Hokkien Noodles recipe. It's a great sauce. Chicken strips. A lot of vegetables. 6-minute cook. In 20 minutes flat, you can have dinner!
Hokkien noodles
I'm sure I've boasted about the ability to put "any vegetables you want!" into stir-fried noodles. But suppose time is of the essence, and you're looking to include a decent quantity of vegetables in your meals. In that case, you need to think about which vegetables are easy to chop and simple for cooking, don't leave your stir-fry watery, and which you can buy at any grocery store.
There's no need to pre-cook (like broccoli). It doesn't take more than five minutes to soften (like mushrooms). It isn't one of those veggies you're unable to locate (like Asian greens).
Scratch everything. Today is all about speed, convenience, and unquestionably deliciousness everyone loves.
I am introducing - my everyday Hokkien Noodles!
Ingredients for Hokkien Noodles with chicken
Here are the ingredients you will need to prepare Hokkien noodles. This recipe has plenty of protein and veggies to create an all-inclusive dish. You have to love a one-pan dinner!
HOKKIEN NOODLES
Hokkien noodles are medium-thick yellow noodles made of wheat. You can get them from the refrigerator when you can, instead of those that are vacuum-packed in the store—more texture, more flavor, and less prone to break when placed into the pan.
- Other noodle options – This recipe uses almost any thin, flat, or thicker rice noodles or white egg noodles. Or even pasta. It's true! Once mixed with the sauce, the flavor is identical. However, noodles do have a more chewy texture than pasta.
- Dried noodles(like ramen, dried egg noodles, vermicelli noodles, and rice noodles) are also possible; however, you must reduce the amount specified in the recipe as they expand significantly in size when cooked. Read the notes on the recipe for instructions.
The hokkien noodle sauce
It's not enough to use just sugar and soy for stir-fry sauce. It's just too bland! In the recipe today, oyster sauce is the most convenient ingredient. It gives the sauce a deeper flavor along with a hint of sweetness and thickens it. We don't need cornflour or cornstarch as you usually require.Light and dark soy sauce: We're using a mixture of both because they provide fantastic flavor and color. Dark soy sauce has a stronger flavor and gives the chicken and noodles a gorgeous mahogany hue you can see in photographs. The lighter soy sauce provides additional salt but not too much color, and the soy flavor is milder. If we used only the dark soy sauce, its intense flavor would overpower the dish and give it a dark color!Learn the best way to swap each of these sauces made from soy and more information on the various soy sauces here.
- Oyster sauce punches well over its weight when it can add depth, flavor, umami, and flavor instantly to any dish you add a few drops of this sauce to. It's a famous sauce for Chinese or Southeast Asian cuisine made of oyster extract. It is salty, sweet and sour. It's thick and tangy. But it's not delicious oyster-y or fishy once it's cooked. Check the notes in the recipe for alternatives.
- Mirin - It's a sweet Japanese cooking wine, which is also an ingredient in the shortcut that adds flavor to this recipe. Usually, in Chinese recipes, you'll find Chinese cooking wine being used and sugar when required. However, I'm taking a leisurely route using mirin, which already contains sugar today. A single ingredient less! Read the notes on the recipe for suggestions and non-alcoholic alternatives.
- Sesame oil is Toasty (i.e., brown-hued) in contrast to non-toasted (yellow-hued and with less sesame flavor). In Australia, the toasted sesame oil is the standard. It's a challenge to find oil that isn't toasted. Sesame oil should be used in the sauce but not for fryer fat since it loses flavor as it cooks.
- Black or white (or black) Black pepper (or white) Asian cooking usually uses white, not black pepper. One reason is that you don't see ugly black specks of grit in the transparent light brown stir-fry sauces, typical for Asian cooking. It also tastes milder than black pepper, which has a more earthy taste. We use only a tiny amount, and you can use black pepper with a small amount.
Quick cooking vegetables and chicken
Quickly chop your vegetables. The key to success is ease. This recipe!
- Boneless chicken thighs: I'm using thighs as they are juicy when cooked into stir-fries, without the need to soften or marinate for a long time. You can substitute them for chicken breasts as the noodles cook in just 6 minutes flat; they will not cook too long and cause dryness. However, thighs of chicken are more succulent! You could also replace it with other vegetables.
