Chow Mien

Beef Chow Mien

Watching Phelps rock out the Beijing Olympics and my recent voyage to Toronto (great chinese food), I been in the mood for great Chinese food. I decided to take a crack at making some authentic beef chow mien HK style with the crispy "fried" noodles". My version features fresh egg noodles, which are fried into a cake that softens slightly when topped with the meat and vegetable sauce (which to me, makes this dish so delicious), fried tofu, flank steak, cilantro, and choy sum, garlic, ginger and scallions.

Portioned Scallion(Cut on Bias), Cilanto, Ginger, Garlic, Tofu, Choy sum, and egg noodles.


Make sure to cut your meat "against the grain" and on the bias to get most tender meat.


Marinated Beef and make sauce.


In a hot wok deep fry noodles into pancake shape, and start tofu.


Beef with Vegetable and sauce.

ingredients

8oz fresh thin Chinese egg noodles
1 (1/2 lb) flank steak
1/4 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon sesame oil
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons chinese rice wine or dry sherry
2 tablespoons oyster sauce
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
1/2 cup reduced sodium or fresh chicken stock

1 teaspoon julien fresh ginger
1 teaspoon chopped fresh garlic
1 teaspoon picked cilantro leaves
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
8 pieces of fried silken tofu
6 oz Choy sum, cut into half, or other veg

1 cup peanut oil or veg oil

*Seasoned wok. (I purchase mine at Ikea, cheap and easily replaceable)

I like to begin by prepping all my ingredients, creating my own station in my kitchen, which allows me to be able to just grab what I need and start cooking.

Bring 8 cups of water to a rolling boil in a 6 - 8 quart pot, the greater the surface area the faster the water will boil. Make sure to season the water once boiling with a pinch of salt, then add the noodles, stirring to separate, cook for 15 seconds or till done. Drain in colander and rinse under cold water to cool, drain and set aside.

Cut the flank steaks against the grain into 1 1/2 strips that are about 1/4 inch thick. Toss beef with sugar, sesame oil, 1 tablespoon soy, 1 tablespoon rice wine, 1 tablespoon oyster sauce, and 1 teaspoon cornstarch. Let beef marinate at room temp while preparing the rest of the ingredients.

Stirr together the remaining 1 tablespoon soy, 1 tablespoon rice wine, 1 tablespoon oyster sauce, and 1 teaspoon cornstarch with 1/4 teaspoon white pepper in a small bowl until smooth, then stir in chicken broth.

Season wok with oil, then add 1/2 cup oil till slightly smoking. Carefully add drained noodles all at once and flatten out with spatula into pancake shape. Cook till underside is golden (approx. 5 minutes), rotating ever few mins to brown evenly. Flip over and cook other side for 2 - 3 minutes or until golden. Transfer to a paper towel lined plate and let excess oil drain. In another pot use 1/2 cup oil to deep fry tofu until golden brown. Transfer to a paper towel lined plate and let excess oil drain. Cover noodle and tofu loosely with aluminum foil to keep warm.

Remove any excess oil from wok, and wipe clean. Add 1 tablespoon oil and coat wok. Add beef, spreading pieces in 1 layer as quickly as possible, cook until browned (1 minute), then stir fry until meat is browned on all sides but still pink in the center. Transfer meat and any juices to a bowl and set aside.

Add 1 tablespoon oil to wok over high heat. When oil just begins to smoke, add ginger, garlic and stir fry for a few seconds, then add scallions and cilantro and stir fry for 30 seconds. Add chum soy and stir fry until leaves are bright green and wilted (2-3 minutes). Stir sauce/broth mixture, then pour into wok and stir fry until sauce is slightly thickened. Add in fresh lemon juice and add beef, stir to coat.

Cut noodle cake into quarters and put into bowls, add tofu and top with beef and vegetable sauce. Save any left over beef and vegetable sauce and have it the next day with rice!