STIR FRY - CHOW MEIN
Chow Mein is a Chinese dish which is commonly known as stir fry, but at foods of the Cape the term stir fry can be used for almost any fried foods. However, Chow Mein is a very versatile dish which can be made with either cubed chicken, strips of steak, fish nuggets, prawns, crab meat, crayfish or even scrabbled egg. I'm quite fond of Chow Mein with chicken wings but my Chow Mein of choice remains prawns. Essentially Chow Mein is a mix of meat and vegetables quick fried in vegetable oil in an open wok, on an open flame, covered with a soup of egg noodle that is precooked. Served in a bowl and eaten using chopsticks.
Soya sauce (salted)
2 large onions
8 pack of egg noodle
8 tblsp Olive Oil
500gms prawns
1 Tsp of crushed garlic
1 Medium sized Chilli
1 tsp ground pepper
Place olive oil in wok and add chopped onions, chilli, crushed garlic and fry until onions become translucent. Add 500 grams of washed prawns and fry with the onions for few minutes until prawns change colour. Add 4 tablespoons of soya sauce and stir and watch the mixture in the wok turn brown, add ground pepper. Then add the pre-pack of vegetables and stir continually for about 2 minutes so that the veg fry in the oil. Make sure veg remain crunchy.
Meanwhile place 6 packs of egg noodle in a large bowl and pour 3 cups of boiling water into bowl. Add 4 tablespoons of soya sauce cover with lid and place in microwave on high for about 4 minutes. Egg noodle will soak-up most of the water but will not be completely soft, when done add to to wok, cover the prawns and vegetables so that it can steam beneath the noodle to 2 minutes then stir and toss so that the prawns and vegetable mix uniformly with the noodle. The water would form a soup that will stean away. Veg should be limp yet crunchy. As an option, a handful of cashew nuts can be added when the prawns are added to the onions. Serves 6.
Ingredients:-
1 kg pre-pack of mixed vegetables containing bell peppers, cauliflower, purple cabbage, carrots and bean sprouts.Soya sauce (salted)
2 large onions
8 pack of egg noodle
8 tblsp Olive Oil
500gms prawns
1 Tsp of crushed garlic
1 Medium sized Chilli
1 tsp ground pepper
Method:-
Place olive oil in wok and add chopped onions, chilli, crushed garlic and fry until onions become translucent. Add 500 grams of washed prawns and fry with the onions for few minutes until prawns change colour. Add 4 tablespoons of soya sauce and stir and watch the mixture in the wok turn brown, add ground pepper. Then add the pre-pack of vegetables and stir continually for about 2 minutes so that the veg fry in the oil. Make sure veg remain crunchy.
Meanwhile place 6 packs of egg noodle in a large bowl and pour 3 cups of boiling water into bowl. Add 4 tablespoons of soya sauce cover with lid and place in microwave on high for about 4 minutes. Egg noodle will soak-up most of the water but will not be completely soft, when done add to to wok, cover the prawns and vegetables so that it can steam beneath the noodle to 2 minutes then stir and toss so that the prawns and vegetable mix uniformly with the noodle. The water would form a soup that will stean away. Veg should be limp yet crunchy. As an option, a handful of cashew nuts can be added when the prawns are added to the onions. Serves 6.
