Sunday, May 4, 2008

Indo-China Chow Mein for the Chinese Take-Out Party!


This is my take on one of the most popular items out of Chinese Take-Out menu, Chow Mein. As always it has been tweaked miles and miles away from the classic version, Indonesia-ised (added kecap manis), added some bling (shrimps, fried shallots) *grin*...and...ta-da!!...

My Indo-China Chow Mein, proudly delivered to you, online for the Chinese Take-Out Party!
(PS. Bring your own booze, utensils, flatware, Internet, keyboard and hanky for drool wiping purposes ^_^! Am I the most gracious host on earth or what?! LOL)

I've been on Chinese Take-Out diet...almost my whole life (hmm who isn't?). Ironically, I NEVER order Chow Mein here in Hong Kong. The Chow Mein in Hong Kong is often made of super thin egg noodles, which I am not fond of, I love my noodles long, thick, luscious and chewy, not those itsy bitsy fragile thin noodles, who said size doesn't matter?

Plus, with my current Cantonese language proficiency level, I wouldn't order chow mein, risking calling the restaurant owner "Stinky Face" or something (yep, Chinese is one of the trickiest language to learn...say it in the wrong tone, and one tiny phrase could get you beaten up by the joint force of all triad members from the whole Kowloon peninsula-oppppps)

Recipe
- 1 pack of round noodles (yau mein/oil noodles, can be replaced by other noodles, such as instant egg noodles, rice noodles, etc)
- 4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
- 6 cloves of shallot, finely chopped
- 1 pc of ginger, crushed
- 2 pc of small red chilli, remove core, finely sliced
- spring onion, chopped into 5 cm long pieces
- 1 egg
- 1/2 pound of lean pork, sliced thinly
- 1/2 pound of shrimps, deveined
- 1 tbsp of fried shallot
- kecap manis, dark soy sauce, light soy sauce, oyster sauce, lime juice, salt, pepper, sugar

Marinate shrimps in lime juice for a while, season with salt, pepper and sugar, pan fry until pink and curled, set aside. Saute aromatics in hot oil, add sliced lean pork, crack egg, stir in noodles, add sauces, throw in spring onion, throw in the shrimps, sprinkle fried shallot, serve hot.

8 more days to the round up of Chinese Take-Out Party!

I've started piling up boxes of Kleenex all around my desk...and you should too! ;)

13 comments:

Lisa said...

Wow, that sounds gorgeous—and what a haute presentation! Tagging this to try in the near future; thanks.

Anonymous said...

What a great take on the original. You are so creative!

A.G said...

aku jg mo bikin mie guyeng tp blom tau jadi enggak mana swami duyan bngt. Sori blom bikin bt chinese take out partyne... bsk kali
wait ya dear..
nyomot udangnya ahhh

Beachlover said...

When you meationed Chow Mein in your contest I wanna to ask you the version but now I know what you mean..Noodle!!.In USA, Chow Mein version is so different from asian even it's a asian dish.Actually we called Chinese american dish..shredded chinese cabbage with meat and some corn starch...that ABC Chow Mein!!lol!That right!.When you order Chow Mein in US,don't expect noodles!!

Peter M said...

Four cloves of garlic? I luv it!

Also, try quickly saying the title of this post 10 times...it's a tongue twister!

Unknown said...

hi Lisa, thanks for stopping by...I tried twirling the noodles using fork and hope it'd pile up nicely on the plate...this shot was my #12 lol

hey cathy...haha thanks, i just like to keep things "me"

ayinnn ayokkk bikin mie ayam apa ya?

beachlover, thanks for the warning...calling restaurant order "stinky face" is one thing, but when i was expecting noodles and then being given a plate of veggies, wow, i'd flip! LOL

hi peter, yeah...in indo, we like things garlicky, shalloty hehehe simply SHARP...i didnt realise that it's a tongue twister HAHAHA

Elsye said...

aduuhh neh enaknya...qiqiqiqiqi...entry ku belum Rit...baru mau dikerjain..:P

i will bring my potluck for your chinese party :D *halahhh*

btw, rit kalo mau donat kentang aku dapet resep yang oye..kayaknya lebih asik dari resep yang baru aku posting, tar aku coba dulu resep nya...:D, kayaknya sih lebih ok tar kalo ok tak kasih kabar ya...tak posting lagi di blog..:D

Wandering Chopsticks said...

Hehe. I know what you're referring to but Indo-China can also mean Indochinese ie. former French colonies of Vietnam, Cambodia, or Laos. Or Indian-Chinese food.

I'm a thick noodle person myself. Although I like crispy fried thin chow mein noodles.

Dwiana P said...

gw juga paling demen ama chow mein Rit, kalau dah take out itu tempat gw penuh2 in ama noodle qiqiqii

Mama Mia said...

8 more days?! I gotta get my move on!

Jessy and her dog Winnie said...

Looks delicious! Im still thinking about what im going to make!

KC said...

This Indo-China Chow Mein looks absolutely delicious.

SIG said...

I love yellow noodles, and best when fried like you did. Yummy!