Long beans chicken noodles

Being too lazy to cook a proper dinner, I made these noodles and dumped in whatever greens, meat I can lay my hands on.   The greens happen to be long beans and the meat, chicken.

Long beans aka 'Dau Gok' in Cantonese are yardlong beans also known as bora.  This climbing vine is subtropical/tropical and widely grown in the warmer parts of South East Asia and southern China.  They're at their best when picked for consumption before they mature fully.  These beans are low in fat, are a good source of protein, vitamin A and C and also have a significant amount of iron, phosphorous, manganese and magnesium.  A major health benefit is their ability to lower cholesterol due to its high fibre content.  What are other ways to cook these long beans?

They're commonly used  for stir-fries in Chinese cuisine, cut into shorter sections to cook savoury rice,  fry them in an omelette or toss them  into your fried rice.  In Malaysian cuisine, they're often stir-fried with chillies and shrimp paste aka sambal belacan.  They are also a popular ingredient in most vegetable curries  and can double up in cooked salads aka kerabu, as well.  In short, long beans are indeed very versatile.

This is another one-dish meal, quick and effective to whet your appetite.  Looks easy?  Here's how to do it ..............

Recipe for Long beans chicken noodles


Ingredients

• 180 gm long beans
• 180 gm chicken breast meat, diced
• 4 pips garlic, chopped
• 3 shallots, sliced
• 3 pieces of  dried flat noodles
• 1/4  tsp dark soya sauce
• 1 cup water
• 1 tsp cornflour + 2 tsp water to thicken

Seasoning for meat

• 2 tsp oyster sauce
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 1/2  tsp each of :  sugar, salt, light soya sauce and cornflour
• A dash of pepper

Preparation

1. Dice the chicken breast meat and marinate with the seasoning for about half an hour.  Set aside.
2. Wash and cut up the long beans to about 3.1/2 inch lengths.
3. Heat up a wok with some oil, shallow fry the shallots, dish out and keep aside.
4. With the remaining oil, stir-fry the long beans for a while till they're limp, dish out and set aside.
5. Saute the chopped garlic with some oil till fragrant, add in the marinated chicken meat, fry for a while and add in the water.  Simmer till meat is cooked.
6. Add in the  dark soya sauce, test for taste and add in cornflour mixture to thicken.
7. Bring to the boil a pot of water and cook the noodles.  Once cooked, dish out and put on serving plates.
8. Mix the noodles with some sesame oil and light soya sauce to prevent them from sticking together.
9. Ladle on the chicken  and sauce, arrange some fried long beans on top, garnish with the shallot crisps and sprinkle on a dash of pepper.
10. Serve immediately with a chilli dip if desired.

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