Merciful God, You are great in compassion and Your tenderness for us is without measure. We ask You to give us today our daily bread, and also provide for the needs of all of Your hungry children around the world. Through Christ Your Son and Our Lord. Amen.

Friday, January 6, 2012

Jamie's Chicken Chow Mein



I have a recipe for Chicken Chow Mein in my cookbook, and it's a good recipe, but after trying Jamie Oliver's version for dinner the week, I'm afraid I'll never make my old recipe again. This recipe was the epitome of what I am looking for in meals this year. It was easy. It was delicious. But best, it was made with simple and whole ingredients, getting most of the flavor from fresh vegetables, herbs, and citrus, with no jarred sauces (except soy). The flavors, unlike most in Chinese/American were bright and fresh and definitely a little spicy. I used the recipe as written on Jamie's website and modified just a little (subbed red pepper flakes for a whole red Chili unavailable at my grocer). I also doubled it for four of us with just a little bit leftover. You could get two adult and three or four child servings from the recipe below. I think in the future I will sub some fresh veggie (like snap peas) for the water chestnuts, but mostly because my kids are not big fans of water chestnuts. I did not use the mushrooms because we have mushroom haters.

Just so you know you can cook Chinese without special equipment, I cooked mine in a large nonstick skillet.

Jamie's Chicken Chow Mein
 serves 4-5




a thumb-sized piece of fresh root ginger
4 cloves of garlic
1/2 to 1 t. red pepper flakes
2  large skinless chicken breast fillet (I used four med/small and we had a lot of chicken)
  salt and freshly ground black pepper
5 scallions
  a small bunch of fresh cilantro
1 to 2 heads bok choy, depending on how much you like it
Optional: 4 shiitake mushrooms
10 oz. chow mein noodles
  peanut or vegetable oil
1 T. cornstarch
8-ounce can of water chestnuts (or 1 cup of another quick-cooking veggie, like snow or snap peas)
4-5 tablespoons soy sauce
 1 small lime

To prepare your stir-fry
Put a large pan of water on to boil. Peel and finely slice the ginger and garlic. Place your red pepper flakes with the ginger and garlic. Slice the chicken into finger-sized strips and lightly season with salt and pepper. Cut the ends of your scallions and finely slice. Halve the bok choy lengthwise and cut crosswise into large strips. If using the mushrooms, either tear into pieces or leave whole.

To cook your stir-fry
Preheat a wok or a large frying pan on a high heat and once it’s very, very hot, add a good lug of peanut oil and swirl it around. Stir in the chicken strips and cook for a couple of minutes, until the chicken browns slightly. Add the ginger, chile, cilantro stalks, mushrooms (if using) and half the scallions. Stir-fry for 30 seconds, keeping everything moving around the wok quickly. Add your noodles and bok choy to the boiling water and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, no longer. Meanwhile add the cornstarch, water chestnuts, and their water to the wok and give it another good shake to make sure nothing sticks to the bottom. Remove from heat and stir in soy sauce (start with half and taste to see if you need more). Halve the lime, squeeze the juice of one half into the pan and mix well. Drain the noodles and bok choy in a colander over a bowl, reserving a little of the cooking water. Stir in the noodles and bok choy, with a little of the cooking water to loosen, if necessary, and mix well. Have a taste and season with more soy sauce if needed.

To serve your stir-fry
Use tongs to divide everything between two bowls or plates, or lift onto one large serving platter. Spoon any juices over the top and sprinkle with the rest of the scallions and the cilantro leaves. Serve with lime wedges.

Yum.


11 comments:

Barb Szyszkiewicz said...

That looks like something we'd like! I'm saving this one to try soon.

Last night I tried your Rosemary Balsamic Chicken recipe--YUM! So simple, and really good.

Jamie Jo said...

That looks delicious, I'm sure my family would love it....I'll have to remember to come back and try it out once I have a little more time to try new things again....

Abby said...

I usually stay away from Asian recipes because of the loooong ingredient lists, but I think this one is doable! Esp. when you get rid of the cilantro AND mushrooms. :) Happy New Year!

Linda said...

What kind of noodles did you use? The only "chow mein" noodles I've ever seen in our stores are the crispy kind. The recipe doesn't specify, so please share! :)

Barbara said...

Linda, My noodles were either called lo mein or chow mein. They were long spaghetti like noodles but cooked fast.

Rebekah said...

Oh I LOVE good Chinese food and am always drawn to these types of recipes. Looks wonderful!

Barb Szyszkiewicz said...

I just use regular spaghetti or linguine in homemade lo mein. Works just fine. (Actually, the whole-grain noodles work even better! We don't like those with tomato-based sauces, but they're good in Asian dishes.)

Barb Szyszkiewicz said...

This is AMAZING!!!! I made it tonight, changing up some of the vegetables because of what I've got in the house. Wow, it's good.

Barbara said...

So glad it worked for you. Simple and delicious!

Kristine C said...

I made this last week and only made a half recipe, but it was so tasty that my husband and I made it again tonight and doubled the recipe. SO much flavor in this with the garlic and ginger!! Wow!!

Jessica Gordon said...

That looks amazing!