A Chinese staple, you'll find this simple dish in almost all oriental restaurants up and down the country.
But, although it's an authentic Chinese dish, this doesn't mean it's not an easy one to replicate at home.
It's great as a main or a side dish to another meal – just make sure you make more if you're having it as a main.
In China, noodles date back almost 4,000 years and they are incorporated into the everyday menu in Chinese kitchens.
This dish – stir-fried noodle with bean sprouts – is a simple yet satisfying, consisting of many different subtle flavours and textures.
Aside from noodles, bean sprouts are the main ingredient – the sprouts of the bean are used as they add a more delicate flavour.
Often just flash-fried for a few minutes to give them heat, they have more nutritional value, too.
Much of the flavour in this dish comes from the use of soy sauce, adding a rich, deep salty taste often only found in oriental cooking.
Shaoxing wine, the most famous of the huangjiu – or traditional Chinese wines – is used as a cooking ingredient as well as being a popular drink on mainland China.
It's fermented from rice and will often take the place of the initial rice course at a traditional Chinese meal.
A simple dish – but one so delicious that your family will consider you a professional chef.
INGREDIENTS
150g bean sprouts
2 spring onions
2 tsp light soy sauce
1 tsp dark soy sauce
½ tsp sesame oil
½ tsp salt
½ tsp sugar
½ tbsp shaoxing wine
½ tsp freshly ground white pepper
200g fresh thin Hong Kong-style egg noodles or 3 bundles of dried Hong Kong-style egg noodles
3 tbsp oil
METHOD
1. Cook the noodles, adding them to a pan of boiling water. Just 2 to 3 minutes for dried or 1 minute for fresh.
2. Rinse the bean sprouts in cold water and drain.
3. Chop the spring onions into short strips.
4. Mix the soy sauces, sesame oil, salt, sugar, wine and white pepper into a small bowl and set aside.
5. Heat the wok to high and add the tbsp of oil and coat the wok well.
6. Spread the noodles in a thin, even layer in the wok and tilt in a circular motion to distribute the oil and crisp the bottom layer of the noodles evenly. This takes 3 to 5 minutes.
7. Flip the noodles over and add another tbsp of oil around the edge of the wok and repeat the above step. Don't worry if you can't turn the noodles over in one shot, the goal is to get an even, light crispiness and dry out the noodles.
8. Set aside the noodles, keeping them warm.
9. Heat the wok over a high heat again and add another tbsp of oil and all of the white parts of the spring onion to the pan. Cook for about 15 seconds.
10. Add the noodles to the wok and stir them well, breaking up the noodles as you go.
11. Add the soy sauce mixture and toss continuously (don't stop!) for a couple of minutes using a pair of chopsticks or tongs.
12. Once the noodles are golden brown, add the bean sprouts and toss.
13. Add the rest of the spring onions and toss the mixture for another 2 minutes, until the bean sprouts begin to turn transparent.
14. Plate and serve.
Don't forget to stock up on the sesame oil. A small bottle will last for many, many meals but it's what gives oriental dishes that proper Chinese taste.