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Ingredients
- 300 g chicken thighs (, skinless boneless, thinly sliced 0.75cm/1/4" thick (or breast))
- scant ¼ tsp bicarbonate of soda (baking soda), dissolved in 1 tbsp water
- 2 g cornstarch (cornflour)
- 375 g hokkien noodles, lo mein, other noodles (, from the fridge, prepared per packet, rinsed well, drained (Note 1))
- ¾ tbsp peanut oil ((or any other neutral oil))
- 1–2 garlic cloves (, finely minced)
- 5 green onions (, cut into 5cm/2" lengths, soft dark green parts separated from the white / pale green firmer parts)
- 3 ¾ cups green cabbage (, sliced ~1cm / 0.4" thick (Napa/Chinese cabbage also works))
- 1 ½ tbsp kecap manis (sweet soy) ( (Note 2))
- 3 tbsp fish sauce
- 1 pinch white pepper ((sub black pepper))
- ¾ tbsp+ chilli crisp, chilli paste or sriracha ((add > taste > add > taste!) (Note 3))
Method
ABBREVIATED RECIPE:
Bicarb-soak chicken 15-20 min, rinse, pat dry, then toss with 2 tbsp sauce + cornstarch to velvet. In a large 30cm/12" non-stick pan over high heat, cook chicken first, adding garlic and white part of green onion towards the end. Cabbage 1 1/2 minutes, then noodles, sauce (add in 2 batches) and chilli crisp. Wilt green onion, serve!
FULL RECIPE:
Sauce - Mix the sauce ingredients (kecap manis, fish sauce, white pepper) in a small bowl.
Tenderise chicken - In a bowl, mix a scant 1/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda with 1 tbsp water. Add the chicken, toss to coat, and let sit 15-20 minutes.
Rinse & velvet - Rinse the chicken under cold water to remove any bicarb taste, then pat very dry with paper towel. Toss the dried chicken with 2 tablespoons of the sauce and the cornstarch until evenly coated (no marinating time needed beyond this).
Cooking:
Cook chicken - Heat the oil in a large 30cm/12" non-stick pan over high heat until very hot. Add the chicken (it will look lightly coated/glossy from the cornstarch) and cook for 2 minutes, spreading it out so it sears rather than steams. Add the garlic and white part of the green onion, cook for another 30 seconds until chicken is just cooked and no longer pink.
Cabbage - Add the cabbage, toss for 1 1/2 minutes or until it starts to go floppy.
Sauce and noodles - Add the noodles and half the remaining sauce, toss for a minute until the sauce is absorbed and no longer pooling in the pan (~45 seconds). Then add the remaining sauce and toss again until it's all evenly coated and no liquid remains (~1 minute), adding chilli crisp towards the end, if using. (Note 4)
Serve - Toss through the green part of the green onion until it's wilted (barely 20 seconds), then divide between bowls. Noodle slurping time!
