Recipe for Hunan Chicken with Chow Mein Noodles and Vegetables

Maria asked me to write this post since it is our blog! So you get to here from Josh today!!

There is one thing that I really miss about living in the Bay Area, besides living close to my family...the great Chinese Food. When I lived in Martinez, California, a great little town in the East Bay, there was a fantastic Chinese restaurant. All of their food was great but my favorite dish was the Hunan Chicken. It was sweet and spicy and the flavors were mixed perfectly. My brother and I loved to order the "Human Chicken", it always made us laugh, but they did not always think we were too funny.

When I found out I was moving I tried every method to get their recipe. I first asked them for it, then I offered to pay for it, then I actually got on my knees and begged for it, but nothing worked.

Our friend, who took the orders, said the cook would not give the recipe to anyone, not even the family. Anyways, my sister-in-law Whitney and I tried to look up this recipe then and all we found was Hunan Chicken recipes that contained ketchup. That didn't sound good to us, so I gave up the search. I recently stumbled upon a recipe that sounded a little similar so I tried to recreate our favorite "Human Chicken."

The recipe was really good, it came pretty close! I served the chicken with Chow Mein noodles and vegetables. Maria just had noodles and veggies, she still won't try my chicken:)

Hunan Chicken

Adapted from Tyler Florence

Marinade:

• 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken, thinly sliced
• 1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
• 1 tablespoon peanut oil (or canola if you are allergic)
• 2 cloves garlic, smashed
• 2 slices fresh ginger, smashed
• 1 handful fresh cilantro leaves
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

For Frying:

• Vegetable Oil, or Peanut oil, for frying
• 2 cups Buttermilk
• 4 cups of flour

Sauce:

• 2 Tablespoons Cornstarch for slurry
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
• 4 dried red Thai chilies
• 4 scallions, thinly sliced, plus more for garnish
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 (1-inch) piece fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped
• 3 thick strips orange zest
• 1/2 cup low-sodium soy sauce
• 1 1/2 cups chicken stock
• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 1 tablespoon honey
• Cilantro leaves, for garnish

Directions

Put the chicken into a bowl with the marinade ingredients. Stir well to combine all the flavors, cover, and marinate in the refrigerator for 1-2hours. Heat vegetable oil, or peanut oil in a wok or deep skillet to 375 degrees F. Add the marinated chicken and coat it well with the batter. When the oil is hot, cook the chicken pieces in batches until they are browned and crisp, about 4 to 5 minutes per batch. Drain on paper towels. When you have fried all the chicken. Over high heat, add 2 tablespoons of oil add the chilies, scallion, garlic, ginger, and orange zest. Stir-fry for 1 minute then pour in the soy sauce, chicken stock, vinegar, and honey and bring it to a boil. Mix the remaining 2 tablespoons cornstarch with 2 tablespoons cold water until smooth. Pour the slurry into the boiling sauce, in 2 additions, until the sauce thickens. Add the chicken pieces and cook until they are heated through, about 2 more minutes. Garnish with scallions and cilantro leaves. Serve with the noodle and vegetable recipe below.

**This recipe is good, but it was not as delicious as my favorite. When I do this again I will add sliced Jalapeños, I will use less soy sauce and maybe add some brown sugar. Mess with it until you can get it to your taste. **

Chow Mein Noodles with Vegetables

• 3 ounces dried Chinese egg noodles
• 1-2 Tablespoons canola oil
  
• Kosher salt
• 1/2 cup vegetable broth, low-sodium canned
• 3 tablespoons oyster sauce
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce, plus more for the table
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon dark Asian sesame oil
• 1 heaping tablespoon minced peeled fresh ginger
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 scallion, white and green minced
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 medium yellow onion, thinly sliced
• 1 stalk celery, thinly sliced on the diagonal
• 10 dried shittake mushrooms, rehydrated, drained, and thinly sliced
• 1/3 cup thinly sliced canned water chestnuts
• 6 ounces fresh mung bean sprouts
• Mixed vegetables-we used snow peas, zucchini, broccoli, and yellow squash
  

Directions

Boil the noodles according to package instructions. Drain in a colander in the sink and rinse under cold running water. Shake the colander to drain off excess water and pat the noodles dry with a towel. Heat oil in a large seasoned or non-stick skillet over high heat. Add the noodles, spreading them out to evenly cover the skillet, and fry, turning once, until golden brown and crispy, about 8 minutes. (Break the noodles up, by stirring, near the end of the cooking). Transfer noodles to a paper towel-lined plate and season with salt to taste. Set aside. Discard any excess oil and wipe out the pan. Whisk together the vegetable broth, oyster sauce, soy sauce, cornstarch, and sugar in a small bowl, and set aside. Heat the skillet over high heat. Add a little oil if you need to then add the ginger, garlic, and scallion and stir-fry, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the onion, celery, and mushrooms, and mixed veggies and stir-fry, until crisp-tender, about 2 minutes. Add the water chestnuts and spread the ingredients to the outside of the pan to form a well in the center. Pour the broth mixture into the well, bring to a boil, and stir to coat the chow mein mixture. Stir in the bean sprouts and remove from the heat. Season generously to taste with pepper. Transfer mixture to a warm platter and top with the fried noodles. Pass more soy sauce at the table.