I managed to get to the Asian supermarket at the weekend and stock up on some much-needed supplies. I begrudge buying noodles and various Asian sauces and condiments at the regular supermarket – they’re over-priced! Unfortunately, in some sort of desperation we bought some Shaoxing rice wine from Tesco the other week so I’m annoyed I could have got a bottle for half the price which was twice the size. Grrr. Asian supermarkets are also really good for herbs and spices – they’re so cheap and the packets are a lot bigger than what you get regularly. Also, rice and noodles are tons cheaper. I just have to stop myself from buying fortune cookies!
I love making Chinese food – it’s a good way of getting vegetables into your life and when might the right way is really healthy.
I’m not sure where I got this recipe from but I wrote it down years ago in a recipe notebook and have made it many times over.
Ingredients
- 2-4 chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces
- 2 eggs, beaten
- 1 bag of stir-fry mix (or a selection of chopped veg including onion, peppers, cabbage, beansprouts, carrots)
- 1 tsp turmeric
- 1-2 tbsp hot curry powder (depending how hot you want it)
- 2 cloves garlic, crushed
- half a tsp chilli flakes (or 1 finely chopped fresh red chilli if you have it)
- 1 thumb-sized (roughly!) piece of fresh ginger, grated
- 3 tbsp. light soy sauce
- 1 tbsp. dark soy sauce
- 1 tbsp. rice vinegar
- 1 tbsp. Shaoxing rice wine
- 2 spring onions, finely sliced.
- Rice Vermicelli
First, heat your wok and make the omelette by frying the beaten eggs for a couple of minutes. Remove the omelette, roll and chop. Set aside for later.
Heat some oil (I use spray coconut oil) in the wok and fry the chicken pieces until browned. Add the turmeric, curry powder, garlic, chilli and ginger and continue to fry for a couple of minutes.
Add a tbsp or two of water to make a sauce around the chicken.
Meanwhile, add the vermicelli to a pan/bowl of boiling water and set aside for 5-10 mins. Drain.
Add the vegetables to the wok and stir-fry for a minute. Add the soy, rice vinegar and rice wine and continue to stir-fry for 5 mins or so.
One the chicken is cooked through, add the drained noodles to the wok along with the chopped egg and spring onion.
Serve in a bowl and drizzle lightly with sesame oil, if you want. (I always want…)
This is good served straight away but it’s also super-tasty the next day, reheated for lunch.
TOP TIP: Be warned, your house will smell of curry for a couple of days afterwards! I use a chef’s candle to deal with this; as nice as the smell is, sometimes you don’t want everything to smell for days. I discovered these candles years ago when I lived in an open-plan flat and they really work!
Made by Sutz 