Hokkien noodles with chicken
Recipe video above. My everyday Hokkien Noodles recipe. A great sauce. Strips of chicken. Lots of vegetables. 6 minute cook. Dinner in 20 minutes flat!
Servings: 4
Calories: 445cal
Ingredients
- 500g/ 1 lb hokkien noodles , (fridge best) (Note 1)
- 350g/ 12 oz chicken thighs (boneless, skinless), cut into lot of thin 0.5 x 3cm / 0.2 x 1.2" pieces (Note 2)
- 2 tbsp canola oil (or vegetable, cottonseed, peanut oil)
- 2 garlic cloves , finely minced
- 8 green onion stems , cut into 5cm / 2" lengths, white part separated from green part (Note 3)
- 1 red capsicum (bell peppers) , cut into thin 0.5cm / 0.2" strips
- 3 heaped cups green cabbage , cut into thin 1 x 5cm / 0.5 x 2" strips
Sauce:
- 2 tbsp light soy sauce (Note 4)
- 1 1/2 tbsp dark soy sauce (Note 4)
- 2 tbsp oyster sauce (Note 5)
- 1 tbsp Mirin or Chinese cooking wine (Note 6)
- 1 tbsp sesame oil , toasted (Note 7)
- 1/8 tsp white pepper (sub black pepper)
Optional garnishes
- White sesame seeds
- Finely sliced green onion
Instructions
Abbreviated recipe:
- Marinate chicken with 1 1/2 tbsp Sauce. Cook chicken 1 min, add garlic and white part of green onion, cook 1 min. Add capsicum & cabbage, cook 2 min. Add green part of green onion, noodles, sauce, toss 2 min. Serve!
Full recipe:
- Sauce - Mix the sauce in a small bowl.
- Briefly marinate chicken - Toss the chicken with 1 1/2 tbsp of the Sauce. Marinate for 10 minutes while you prepare the noodles and vegetables.
- Rinse noodles - Prepare the noodles per the packet directions (soak in boiling water or briefly boil). Drain in a colander then rinse briefly under tap water (Note 8)
- Sear chicken - Heat the oil in a large non-stick pan over high heat until very hot (mine is 30cm/12", Note 9 re: wok). Add the chicken and toss for 1 minute. Add the garlic and white part of the green onion, then toss for another 1 minute or until the surface of the chicken is sealed (but still a bit raw inside)
- Cook veg & noodles - Add the capsicum and cabbage. Toss for 2 minutes until the cabbage is mostly wilted. Add the green part of the green onions, noodles and sauce. Toss for 1 1/2 to 2 minutes until the noodles are stained a lovely mahogany colour.
- Serve immediately, sprinkled with sesame seeds and green onion if desired!
Notes
Easy recipe substitution suggestions (without altering cook times, order or method)
1. Noodles - Hokkien noodles from the fridge are better than the vac pack ones from the aisle. Use the same amount of other fresh noodles from the fridge, or 350g / 12oz any dried noodles or 250g/8oz dried vermicelli. 2. Chicken - Thigh is best as it stays juicier, however, breast or tenderloin can be used too. Lean pork would also be great. For beef, use any steak but I recommend velveting it so it stays tender and juicy (thin strips of beef will overcook in less than 2 minutes). 3. Green onion stems - The firmer white/pale green part takes longer to cook (like onions) so add it first, whereas the soft dark green part wilts quickly so add it at the end. 4. Soy sauce - You can substitute the light soy with all purpose soy, and dark soy with more light soy (but noodles won't stain dark). Don't substitute the light soy with more dark soy (too intense, will overpower dish). More on different soy sauces here. 5. Oyster sauce - Adds sweetness, depth of flavour and thickens sauce. Vegetarian oyster sauce can be used, or hoisin sauce (adds lovely hint of five spice). 6. Mirin adds depth of flavour and touch of sweet into this otherwise simple sauce. Chinese cooking wine is an excellent sub, followed by cooking sake or dry sherry. Non alcoholic - add 1/3 cup chicken stock into the sauce and toss for extra minute or two. 7. Toasted sesame oil is brown (default in Australia). Untoasted is yellow and doesn't taste as sesame-y. 8. Rinsing noodles removes excess starch so the noodles are slippery once tossed with sauce. If you don't rinse, sometimes the surface is gummy. Also prevents from sticking together in colander while waiting to be used. 9. Wok v pan - This is quite a big batch recipe to try to make in a wok. You run the risk of the chicken and vegetables getting watery because of the smaller surface area in contact with heat, unless you use a very large one with a very large burner. It is safer to use a very large pan. Leftovers will keep for 3 days in the fridge, I just reheat in the microwave. It actually freezes pretty well too (not rice noodles though, they have a tendency to break once frozen). Nutrition per serving.
- Noodles - See below
- Chicken - 2 heaped cups extra vegetables
- Green onion - Finely sliced regular onion, cook before adding the chicken.
- Cabbage - Sliced Tuscan kale, Chinese cabbage (wombok), baby spinach, bean sprouts
- Capsicum - Carrot or zucchini batons, thin asparagus, broccolini cut into thin batons, snow peas cut on diagonal.
1. Noodles - Hokkien noodles from the fridge are better than the vac pack ones from the aisle. Use the same amount of other fresh noodles from the fridge, or 350g / 12oz any dried noodles or 250g/8oz dried vermicelli. 2. Chicken - Thigh is best as it stays juicier, however, breast or tenderloin can be used too. Lean pork would also be great. For beef, use any steak but I recommend velveting it so it stays tender and juicy (thin strips of beef will overcook in less than 2 minutes). 3. Green onion stems - The firmer white/pale green part takes longer to cook (like onions) so add it first, whereas the soft dark green part wilts quickly so add it at the end. 4. Soy sauce - You can substitute the light soy with all purpose soy, and dark soy with more light soy (but noodles won't stain dark). Don't substitute the light soy with more dark soy (too intense, will overpower dish). More on different soy sauces here. 5. Oyster sauce - Adds sweetness, depth of flavour and thickens sauce. Vegetarian oyster sauce can be used, or hoisin sauce (adds lovely hint of five spice). 6. Mirin adds depth of flavour and touch of sweet into this otherwise simple sauce. Chinese cooking wine is an excellent sub, followed by cooking sake or dry sherry. Non alcoholic - add 1/3 cup chicken stock into the sauce and toss for extra minute or two. 7. Toasted sesame oil is brown (default in Australia). Untoasted is yellow and doesn't taste as sesame-y. 8. Rinsing noodles removes excess starch so the noodles are slippery once tossed with sauce. If you don't rinse, sometimes the surface is gummy. Also prevents from sticking together in colander while waiting to be used. 9. Wok v pan - This is quite a big batch recipe to try to make in a wok. You run the risk of the chicken and vegetables getting watery because of the smaller surface area in contact with heat, unless you use a very large one with a very large burner. It is safer to use a very large pan. Leftovers will keep for 3 days in the fridge, I just reheat in the microwave. It actually freezes pretty well too (not rice noodles though, they have a tendency to break once frozen). Nutrition per serving.
Nutrition
Calories: 445cal | Carbohydrates: 48g | Protein: 25g | Fat: 17g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 7g | Trans Fat: 0.04g | Cholesterol: 81mg | Sodium: 1452mg | Potassium: 383mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 1192IU | Vitamin C: 43mg | Calcium: 36mg | Iron: 4mg