Chicken with Ginger & Garlic

Although, I've lost my ability to smell and taste I can still feel the heat of ginger and chilli so when I make a stir fry I load it chock full just so that I can try and get some enjoyment from food... that, in addition to colour and texture.

I make this stir fry so often that I don't measure ingredients anymore - so far so good. I'm either getting it right each time or my family are just being awfully nice as not once have I had a complaint.  After living in a gourmet capital (Hong Kong) my hubby and gorgeous girls have developed high standards so if I stuff up I'll soon know about it.  The base sauce can be used for any type of meat and vegetables and depending on your ingredients, you'll get a different result.

Stir Fry Chicken with Garlic and Ginger

Ingredients:
2 cloves garlic (chopped finely)
1-2 tbsp ginger (chopped finely)
1 bunch of spring onion (cut into 1 inch lengths)
2 carrots (peeled and sliced)
1 packet of chicken breast (doesn't really matter how much)

Sauce:
2 tbsp oyster sauce
2 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tbsp dark soy sauce
1/2 tbsp fish sauce
3 tbsp water
1 tsp cornflour
1 tsp palm sugar
pinch white pepper

First prepare all of your ingredients then mix up the sauce in a small jug or bowl.  Notice that I've separated the thick white part of the spring onion to the finer green ones.  The thick lengths of spring onion have a longer cooking time so need to be placed into the wok closer to the start of your stir fry whereas the finer green lengths are thrown into the wok towards the end and require less cooking time.

Before you start your stir fry blanch the carrot in boiling water for 2-3 minutes.  When blanching vegetables, I was taught to throw in a piece of ginger, a tsp of sugar and a splash of shao xing wine to the water - this step is optional.

After you blanch the carrots, place them in cold water to stop the cooking process and drain your wok.

Heat your wok until it smokes then swirl enough cold oil around the middle so that it runs down to the bottom.  Throw in your garlic and ginger and stir fry until fragrant.  In my case I can tell when it's ready just by the colour.  

If the wok gets too hot and the ginger and garlic start to burn add your next ingredient i.e. the thick white lengths of spring onion, to bring down the heat.

Stir fry the white part of the spring onion for about a minute then add the chicken.

I normally blanch the chicken in hot oil until it changes colour before I add it to the wok in this step but one GG was vying for my attention so I added the chicken raw.  Although, the colour doesn't look great and the gas intensity felt like it was next to zero, the chicken was still lovely and tender in the finished dish.  Continue to stir fry the chicken until cooked then add the finer green spring onions, carrots and the sauce.  When adding the sauce drizzle it around the middle of the wok so that the heat of the wok starts to heat it instantly.  Make sure that the sugar melts, the sauce thickens and that the chicken and vegetables are well coated with the sauce before serving.  Garnish with some coriander.

Noodles with Beef & Soy Sauce

These noodles were my absolute favourite in Hong Kong and I think I make a pretty mean version of them.  There is a chef located at Causeway Bay that has a reputation for making the best version of this dish, he uses pork fat in his recipe and so do I...

Ingredients:
2 small rib eye beef steaks (sliced finely)
3 cloves of garlic (chopped finely)
2 tblspn fresh ginger (chopped finely)
1 bunch of garlic chives (cut into 1 inch lengths)
pork fat (walnut size)
1 packet of fresh rice noodles (sliced thickly)
1 cup of oil (to blanch the beef)
1 tbsp oil extra

Marinade:
1 tsp bicarbonate soda
2 tsp water
2 tsp shao xing wine

Sauce:
3 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tbsp dark soy sauce
1 1/2 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp fish sauce
1/2 tsp chicken powder

1.  Marinate the beef in the marinade for 15 minutes.  Make sure that you dissolve the bicarb soda well in the water before adding it to the beef and mix thoroughly.  After 15 minutes pour the beef into a sieve to remove excess moisture then using one cup of oil, blanch the beef in the wok (on high heat) until it changes colour - remove.  Pour the oil through a strainer and either dispose or store for later use. Rinse the hot wok under running tap water and clean with a nylon brush then put it back on the wok burner for later use.
2.  Pour a few drops of dark soy sauce onto the fresh rice noodles (in a bowl) and mix thoroughly so that they become a lovely brown colour.
3.   Heat the wok on high until it smokes.  Add 1 tbsp cold oil (drizzled around the middle of the wok so that it runs down to the bottom) then add the chopped ginger and garlic.  Stir-fry a few seconds then add the strained beef back to the wok, add the garlic chives and stir-fry continuously until the garlic chives start to wilt.  At this stage, add the pork fat then the rice noodles.  Stir-fry until the noodles become soft and separate.
4.  Add the sauce and stir-fry until the noodles and beef are well coated.

Note: For the pork fat I went to my local butcher and asked for the fat that surrounds the kidneys.  This fat renders down to a liquid and imparts a smoky flavour to the dish.  Garlic chives and the fresh rice noodles are available from your local Asian grocery store. Below is a picture of the packet of fresh noodles that I used.