We're Having Chinese Tonight!

One of my favorite things to order when eating out at a Chinese restaurant is Double Pan Noodles with chicken. Ever had them? They are just delicious! This summer my in-laws came to stay with us for a couple of months and I had the honor of getting some personal Chinese cooking "classes" from my father-in-law. Before moving back to China, they used to own and run their own Chinese restaurant and let me tell you, he made THE BEST Chinese food ever! So I feel extremely lucky to have been taught by the best!

This was my first time making this dish and I was very happy with how it turned out! Ryan's exact quote was, "Wow! This is better than the real stuff." Carson's exact words were, "Mmmmmmm!!!" The hardest part about learning how to cook Chinese food is that they don't use measuring cups and spoons like we do. They just eyeball it all; however, I did my best to estimate the exact measurements.



Double Pan Fried Noodles

Here are some Chinese ingredients that you'll first need to buy from a local Asian grocery store.



Directions:

1. Prep one chicken breast by cutting it in very small strips. Put chicken pieces in small bowl and add one egg, 1-2 T. corn starch, 1 t. sugar, 1/2 t. salt, and a couple tablespoons of oil. Stir together with fork.

2. Cook Chinese egg noodles in boiling water for about 5 minutes (don’t overcook). Drain and rinse with cold water. Let dry off a bit. (I patted the noodles dry with a paper towel.)

3. In frying pan over high heat, add a tablespoon or two of oil and put a pile of noodles in the middle to fry (like a pancake) until browned and crispy. Flip over and brown the other side. Cook one pile of noodles for each person.



4. Put 4-5 T. of oil in another big frying pan and add all of the chicken on med–high heat. Use spatula to separate pieces while it’s cooking – about 4 minutes or until thoroughly cooked. Drain grease and set aside.

5. Sauce: Add 2 ½ c. water to a big sauce pan on high heat. Add ¼ c. soy sauce, ½ t. salt, 1 t. sugar and stir. When boiling add 1 heaping spoon of chicken bouillon seasoning and 1/8 c. Chinese yellow wine (in photo above).

6. Stir in the vegetables of your choice and continue to cook for 2 minutes on high heat. (Bok choy, mushrooms, and carrots are very common. I personally used a 1/2 bag of frozen stir fry veggies that contained carrots, pea pods, mushrooms, and onions.)

7. In a small bowl stir together ½ c. corn starch and ¼ c. water until it turns into a white liquid. Add a little of this cornstarch mixture to your sauce at a time, stirring constantly until the sauce is at the consistency that you like.

8. Add cooked chicken back in and stir.

9. Turn off heat and add 1 t. sesame oil.

10. Spoon sauce onto noodle ‘pancakes' and enjoy!