Weeknights are tough for cooking. Getting home AT dinnertime and hungry just makes it worse. A lot of the time, I’m tempted by all of the take-out goodness in the Allston area and I give in, stopping by places like Rod Dee or the 88 food connection. As a result, I haven’t been cooking and as a side effect, I’ve been lazy with blogging. Which is bad. Terrible, in fact. Unforgiveable? Almost.
But I’ve promised to be better (rather than apologizing and posting nothing)! So I’ve set a goal for myself. I’m going to build a list of my favorite 100 recipes that take an hour or less to prepare. For a little perspective, I think I may have about a dozen (probably less) recipes that fit in that category and some of those might not make the final cut. That’s a lot of work in the coming months and (to me anyway) feels like a pretty daunting task!
The purpose for the whole “hour or less” thing is that I need something to cook on weeknights and that, in turn, will stop me from being lazy and getting take-out (though take-out once in a while would be ok, but let’s keep it at “once in a while” =P). And really, the time limit is more for prep/cook time, so after eating and cleanup, it could be more like an hour and a half to two hours. That, and it means I get to eat before 8pm.
So with my newfound project, I’ve been cooking away the past week and a half and hoping to maintain a head full of steam and cook at least 2-3 days during the week. I’m not quite sure I’ll be posting everything I cook (gotta save something for when I actually post the 100 favorites) but some of the more “interesting” experiments probably will make the cut =)
With that, the first thing to be cooked? Chicken Chow mein, courtesy of hzrt8w from eGullet. Simple? Check. Quick? Check. Easy? You bet. Fresh chow mein noodles from Russo’s (Or from your favorite Asian grocer, doesn’t matter, the same noodle company stocks most of the stores here in Boston), half a pound of chicken, a little bit of sauce? 45 minutes tops. And that included marinating the chicken and prepping the noodles.
Off to a good start!
Chicken Chow Mein
Time : 45 minutes
Serves : 4
Ingredients:
- ¾ lb Egg Noodle (Chow Mein)
- ½ lb Chicken Breast
- 1 small onion, chopped
- 2 stalks scallion, chopped (1 inch pieces)
- ½ cup bean sprouts, washed
- 3-4 tbsp oil
Marinade:
- Freshly ground white pepper (to taste)
- 2 tsp light soy sauce (Or Chicken Marinade)
- 2 tsp sesame oil
- 1 tsp Shaoshing wine
- 1 tsp corn starch
Sauce:
- 5 tsp light soy sauce
- 1 tsp Shaoshing wine
Method:
1. Mix marinade and add chicken, marinate for about 30 minutes
2. Boil noodles and set aside, slightly undercooked if possible
3. Heat wok with 2 tsp oil, brown chicken and set aside
NOTE : The next 5 steps are very quick!
4. Add 4 tbsp to wok, heat until oil is bubbling
5. Add onions and green onions, and in 5 seconds, splash in 1 tsp Shaoshing wine. Since the oil is very hot, this may induce a flame, so be careful!
6. Add the soy sauce
7. Stir once, add noodles and bean sprouts
8. Stir and toss for a minute, add the chicken, toss for another minute and then serve