Black Bean Chicken Chow Mein

Copyright 2007 by Cooking With The Single Guy

Ingredients:
1 lb. chicken breast, cubed
1 green bellpepper
1/2 sweet onion
14 oz. package of chow mein (fresh frying noodles)
1 t white pepper
1 T sesame oil
1 T soy sauce
1 T black bean sauce
1 T oyster sauce
1 T Xiao Shing wine (rice cooking wine)
1 garlic clove, minced
1 T cornstarch
2 T canola oil
1/2 cup watersalt

In a small bowl, marinate the chicken pieces with white pepper, sesame oil, Xiao Shing wine (or cooking Sherry) and soy sauce. Set aside for about 10 minutes.

Rinse your noodles with hot water (or you can dip it briefly in a pot of boiling water) and then drain in a colander. Set aside to let dry.

In a large wok or skillet, warm oil over high heat and then add noodles. (You may need to separate your bunch of noodles into two bunches.) Sprinkle a pinch of salt over your noodles and pan fry into almost like a cake. Flip to crisp the other side. (About 2 minutes each side.) Place your noodles onto a serving plate.

Heat some more oil in the wok, then add the chicken and brown all the sides for about 2 minutes. Remove chicken and set aside.

Heat more oil again in the wok (for the last time) and then add the garlic and onion over medium high heat and saute until translucent, about 2 minutes. Then add the bellpepper and mix in the black bean sauce. Add chicken and blend all the ingredients together.

In a small bowl, mix the cornstarch with the water to create a slurry. Slowly add this mixture to your wok to create a sauce. Make sure your wok is on high heat. If your sauce gets to thick, just add more water or broth. Finish off your stir fry mixture with the oyster sauce and then pour everything over your plate of noodles.

Makes 4 to 5 servings.

Pair with a glass of Riesling.

TIP: If you buy fresh chow mein noodles, you don't have to worry about pre-cooking it in boiling water. The only reason I suggest that is to get rid of the flour-taste that's on the fresh noodles. I personally like the "steamed chow mein" I find at Asian stores from Elmonte, Calif. If you can't find chow mein, you can substitute with thin angel hair pasta or vermicelli.