Chicken on Crispy Noodles

My girlfriend found this recipe in a Chinese cookbook, then she made her own revisions to the recipe. After she passed it on to me, I added in my own flavor to it as well.

The main think that I think makes this dish so wonderful is the texture of the noddles mixed with the sauce and vegetables, so pay special attention to the noodle preparation.

Ingredients:
  • 8 oz. skinless, boneless chicken breasts, chopped or diced
  • 1 egg white
  • 5 tsp cornstarch
  • 8 oz thin egg noodles
  • 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 cup chicken stock
  • 2 Tbsp oyster sauce
  • 2 TBsp dry sherry (or rice wine)
  • 1 Tbsp light soy sauce
  • 1 Tbsp hoisin sauce
  • 1 red bell pepper, seeded and very thinly sliced
  • 2 Tbsp water
  • some dried shitake mushrooms, soaked for hours in water, and thinly sliced
  • 3 scallions
  • 2 cups snowpeas
Directions
  1. Mix the chicken, egg white, and 2 tsp cornstarch in a bowl. Let stand for at least 30 min.
  2. Blanch noodles in boiling water for 20 minutes, then drain thoroughly. Heat oil in preheated wok. Add noodles, spreading them to cover the base of the wok. Cook over medium heat until noodles are browned on the underside. Flip the noodles and brown on the other side. Remove from wok when crisp and browned, and place on a serving plate and keep warm.
  3. With oil still in wok, brown the chicken so that it is no longer pink. Add in peppers, mushrooms, and snowpeas and saute thoroughly.
  4. Add oyster sauce, chicken stock, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, and sherry. Bring to boil. Reduce heat to low.
  5. In a separate small boil, mix remaining cornstarch with water until well blended. Mix in this cornstarch mixture into the sauce and stir to allow to thicken.
  6. Pour thickened sauce over noodles and allow the sauce to soak through the noodles so that the noodles become just a little mushy again. Sprinkle scallions over the dish, and serve immediately.