Chicken and noodle stir-fry is an Asian-inspired dish that combines chicken with noodles, vegetables and the uniquely Asian taste of sesame oil. Renowned for its fast-cooking capabilities, chicken and noodle stir-fry requires little prep work and can go from the cooler to the plate in less than 15 minutes. The secret to a fast-cooking chicken and noodle stir-fry is cooking the dish in steps and combining the ingredients only at the very end to bring all of the flavors together.
Stir-frying is one of the oldest methods of cooking known to man, and it typically uses only a single pan, known as a wok, to cook an entire meal. The secret is very high heat and quick cooking times, with the ingredients being stirred constantly while over the heat to avoid burning. Chicken and noodle stir-fry requires an additional pot to boil the noodles before placing them into the wok. While the noodles are boiling, vegetables, peppers, mushrooms are sliced thin and coated in a thin layer of sesame seed oil. The chicken also can be cut into small, thin strips to allow it to cook faster.
The noodles are drained and covered with a light coat of sesame oil, then placed into the wok to cook for a few minutes. When finished, the noodles are removed from the wok, and the chicken is cooked for a few minutes. This removing and cooking the next ingredients is repeated until all of the ingredients have been cooked for several minutes. After all of the ingredients have been cooked initially, the entire dish is placed into the wok to be stir-fried for several minutes over high heat. This not only reheats all of the chicken and noodle stir-fry ingredients, it also brings all of the individual flavors together at the end.
This dish can be prepared with equal results by using either rice noodles or egg noodles. Along with the traditional salt and pepper, spices that can be used in chicken and noodle stir-fry include ginger, sesame seeds and soy sauce. Ketchup and chicken stock help add moisture and flavor while sir-frying the dish. While the chicken and noodle stir-fry is cooking, the dish should be stirred continually and rapidly to evenly cook all of the ingredients. If needed, a small amount of chicken stock can be added to the stir-fry to create additional moisture and promote even cooking.