- Onion - Green - is an essential ingredient in stir-fries because it imparts a fresh flavor, and cooking the onion before cooking enhances the taste of the oil. Green onion is an excellent alternative to a quick fix, with no necessity to cut and peel! Chop it up into 5cm / two batons. Alternate by cutting regular onions into small wedges; cook it before cooking the chicken.
- Note: Because the soft dark green part cooks down in only a minute and is added towards the end. The harder white or pale green portion (the onion-flavored portion) is stir-fried in the beginning since the cooking time is longer and adds flavor to the oil.
- Cabbage - It's one of my favorite ways to quickly include a heap of vegetables in a dish! It's so easy to cut up a huge mound and softens after only two moments in the skillet. Furthermore, when you cut it into pieces that flop, cling, and mix well with noodles, replace it with baby spinach, Tuscan Kale (also divided into pieces), or a few bags of beansprouts.
- Capsicum/bell pepper – I like the flavor capsicum adds to stir-fries as well as adding a color. Also, it's easy to cut If you know how to keep seeds from floating around! You'll see me demonstrate how to do it in the video.
- Substitute by using zucchini or carrots broken into batons.
- Garlic finely minced using a knife is ideal because it is dispersed throughout the noodles and cooks up more quickly. You can make this recipe by using a garlic press. Don't even talk to me about canned garlic! (Sour. Wet. It's not even close to garlic! ).
Other vegetables to consider: Like almost all stir-fries, replacing your vegetables with what you have is possible. Make sure you use 5 cups total. Add the cooking times earlier and cook the vegetables quickly at the close.
How to make Hokkien Noodles with Chicken
The sauce used in this recipe doubles as a sauce for noodles and a marinade to cook the chicken (just 10 minutes for marinating). Make sure you complete the sauce and chicken first and then move on to preparing the rest of the dish.
Noodle sauce & marinated chicken
- Mix – all the ingredients of the sauce in the bowl.
- Marinate chicken – Measure one and a half tablespoons of sauce, then mix it with your chicken. Allow to sit for at least 10 minutes while you make some other components and soak noodles. The noodles only require a short time since the chicken pieces are thin and the sauce's flavor is intense.
2. Prepare noodles
- Prepare noodles as per the instructions on the packet. Usually, they advise soaking them for about a couple of minutes in a boiling bowl, like the one I'm using. Some brands recommend being simmered for a few minutes. Then, drain it into a colander.
- Rinse (💡pro tip!) – No matter your chosen method, rinse the noodles under tap water to eliminate any starch that could make their surface gummy when cooked in the sauce. This isn't something that happens to all kinds of noodles. It's dependent on the method you use to cook the noodles. However, it's an ideal practice to take it seriously to avoid this issue.
- Rinsing the noodles also stops them from forming a block when they sit in the colander before throwing them onto the skillet.
3. Noodle sauce & marinated chicken
- Cook the chicken in a large non-stick skillet (mine is 30cm/12 inches) or a large wok* in the wok, heat the oil on the stove until it's boiling. Then, add to the pan and let it cook for one minute. Then add the garlic and the white portion of the stems of the green onion and cook another minute or until the surface of the chicken is completely sealed (but still raw in the middle).
- Vegetables Include the capsicum and the cabbage, then toss in the refrigerator for two minutes or till the cabbage is soft. At this point, the chicken should have cooked to your liking. If not, continue cooking since the chicken won't last longer during the next step.* 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.
- * This is an enormous batch of food to attempt to cook in the wok. The chicken and veggies are likely watery due to the smaller surface area that comes into contact with the heat unless you employ a massive wok with a huge burner. It is best to use a large pan.
- Noodles and sauce Sauce and noodles. Add the green portion of the onions, noodles, and sauce. Mix for 1 1/2 to 2 minutes until the sauce turns the noodles a beautiful brown color. Two wooden spoons can simplify the process (tongs can break noodles).
- Done noodles - That's it! It's time to eat. Fast. Wow!
Hokkien Noodles are freshly cooked hot, steaming, glossy, and slippery. They are excellent for just one, two, or three days, followed by one quick microwave heating and freezing.
I hope that you will enjoy them.