Chicken Chow Mein

(In China, Chow Mein is made with soft noodles. For crispy
Chow Mein noodles, add more oil than the recipe calls for and
cook the noodles longer to dry them out. You can substitute
shrimp or pork for the chicken)


Ingredients:
1 pound chicken meat (or pork or shrimp)
1 cup celery
1 pound bok choy or broccoli
1/2 pound fresh mushrooms, sliced
1/2 pound dry won ton noodles
1 pound bean sprouts or snow pea pods
1 medium onion, sliced
1 green onion, diced along the diagonal
1 carrot, sliced (optional)
1 red pepper, sliced (optional)

Seasonings for Chicken:
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1 - 2 teaspoons oyster sauce
salt, pepper to taste
1 small piece (less than 1 teaspoon) of cornstarch

Gravy:
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1/2 cup water
Salt, accent (if desired) and pepper to taste

Directions:

Pre-preparation: Wash the bean sprouts to give them more time
to drain.

Preparation: Boil noodles in salted boiling water until they
are soft, but not sticky. (Break the noodles in half if desired
so they are easier to manage). Blanch the noodles in cold water
and drain.*

Cut the chicken into thin strips. Add seasoning ingredients to
chicken, adding cornstarch last. Marinate chicken in
seasonings for 10 - 15 minutes.

While chicken is marinating, prepare vegetables. Cut the
bok choy diagonally into 1/2 inch thick slices, slice mushrooms.
If substituting broccoli for bok choy, peel the stalks until
no more strings come out, and slice thinly on the diagonal.

Heat the frying pan on high, add 2 tablespoons of oil and fry
the noodles in small portions until they are golden. Use
chopsticks to separate the noodles as they are frying. Remove
the noodles. Add more oil and add the meat and onion to the
pan. Stir-fry until the meat has no redness. Remove from wok
or pan.

Cook the rest of the vegetables separately, adding a bit of
salt if desired to taste. (With the bean sprouts and bok choy
add a bit of sugar as well if desired). If desired, add about
1/4 cup of water and cover pan while cooking bok choy, as it
doesn't contain much moisture.

Give the gravy a quick restir. Add all the ingredients back
into the wok, making a "well" in the middle if the wok for the
gravy. Mix well. Add green onions at this point if desired,
or save them for a garnish. Pour the mixture on top of the
noodles. Garnish the chow mein with sesame seeds. Serve hot.

*If using fresh noodles, still boil them in hot water as this
removes some of the starch and makes stir-frying easier.