Shredded Chicken Braised E-Fu Noodles (鸡丝韭黄伊府面）

INTRODUCTION

I am happy to have found this set of images that I have taken in December 2014.. I thought it was corrupted . Then, I was busy preparing new year cookies until I totally forgot about this recipe.

This is another dish that was requested by my wife. Every time when we went for wedding reception, she will mumble and say why we never cook this dish at home… This noodle dish has never been appeared in our noodle menu possibly because both of us are not Cantonese. But like many other families, we shall be all very familiar with the dish because the noodle dish was usually served as the last hot dish in a wedding reception.

I swore I never buy this special Cantonese noodles if I am not preparing it for this illustration. But I think I will continue to buy the noodle after my first attempt of preparing this. As per Wikipedia:

“Yi mein (also called e-fu noodles, yee-fu noodles, yi noodles, or yifu noodles) is a variety of flat Cantonese egg noodles made from wheat flour. They are known for their golden yellow color and chewy characteristics. The slightly chewy and slightly spongy texture of the noodles is due to the soda water used in making the dough (as opposed to regular non-carbonated water), which was then fried and dried into flat patty-like dried bricks. The noodles may be cooked a number of ways. They are boiled first, then can be stir fried, or used in soups or salads. Good noodles maintain their elasticity, allowing the noodles to stretch and remain chewy.” （Source： http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yi_mein)

In Cantonese preparation, there is another rather unique ingredient that I seldom cooked. This vegetable is usually cooked together with E-Fu noodles and it is called yellow Chinese chives (韭黄）。It is the normal green garlic chives that were planted in dark, avoiding this vegetable to have direct contact with sunlight and hence produce chlorophyll. In www.foodmayhem.com , it was written that:

“They are the same plant as garlic chives, only grown without direct sunlight, which prevents them from turning green. Garlic chives and yellow chives are more pungent than American chives with a distinct garlicky flavour. They have flat (not hollow) leaves, and are used as a vegetable in Chinese cooking as opposed to the sprinkling use of herbs. It seems that some people love them and some people find them too stinky (in a garlicky way).” (Source: http://www.foodmayhem.com/2009/05/pork-bean-curd-and-yellow-chives.html,)

WHAT IS REQUIRED

Servings: 4-6 adult servings

Recipe adapted from: Braised E-Fu Noodles with Straw Mushrooms | Hong Kong …

500 grams of chicken breast
300 grams of e-fu noodles
200 grams of yellow chives , cut into 2-3 cm length
one packet of straw mushrooms

3 dried shitake mushrooms , soaked and cut into pieces)
1 tablespoon of minced garlics
2 tablespoons of oyster sauce
2 tablespoons of light soya sauce
2 tablespoons of cooking oil
1 tablespoon of corn starch (mix with 2 tablespoons of water) – optional
1/2 tablespoon of sesame oil
Sugar to taste
Dashes of white pepper
Pinches of salt

STEPS OF PREPARATION

In a pot with adequate water to cover the chicken breast, bring to boil. Cut the chicken breast into small pieces. Add the chicken breast and poach the chicken until cooked. Drain and set aside the chicken stock. When the chicken is cooled, use hand to shred the chicken until floss like. You can also use a fork to assist in the shredding.

In another pot, put some water and 1 tablespoon of cooking oil. Bring to boil. Add the E-fu noodles. Blanch the noodles until soft which took about 5 minutes. Drain and set aside. It is best that you read the cooking instruction in the plastic packaging. Every brand will have different cooking time.

In a wok, sauté the garlic and mushrooms until fragrant and slight brownish, add the yellow chives followed by straw mushrooms. Stir fry for 1-2 minutes. Add about 2-3 cups of chicken stock from cooking the chicken breast (estimation) and bring to boil. Add all the seasonings (oyster sauce, light soya sauce, sugar, salt, white pepper and sesame oil).

Add the starch solution followed by the blanched E-fu noodles. Stir until well mixed and let it simmer for about 5 minutes. If it is too dry, add more water just enough to cover the noodles. Off the heat and let it rest in the wok for at least 5-10 minutes before dishing up. Flavour will continue to develop during this 5-10 minutes.. Topped with shredded chicken before serving.

CONCLUSION

The colour of the noodles will very much depends on the noodles you bought. Some looks very pale yellowish whereas some looks darker brown. I loved my noodles to be a bit soupy and starchy if you prefer drier, add less water and omit the starch… The whole family like this adventure and finished off the noodles in seconds.

This recipe was included in Page 45-47 of the “One Pot Noodle E-book”. For more One Pot Noodle Dishes, you can have a copy of “Easy One Pot Noodles – A step by step guide” that was packed with 30 recipes, 60 pages at a reasonable convenience fee of USD5.00. The recipes covered various recipes from curry laksa, prawn noodles to fish head beehoon and etc. Of course not forgetting the well like Economy Bee hoon and Mee Rebus . You can purchase by clicking the link above.You can either pay using Pay Pal or Credit card account. Please ensure that you have an PDF reader like Acrobat or iBooks in your mobile phone or iPad if you intended to read it in your ipad or mobile phone. Should there be any problems of purchasing, feel free to contact me at kengls@singnet.com.sg and separate arrangement can be made.

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