a nice flavor to this noodle dish. If you made this dish without the basil, you would notice the contrast in taste. Bamboo shoot strips are also used and is a hidden way to provide added crunchiness to the dish. The bamboo shoots blend into the noodles and most people won’t notice them. If you can find fresh bamboo shoot strips at your local Asian market, use them instead of the canned version. Long beans cut into small pieces are also used to provide added texture to the dish.

Enjoy!

Basil Noodles in Sauce (紫蘇乾撈麵, Zi2 Sou1 Gon1 Lou1 Min6)

This recipe is similar to Noodles in Sauce (乾撈麵, Gon¹ Lou¹ Min⁶), except that it uses leftover chicken and adds basil. Basil adds another nice flavor to the noodles that compliments the oyster sauce used in the dish. Using leftover chicken (e.g. from the Mom’s Grilled Soy Sauce Chicken (燒烤豉油雞, Siu¹ Haau¹ Si⁶ Jau⁴ Gai¹), Grilled Chili Sauce Chicken (Siu¹ Haau¹ Sin¹ Laat⁶ Ziu¹ Gai¹, 燒烤鮮辣椒鷄), or Grilled Ginger Peach Chicken (燒烤薑桃子雞, Siu¹ Haau¹ Goeng¹ Tou⁴ Zi² Gai¹) recipes) means that you don’t have to cook the chicken when you make the noodles. If you don’t have leftover chicken, use any other leftover meat in your refrigerator to make this dish.

As I commented in the Noodles in Sauce (乾撈麵, Gon¹ Lou¹ Min⁶) recipe, the dish’s name is more the result of the Cantonese translation since there’s very little sauce in this recipe. You can simplify the dish even more by using just the oyster sauce (straight from the bottle) and the dish will still taste good.

Enjoy!

Chicken and Shiitake Mushroom Curry Hong Kong Noodles (咖哩冬菇雞雲吞麵, Gaa3 Lei1 Dung1 Gu1 Gai4 Wan4 Tan1 Min6)

Curry powder is a tasty common flavoring added to Hong Kong noodles. Adding the red chili peppers is another common enhancement to curried noodle dishes. Not only do the red chili peppers add a little heat to the dish, but also makes for a good visual presentation. The amount of red chili peppers to add, if any, is entirely a personal preference. The curried version of Hong Kong noodles that’s found at Chinese restaurants is usually a deep yellow color. My guess is that additional turmeric is added to the dish to give it that electric yellow color. I didn’t add any turmeric to this recipe, so the color looks more like a normal fried noodle dish, but feel free to add some if you make this dish.

Enjoy!

Shallot Sauce Lobster Noodles (紅蔥龍蝦麵, Hung4 Cung1 Lung4 Haa1 Min6)

Lobster is not a frequently used ingredient that I use, given the cost and all the work needed to extract the meat from the shell.  I found a cooked lobster available at my local Asian market for a good price and decided that I wanted to make a noodle dish. The previous published Lobster Noodles (龍蝦麵, Lung⁴ Haa¹ Min⁶) recipe, uses a sauce thickened by corn starch. This lobster noodle dish doesn’t use a thickener for the sauce and is made more like a traditional chow mein recipe. The main ingredient in the sauce is a prepared shallot sauce that also can be purchased at your local Asian market. The combination of shallot sauce and lobster tastes pretty good, so give this recipe a try if you’re lucky enough to find a good priced cooked lobster.

Enjoy!

Basil Shallot Sauce Chicken and Chinese Sausage Chow Mein (紫蘇紅蔥醬臘腸雞炒麵, Zi2 Sou1 Hung4 Cung1 Laap6 Coeng4 Gai1 Caau2 Min6)

I made this noodle dish for a Thanksgiving lunch that I was invited to. Since I wasn’t able to respond until the night before, I had to think about which dish I could make the next morning, since the dish couldn’t take too long to make and I had to use ingredients that were on hand. Fortunately I had some chicken marinating in the refrigerator, but it wasn’t enough to be the only meat ingredient in the dish. So I decided to add some Cantonese pork sausage, which adds a nice flavor to any dish. All the other ingredients needed for a noodle dish were in my pantry or in the refrigerator. The shallot sauce was a nice flavorful addition to my normal noodle dish finishing sauce.

 

The recipe has been scaled down to produce a more normal sized dish since I made a large amount of noodles for the lunch. Finally, since I was pressed for time, I didn’t get a chance to take pictures after I cooked the dish. It was only after I came back home from the lunch that I got a chance to take pictures of the cold leftovers (of which, there wasn’t much).

 

Enjoy!

Cumin Baby Bok Choy Sum Lamb Hong Kong Noodles (孜然小白菜心羊肉雲吞麵, Zi1 Jin4 Siu2 Baak6 Coi3 Sam1 Joeng4 Juk6 Wan4 Tan1 Min6)

Lamb leg meat is usually available as a whole leg with the bone still in, semi-boneless, or boneless. Occasionally smaller quantities are available and that prompted the creation of this dish. Cumin adds another flavor to the dish and that spice goes nicely with the dried red chili peppers. You can of course adjust the amount of chili peppers to your personal preference. Finally fried tofu (cut into strips) and an Asian leafy vegetable gives the noodle dish some added texture. Any leafy vegetable will do, but I used the leaves from baby bok choy sum.

Enjoy!

Black Bean Chili Sauce Beef Rice Roll Chow Fun (黑豆辣椒牛肉炒粉, Hak1 Dau6 Laat6 Ziu1 Ngau4 Juk6 Caau2 Fan2)

Rice roll chow fun noodles are rolled chow fun noodles and are available at your local Asian supermarket. Since the noodles aren’t refrigerated (at least in California where I live and there is a law allowing this), they have a soft texture. If the noodles are refrigerated, the texture of the noodles becomes tougher, if not hard. Since you have to use the noodles the day you buy them, you have to plan ahead to get all the ingredients ready before getting the noodles. Outside of that, the dish takes the same amount of effort to make as any other stir fried noodle dish.

Enjoy!

Shrimp Sugar Snap Pea Curry Noodles (咖哩蜜豆蝦炒麵, Gaa3 Lei1 Mat6 Dau6 Haa1 Caau2 Min6)

I happened to have some flat noodles and decided that I needed to make a curry dish. You can, of course, use any noodle that’s available to you, but for some reason flat noodles always seem to go well with curry. I always add some Worcestershire sauce to my curry dishes, which is not usually thought of as an ingredient to use with curry. I also added some heat to the dish by using a Jalapeño pepper, but that’s an individual preference, so feel free to omit this ingredient. I also used coin mushrooms, which are just small Shiitake mushrooms. If coin mushrooms are not available, just substitute cut Shiitake mushrooms.

Enjoy!