This is a Hong Kong noodle dish that my husband (who is Chinese, so you know this recipe is the real thing!) taught me. It’s one of those dishes that is huge on flavour but doesn’t need a million ingredients to pull it off.
Soy sauce, sesame oil and oyster sauce are the key flavours. I always have these bottles in my kitchen cupboard and along with garlic and ginger, which are always in my fridge, it’s only a few more ingredients to pick up on my way home to make the noodles.
My little boys literally go crazy for these noodles. These is something about the Hong Kong mix of the sauces and flavours that really does it for them.
Miraculous ingredients: Lee Kum Kee oyster sauce, noodles (Clearspring is an excellent brand), sesame oil (Clearspring or Lee Kum Kee are both very good)
Prawn and broccoli noodles
Ingredients
200g tenderstem broccoli
200g noodles – I like using Udon as they are a little bit thicker than Chinese noodles or 4 nests of Chinese egg noodles (1-2 nests per person)
2 tablespoons groundnut oil (or any other flavourless vegetable oil)
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 teaspoon of ginger, very finely chopped (approx. 5cm piece)
1 onion, cut in half and sliced
180g raw peeled prawns
6 spring onions, cut in 2cms pieces
3 tablespoons light soy sauce
2 tablespoon sesame oil
3 tablespoons oyster sauce (Lee Kum Kee invented this amazing sauce)
Method Cook the noodles to the manufacturer’s instructions on the packaging. As soon as the noodles are ready, drain in a colander and run cold water over them for a couple of minutes to wash away all the starch. This step is vital as it will stop the noodles sticking together and creating a big lump in the middle of the pan when you stir fry.
While the noodles are cooking, trim and cut the broccoli into bite size pieces. I like to cut tenderstem broccoli in half lengthwise and sometime I chop the stem into a few pieces if it’s very long. Blanch the broccoli for 3 minutes in boiling water, then drain and rinse with cold water (to stop the cooking).
Heat a dry wok or very large frying pan on a high heat for a couple of minutes. Add the groundnut oil, then the garlic and ginger and fry for 30 seconds. Add the sliced onions and the spring onions, stir and fry for 1 minute. Add the prawns and fry until they turn pink, about 5 minutes. Add the broccoli, stir and fry for a minute to warm through.
Add all the noodles, soy sauce and oyster sauce. Mix well and fry for a couple of minutes so the noodles become hot again. Turn off the heat, add the sesame oil, mix well and serve.
Preparation time 10 minutes, cooking 20 minutes, 2 adult portions, 2 children portions