Kwoklyn Wan's chow mein masterclass
Saturday marked the start of the Year of the Rat - and today, we’re ringing in the Chinese New Year with Gok’s brother, Kwoklyn Wan. He’s here with one of the top five most ordered dishes in the UK - Chow Mein.
Ingredients
2 nests of dried egg noodles (vegan alternative: use udon noodles)
1½ tbsp oil (vegetable, groundnut or coconut)
1 small white onion, thinly sliced
½ red pepper, thinly sliced
3 baby corn cobs, halved lengthways
1 carrot, cut into strips
handful of beansprouts
30g (¼ cup) canned bamboo shoots, drained and sliced
½ tsp white pepper
½ tsp salt
½ tsp sugar
2 spring onions, halved and sliced lengthways
1 tbsp Mushroom Stir-Fry Sauce (see my recipe below or use shop-bought)
1 tbsp dark soy sauce
1 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
MethodRinse the mushrooms under warm water and put into a large bowl. Pour over the boiling water and leave to soak for 15 minutes until soft. Gently squeeze the excess water out of the mushrooms, reserving the liquid for later.
Remove and discard the stalks from the mushrooms, then cut the caps into 4 slices.
Heat a wok or non-stick frying pan over a medium heat, add the oil and fry the mushroom slices for 3 minutes. Remove and place to one side.
Place the mushroom liquid, powdered nori, fried mushrooms, soy sauces, sugar, salt and cornflour into a blender and blitz until smooth. Pour the mixture into a small saucepan and gently simmer until the sauce has thickened and reduced by about a third. Remove from the heat and allow to cool.
Store in an airtight container. The sauce can be kept in the fridge for 1 week or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Storing TipFreeze the sauce in ice-cube trays – once frozen, transfer to a ziplock bag kept in the freezer. Defrost only as much as you need each time.