Ingredients
- 25 g dried Chinese mushrooms or shiitake
- chicken or vegetable stock (optional – see method)
- 350 g Chinese egg noodles
- 2 tablespoons sunflower oil
- 1 large clove garlic, crushed
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh ginger
- 1 fresh red or green chilli, seeded and finely chopped, or to taste
- 2 teaspoons Chinese five–spice
- 200 g pork fillet, trimmed and cut into strips
- 2 green capsicums, seeded and thinly sliced
- 100 g small broccoli florets
- 2 stalks celery, thinly sliced
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon rice wine (sake or mirin) or dry sherry
- 2 cups (90 g) bean sprouts, trimmed
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh coriander
- 2 teaspoons sesame oilfresh coriander leaves to garnish
Preparation
- Place the mushrooms in a small bowl and pour in enough boiling water to cover them.
- Leave to soak for 10 minutes.
- Line a sieve with muslin or paper towel and place it over a bowl, then pour the mushrooms and their soaking liquid into it.
- Measure the strained liquid and make it up to 100 ml with stock if necessary, then set aside.
- Discard any tough stalks from the mushrooms, slice the caps and set aside.
- While the mushrooms are soaking, place the noodles in a large mixing bowl and pour in enough boiling water to cover them generously.
- Leave to soak for 4 minutes, or according to the packet instructions, until tender.
- Drain well and set aside.
- Heat a wok or large frying pan over a high heat.
- Add 1 tablespoon of the sunflower oil and, when it is hot, stir in the garlic, ginger, chilli and Chinese five–spice.
- Stir–fry for 30 seconds, stirring constantly.
- Add the strips of pork and continue stir–frying for about 2 minutes or until they are cooked through.
- Use a slotted spoon to remove the pork from the wok and set it aside.
- Add the remaining oil to the wok and heat until it is almost smoking.
- Stir in the capsicums, broccoli, celery and mushrooms, and stir–fry for 2 minutes.
- Stir in the mushroom liquid, soy sauce and rice wine or sherry, then return the pork to the wok.
- Continue cooking, stirring constantly, for about 1 minute or until the pork is reheated.
- Stir in the noodles, then the bean sprouts and toss together briefly, just long enough to heat the ingredients without softening the bean sprouts, as they should retain their crunch.
- Stir in the chopped coriander and sprinkle with the sesame oil.
- Serve the chow mein immediately, garnished with coriander leaves.
Serves 4
Preparation: about 20 minutes
Cooking: about 6 minutes