Pork Stir Fry Over Noodles

We all really miss good Chinese food.  We have yet to find a good Asian restaurant around here.  Coming from Hawaii, I'm really picky about Asian food.  I'm Japanese/Filipino and The Ex is full Chinese so we know authentic.  Hawaii also has a few things that we can't find anywhere else.

One of those is Cake Noodle.  You can get it in almost any Chinese Restaurant in the Islands.  Basically you take boiled thin chow mien noodles and fry them in a frying pan or a wok until they are crispy on one side (like hash browns) then flip them over and do the other side.  Put them on a plate and cut in to squares or cakes.  They are so good but you need to use a lot of oil to get the right texture.  Or so I thought.

I was already to make them the other night as a treat for the boys.  I even had the noodles boiled and waiting, when I was catching up on blogs and saw a healthier way to make them.  Tiny Urban Kitchen had a recipe that called for putting them under the broiler instead.  Go visit her, she's got a give away going!

I had to cut it in quarters to flip it!

So I tried it and they came out great!.  I was making a huge batch and next time, I'll divide it into 2 batches but it is a good technique and less work.

I cut mine up into squares before adding the topping.

Pork Stir fry
1- 1 1/2 lbs of pork (I use country style ribs, sliced thin)
2 T oyster sauce
2 Tsp sugar
1 T Shoyu
2 T. cornstarch
1 Tsp Garlic powder or 1 garlic clove, minced

Cut up veggies, I used onion garlic, broccoli, cauliflower, canned water chestnuts and bamboo shoots.
1/4c oyster sauce
2 tsp sugar
2 T Shoyu
1/2 tsp sesame oil

Mix pork and the next 5 ingredients in a mixing bowl.  Let stand for 15 min.  Heat some oil in a wok or big pot till very hot.  Put pork in and stir fry until mostly done.  Put back in the bowl and set aside.

Add a little more oil to the pan (or stir fry in a little water).  Throw the fresh veggies in and stir fry until almost soft crisp.  Add the oyster sauce, sugar and soy sauce and mix well.  Put the pork back in with the veggies and add a cup of water.  Add the canned veggies and heat through.

My kids like a lot of gravy

 The gravy should thicken up.  If it gets too thick then add a bit more water, if not thick enough you can mix some cornstarch with water and add it.  Take off the heat and add the sesame oil.  Mix well.

Serve over rice or noodles.

You can substitute any meat and veggies you want.  If you want it spicy add some sriracha or chili garlic sauce.

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!