Braised Yi fu Noodles 燜伊府麵

For the Chinese a good dish must possess the following qualities - colour/appearance (色, she), aroma/fragrance (香, xiang) and taste (味, wei), texture/mouthfeel of a dish (口感, kou kan) is also being taken very seriously. Yi fu or yee foo (伊府) noodle is the result of such obsession. The noodles are sold pre deep fried; they need to be soaked and soften before being put in soup or a braise, the result is bowlful of silky and tender  strands of golden delicious goodness that one simply can't get enough of (I hope I am not sounding like Nigella Lawson). This is how it is always prepared back home, do you have a different way of cooking this gem?

P.S This is a scheduled post. I will answer and reply all comments and queries ASAP.

serves 4

you'll need;

4 yi fu noodles

4 Chinese cabbage leaves, thinly sliced

1/2 cup of dried Chinese mushrooms, soaked in hot water for 20 minutes

1 large carrot, cut into strips

1 chicken breast, cut into strips*

1 cup of bean sprouts, topped and tailed

3 garlic cloves, chopped

1 tbs of grated ginger

2 tbs of dark soy

2 tbs of light soy

dash of oyster sauce

dash of white pepper

dash of sesame oil

1 cup of chicken stock

1 cup of mushroom soaking water

corn flour solution

* marinate chicken with dash of soy, sesame oil, cooking wine, white pepper and corn flour.

Prepare all ingredients and have everything close to the stove.

Soak noodles in hot water to soften then rinse under cold running water and drain well.

Saute garlic and ginger follow by the carrots and mushrooms.

Add Chinese cabbage and fry for a minute, add chicken stock and mushroom soaking water.

Add noodles and seasoning, cover and simmer for a minute or two. Check for seasonings and thicken the sauce with a little corn flour solution.

Serve with plenty of cut chillies and soy.