The first of many great asiatic inspired meal: chow mein

I love, love, love asiatic inspired meals. They are easy to prepare, easy to modify, loaded with vegetables and flavour they are awesome!

This recipe is adapted from one recipe I found on the "SOSCuisine" website.

For 4 people, heat 2 tablespoons of canola oil and a splash of sesame oil in a pan on medium-high heat. Add 400g of chicken (or tofu) and fry 5-6 minutes or until golden. Add 2-3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped and chopped vegetables. Here, you do what you want! I like: brocoli cut in small pieces, sliced pepper, zucchini, carrot, sweet peas, bean sprouts... If using vegetables with widely different cooking time, adjust the moment you are adding them to prevent over cooking*. Keep the heat high-ish so the vegetables will be fried and not poached. When they are al dente (after 5-7 minutes), add 2-3 green onions, finely chopped.

While the vegetables are frying, prepare 250g of Chinese egg-noodles (or rice) according to the instructions on the package: do not overcook!

If you are a super multitasker, prepare the sauce in parallel, otherwise, start with the sauce. Mix:
2 tablespoons of Hoisin sauce
2 tablespoons of soy sauce
1 tablespoon of sugar
2 tablespoons of rice vinegar
1 tablespoon of cornstarch
sambal oelek, to taste (I like when it is a bit spicy, so I put some in, but avoid it if you don't like spicy food)

Add the cooked noodles to the pan, as well as the sauce, stir to coat well. Serve while hot!

* I will make a separate post about this soon!