Crispy Chow Mein
(Hong Kong Style)

Ingredients for 5:

• 1 lb. (450 gram) Hong Kong style noodles (ready cooked)
• 1/2 lb. (225 gram) beef, sliced
• 1/2 lb. (225 gram) shrimps, peeled
• 2 stalk celery, chopped
• 1 lb. (450 gram) cabbage, sliced
• 1/2 lb. (225 gram) bean sprouts
• 4 dry mushrooms, soaked in water
• 2 green onions, sliced
  
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped finely

Ingredients for seasonings

• sherry or wine
• cornstarch
• black bean and garlic sauce
  
• shrimp bouillon or chicken bouillon
• sweet and sour sauce (see the recipe), or sugar
• salt

1. Soak dry mushrooms in water until soft. Slice them.
   
2. Slice beef thinly and marinate with 1 + 1/2 Tbsp. soy sauce, 1 tbsp. sugar, 1 tsp. sesame oil, 1 clove garlic, crushed.
   
3. Wash shrimps and peel. Marinate with 3 tsp. sherry (or wine), 2 tsp. cornstarch and 1 tsp. black bean garlic sauce.
   
4. Cook the noodles in a large pan of boiling water for 30 seconds, then drain and plunge them in cold water. Drain thoroughly, toss them with 3 tsp of the sesame oil and set aside.
5. In a skillet, mix 2 cups water, 1 Knorr shrimp bouillon ( or chicken bouillon), 2 tsp. sweet and sour sauce, 1 finely chopped garlic, sliced mushrooms and 3 tbsp. cornstarch. Cook until the sauce thickens.
   
6. Heat a wok over a high heat. Add 2 tbsp. vegetable oil[1] and, when it is very hot and slightly smoking, add half of boiled noodles. Sprinkle 1/3 tsp. salt over the noodles. Cook until the bottom side is slightly brown and crispy. Flip it over and add 2 more tbsp. vegetable oil. Cook the other side. Cook the rest of noodles in the same way. Transfer to a large serving plate and keep it warm in the oven. ( or microwave just before serving)
   
7. Heat a wok over a high heat. Add 1 tbsp. vegetable oil and, when it is very hot and slightly smoking,[2] add the beef. Stir-fry for about 2 minutes and then transfer to a plate.
   
8. In the same wok (without washing or cleaning), add 1 tbsp. salad oil. Cook shrimps in the same way. Transfer to a plate as soon as the color changes on both sides.
   
9. Heat the same wok without washing, add 1 tbsp. vegetable oil and stir fry cabbages with 1 clove garlic, crushed, 1/2 tsp. chicken bouillon, 1 tsp. sweet and sour sauce, 1 tsp. black bean and garlic sauce. Cook quickly at high. Transfer to a plate before liquid comes out of cabbage.
10. Heat the same wok without washing, add 1 tbsp. vegetable oil and stir fry bean sprouts with 1/2 tsp. chicken bouillon, 1 tsp. sweet and sour sauce, 1/4 tsp. salt. Cook quickly at high. Transfer to a plate before liquid comes out of bean sprouts.
11. Cook celery in the same way.
    
12. Bring the sauce to a boil. Add cabbage, bean sprouts, celery, green onions, beef and shrimp ( in this order) to the sauce. Don't stir. Just heat.
    
13. Heat the noodles in a microwave oven, ( if not warm) and pour the sauce over the noodles.
    

Notes:

• [1] If you like crispy noodles, you can add more cooking oil when you brown the noodles. The more oil, the crispier the noodles will be.
• [2] It is critical to wait for the wok to start smoking, because this will prevent the food from sticking to the pan. Please visit the cooking tips page for more details.

Our Most Popular Recipes

• Shrimp Dumplings
• Almond Cookies
• Shortening-Free Pie Crust