Stir-fried Chicken Noodles (Kua Gai)
A local favorite for decades, Stir-fried chicken noodles, or Guay Tiew Kua Gai, is not only very simple to make but also full of flavors.
When I was little my mom usually cooks for us every week end. She would wake up early in the morning to go to the market to get fresh ingredients and some Chinese congee for breakfast. That was quite a long time ago, and we rarely stay home during week ends now. (Even though, my mom still goes to market and get some congee every once in a while.)
Kua Gai Noodles is one of the menus that my mom would cook for us on the week end for lunch. She said that it is not supposed to be for dinner because it contains a lot of oil. The dish is one of my favorites although I don’t really like those little green onions, but I must admit that those tiny green bits are great for garnish, so I would go for it.
INGREDIENTS - 4 servings
(These numbers are all approximated because my mom doesn’t really measure any thing. The flavor can be adjust to your liking. The amount noted in parenthesis is for 1 dish.)
Large Flat Rice Noodles ½ Kg (1 cup)
Chicken Fillet (cut into strips)½ Kg (½ cup)
Garlic (chopped) ¼ Cup (1 Tablespoon)
Green Onion ¼ Cup (1 Tablespoon)
Egg 4 (1)
Vegetable Oil ½ Cup (2 Tablespoon)
Green Leaf Lettuce (cut into strips) 4 Cups (1 Cup)
SEASONING
Fish Sauce (for chicken) 1 Tablespoon (½ teaspoon)
Sugar 4 Tablespoon (1 Tablespoon)
Dong Cai (Tianjin Preserved vegetables) 4 Tablespoon (1 Tablespoon)
Oyster Sauce ½ Cup (2 Tablespoon)
For this recipe there is no need for salt because oyster sauce and dong cai that we will be adding is already salty itself. If you do not feel it salty enough you can add some soy sauce or oyster sauce.
In case you don’t know what dong cai look like, here is the photo of the brand I use. Dong cai always has its unique container design no matter what brand it is.
LET’S GET STARTED!
STEP 1
A store bought rice noodles are stacked together. We have to separate it into single strand of noodle before cooking. Add fish sauce to chicken to add some flavours, let sit for 5 minutes.
STEP 2
Put wok on high heat and wait until it is super hot. Meanwhile, place the lettuce on the plate. In another plate, prepare the noodles for 1 portion just to measure, then add dong cai and sugar. The noodles and seasonings must be prepared in advance because everything must be stir-fried together quickly.
STEP 3
When the wok is ready, add vegetable oil and wait for the oil to heat up, then add chopped garlic. Stir-fry garlic until you can can smell the aroma and the color turn a little bit golden, add chicken strips.
STEP 4
Stir-fry the strips quickly. Be careful, do not let the garlic burn. When the chicken is cooked about halfway, add an egg. Wait for the white to cook before breaking the yolk.
STEP 5
Cook chicken and egg all the way through and add the noodles, dong cai and sugar that have been prepared earlier. Add oyster sauce then stir quickly. The cooking must be fast to prevent everything from sticking to the pan.
STEP 6
Make sure that every ingredient is well combined and cooked. If the noodles look dry and start sticking to the bottom of the pan you can add more vegetable oil. Add green onions and stir a little bit more.
STEP 7
Place noodles on the green lettuce bed we prepared earlier and SERVE!
If you don’t want the lettuce raw, you can stir it into the noodles at the same time you add green onions.
There are many great Kua Gai places and you can order the dish in carte restaurants around Thailand, but there is no place like home, isn’t it? Cooking at home let you pick out the best quality and fresh ingredients, and this is the key factor of good food that I always mention.
This dish can be pre-made and store overnight. Microwave in a microwave safe bowl or plate and it’s ready!
