Chow Mein
with sweet and sour sauce
Ingredients
Sweet & Sour Sauce
185ml white vinegar
75g brown sugar
65ml tomato ketchup
2 teaspoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons cornflour
Chow mein
½ onion, thickly sliced
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2.5cm piece ginger, peeled and grated
Choice of vegetables chopped into equal size pieces – carrot, courgette, pepper, mushroom, green beans
Beansprouts, mangetout, baby corn
2 nests dry noodles
1 – 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon (15ml) soy sauce
2 teaspoons rice vinegar (you can use other vinegar or lemon juice)
2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
For the sauce
Measure all of the ingredients into a small saucepan. Place over a medium heat and bring to the boil.
Mix the cornflour with a little cold water to form a paste. Stir this into the sauce to thicken.
Check the seasoning and consistency. If the sauce is too thick, add a drop more water. Leave the sauce in the pan while you make your chow mein.
To cook the chow mein
Cut up all of your vegetables into equal sized thin slices. Cut quite thinly so they cook quickly.
Finely chop your garlic. Peel and grate your ginger.
Measure your soy sauce and rice vinegar together into a small bowl.
Place a large pan of water over the heat and bring to the boil. Add the noodles and simmer for 5 minutes or the time stated on the packet. Drain and return back to the saucepan.
Drizzle a little vegetable oil over the noodles and stir to stop the noodles sticking together.
Heat a wok over a medium to high heat. Add about 1 tablespoon vegetable oil.
When the oil is hot (it will move like water when you swirl it in the saucepan. You don’t want it smoking), stir in the sliced onion.
Stir the onion in the oil for about 30 seconds before adding your harder vegetables – carrot, courgette, pepper, mangetout, baby corn. Stir for about 1 minute.
Stir in the ginger, garlic and mushrooms. When the mushroom begins to soften, add the beansprouts. Stir fry everything for about 1 minute. Empty the vegetables into a large dish.
Heat a drop of vegetable oil in the wok and add the noodles. Stir fry for a minute or two until it looks slightly fried. Add the vegetables back to the wok and stir.
Stir in the soy sauce and rice vinegar then the sesame oil. Check the seasoning and serve.
Reheat the sweet and sour sauce before serving.
If you’d like to add meat, fish or tofu, ensure your meat is suitable for frying. Marinade if preferred for at least a couple of hours before cooking. Marinading tofu is recommended (recipes can be found online).
Cut into mouth sized strips or pieces. Add 1 – 2 tablespoons vegetable oil to your wok and stir fry until cooked through. Cut a piece open to check it is cooked all the way through.
Pour onto a plate. Add it back into the pan before your vegetables after you have stir fried the noodles. Ensure it is piping hot before serving.