Stir-fry of chicken with hokkien noodles

Name: Stir-fry of chicken with hokkien noodles
Cook time: 30 min
Yield: 2-4
Cuisine: Chinese
Ingredients: 2 cups broccoli florets; 2 tbsp peanut or vegetable oil; 1 brown onion, peeled and thinly sliced; 3 cloves garlic, roughly chopped; 1 tsp grated ginger; 2 large red chillies, or 1 small red capsicum, thinly sliced; 200g skinless chicken thighs, thinly sliced; 2 tbsp oyster sauce; 2 tsp dark soy sauce; ¼ tsp ground white pepper; ¼ tsp castor sugar; 1 cup chicken stock, or water; 500g thick fresh hokkien noodles; 1 tsp cornflour mixed into 1 tbsp cold water; ½ cup loosely packed basil leaves, plus extra to serve; ¼ cup fried shallots, to serve

Adam Liaw

August 16, 2018

Chicken and broccoli hokkien noodles.William Meppem

easyTime:< 30 minsServes:2-4

The secret to this dish is creating a rich sauce to coat the noodles. A good sauce should combine the natural flavours of the ingredients used with a few carefully selected seasonings to enhance those flavours.

Ingredients

2 cups broccoli florets
2 tbsp peanut or vegetable oil
1 brown onion, peeled and thinly sliced
3 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
1 tsp grated ginger
2 large red chillies, or 1 small red capsicum, thinly sliced
200g skinless chicken thighs, thinly sliced
2 tbsp oyster sauce
2 tsp dark soy sauce
¼ tsp ground white pepper
¼ tsp castor sugar
1 cup chicken stock, or water
500g thick fresh hokkien noodles
1 tsp cornflour mixed into 1 tbsp cold water
½ cup loosely packed basil leaves, plus extra to serve
¼ cup fried shallots, to serve

Method

Blanch the broccoli florets by placing them in a covered microwave-safe dish with ¼ cup of water. Microwave for 2½ minutes at high power. Alternatively, blanch the broccoli in boiling water for 2 minutes.
Heat a wok until it is very hot and add the oil around the top edge so it runs into the bottom of the wok. Add the onion, garlic, ginger and chilli and toss until the garlic starts to brown, about 1 minute. Add the sliced chicken, season with a little salt and stir-fry until the chicken starts to brown. Add the oyster sauce, soy sauce, pepper, sugar and chicken stock, and bring to a boil. Taste the sauce forming in the wok. It should be strong and flavourful. Adjust the seasoning as desired.
Add the broccoli and noodles to the wok and mix well to combine. Continue to cook for about 2-3 minutes until the noodles are nearly al dente. Add the basil then pour over the cornflour mixture, stirring through until the sauce is thickened and coating the noodles. Transfer to a plate and garnish with basil leaves and fried shallots.
Adam's tip To separate hokkien noodles in their bag, poke a few holes in the bag and massage the noodles. Once separated, you can even microwave them in the bag before stirring them into the wok, which can really speed up the cooking process.