'CHOW MEIN"

I cooked this today, as I have been craving for Chow Mein noodles lately, and I got so disappointed the last time I had Chow Mein in Chinatown - it was too oily and salty.

I used shrimps as my protein and added lots of vegetables too. You can always subtitute the shrimps with any other protein you prefer: sliced beef, pork, chicken, tofu...or mix in some other seafood pieces, like crab meat, fish or squid.

From now on, I will be cooking this dish more often, just because I like the fact that if I cook my Chow Mein at home, I can have the noodles with less sauce/toppings (to get the kind of style of dry noodles that I ate in Hongkong once). Sometimes I enjoy eating my Chow Mein kind of dry and with plenty of mushrooms, but sometimes I like it with lots and lots of my favorite vegetables...I mean lots of vegetables, that it is almost like a bowl of vegetables with only a few strands of noodles in it.

In the picture, you will see that I did not use bean sprouts (I didn't have it available in my stock). I still suggest you include that in your toppings, as it gives your Chow Mein an extra texture.

The cooked vegetables and sauce here is also good with white rice.

[CHICHAY TIPS: 1. If you want your Chow Mein to be saucy or more wet, double the quantity of your sauce mix. 2. If you are cooking a large batch of this dish, and if you intend to keep some for the next day or so, separate the shrimps from the noodles or the sauce, and just thaw the shrimps out by placing in a small bowl of warm water for a few minutes, then drain and add it to your reheated noodles and sauce or sauce and rice.]

If you really want to make the noodles dry, crunchy and less oily, cook it this way:

-Blanch noodles in large amount of boiling water for 1 minute or as per package instructions.

-Drain well and cool slightly.

-Fluff up noodles to allow drying.

-When dried, spread noodles loosely on large cookie sheet lined with aluminum foil.

-Heat oven broiler to medium-high.

-Broil noodles for about 5 minutes on each side, checking frequently, until crisped but not burned.

-CHICHAY

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"CHOW MEIN (WITH SHRIMPS)"

What You Need:

• 1 small pack of chow mein noodles
• olive oil, as needed
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 2 cups sliced fresh mushrooms (canned will do as well)
• 2 medium ribs celery, chopped
• 1/2 lb snow peas1 lb bok choy (or broccoli, or any greens you prefer)
• 1 pound mung bean sprouts (togue), washed and drained
• 1 red bell pepper, sliced
• 1 green onion, diced
• 1 tbsp sesame oil
• 1 lb shrimps, peeled

Shrimp Marinade:

• 1 tablespoon oyster sauce1 teaspoon soy sauce
• 1/2 tsp ground pepper
• 1/2 tsp cornstarch

Sauce:

• 1/2 cup broth (chicken, veg or beef) or water
• 1 tbsp oyster sauce
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp cornstarch (dissolved in 3 tbsp water)

Prep:

-Take off strings from the snow peas, and cut each in half, crosswise.

-Chop the bokchoy into small pieces.

-Mix the marinade in a small bowl and marinate the shrimps for at least 20-25 minutes.

-Sauce: In a small bowl, whisk together the broth (or water), oyster sauce, soy sauce, salt, pepper and cornstarch and water mixture and set aside.

-Cook the noodles based on package directions, or soften the noodles by placing them in boiling salted water. Plunge into cold water to stop the cooking process and drain thoroughly.

How To:

-Heat up a wok or frying pan over medium-high to high heat.

-Add 1 tablespoons oil. When the oil is hot, add the noodles. Fry in batches until a little golden. Remove the noodles from the pan and transfer to a serving dish.

-Add 1 tbsp of sesame oil on the hot pan and saute the shrimps over medium heat until both sides turns a bit orange. Remove from heat quickly and set aside (just par-cook the shrimps, do not overcook.)

-On the same pan, add 1 tbsp olive oil and saute the onions and garlic, and add the mushrooms, stir and cook over medium/high heat for about 3-5 minutes.

-Season with salt and pepper.

-Add in the celery, snow peas, bokchoy, sesame oil. Stir constantly and cook for about 1-2 minutes.

-Add the bell peppers and bean sprouts, stir/cook for another minute.

-Add the sauce mixture in the pan, and let this simmer, stirring constantly, for about 2 minutes or until thickened.

-Add the shrimps, stir and let this simmer for a minute.

-Stir in the green onions and then turn off the heat.

-Pour the cooked vegetable and sauce mixture on top of the noodles and serve hot.