Chinese Noodles

One of the things I miss the most about "home" is the ethnic food. There's always been plenty of good restaurants that served delicious food of every kind; Thai, Chinese, Japanese, Indian, Greek, Filipino, Korean, everything!  And what we couldn't get at a restaurant my Mom was always able to make at home. Here in Kelowna, I have yet to find what I consider to be a *GOOD* Chinese food. We've tried many of them around town but nothing comes close to what I grew up eating. Even my husband who grew up in the Kelowna area agrees that the places here are no where near as good to what we had in the States. That left us no choice but to make our own! This recipe is so yummy but very fast and simple. It's become our "go-to" meal on the days we're just too tired to cook for real. This recipe makes a lot of food and the leftovers are great for lunch the next day.

Chinese Noodles
1/2 package of asian noodles (I prefer thin noodles, fresh in the refrigerated section. The brand we enjoy is called Double Happiness.)
1 clove of garlic, sliced or diced.
1 small piece of ginger, sliced thinly (We love ginger so we use a lot of it usually)
3 Tbsp Oyster Sauce
1 Tbsp Sesame Oil
2 Tbsp Canola Oil
Protein of your choice, I've done this with shrimp, beef, chicken, tofu.
Stir fry veggies, we like cabbage, bok choy, baby corn, onions, etc. (Use whatever you'd like, it's a great way to clean out the vegetable drawers!)
1 tsp 5-spice
Salt & pepper
Cornstarch
Thai chili pepper or Sambal Olelek (option if you want some spice)

Start off by preparing your noodles based on the instructions on the package. Ours required that you soak them in hot water, others you need to boil, etc. Chop all your veggies into appropriate size pieces, same with your protein if needed. After your noodles are prepared pat them dry as best you can, same with your meat. Sprinkle the meat with some 5-spice and salt and pepper.

Put a large pan on medium heat and add 2 tsp. of canola oil and let it heat up. When it has, place the noodles in it and don't touch them! Let them sit for about 5min, use a spatula to check them to make sure they're not burning but make sure that you don't disturb them too much, you want them to form a sort of pancake of noodles. When the bottom is nicely browned you can flip the "noodle pancake" onto the other side and let that brown up as well. 

In another pan, preferably a wok if you have it, heat 1/2 Tbsp of canola oil at med-high heat. When that heats up toss in your meat, garlic, ginger, and peppers if you're using them and let the meat partially cook, usually about 3-4min depending on the type of protein you're using and the size of it. Once that's done take the meat out and put it in a bowl on the side.

Using the same wok, add another 1/2Tbsp or so of canola oil and toss in the rest of the veggies and stir fry them until almost done. Add your meat back into the wok and season with oyster sauce and a splash of sesame oil (sambal oelek too if you didn't use a chile). Meanwhile, in the pan with the noodles, once both sides are done browning, splash a bit of soy sauce and sesame oil onto the noodles and toss them until nicely seasoned. Be sure not to use too much oil or your noodles will be yucky and too oily. Divide the noodles onto bowls or plates and top with the stir fry mixture.

Super simple ingredients but it tastes just divine! You won't need to order take out anymore!