Chicken & Ginger Longevity Noodles

1 February marked the beginning of the Chinese New Year, The Year of The Tiger. There are many auspicious foods eaten over this important holiday, one of them being Longevity Noodles.

I always make a point of observing the new lunar year by eating noodles and dumplings, so I decided to make myself these Chicken & Ginger Longevity Noodles. The term ‘Longevity Noodles’ comes from the fact that long noodles symbolise a long and happy life, earning themselves a place amongst the foods which are made and eaten during New Year celebrations to invoke good luck.

Chicken & Ginger Longevity Noodles

This recipe is my easy version of a very popular noodle dish. It makes a fairly small amount, about enough to serve two people, but you can easily double or triple the recipe to feed a larger crowd. They make delicious leftovers (I admittedly eat them cold, which is how I enjoy the majority of leftovers) and remember to not bite into the noodles as you bring them towards your mouth so to keep them as long as possible for extra-long life. It’s all in the slurp, baby.

Ingredients

• 250g fresh egg noodles
• 2 tsp toasted sesame oil
• 300g boneless, skinless chicken thighs
• 1 tbsp fresh ginger, thinly sliced
• 1 tsp + 1 tbsp Chinese rice wine vinegar
• 1 tsp cornflour
• 1 tbsp + 1tbsp soy sauce
• 1-2 tbsp sunflower oil
• 1/2 tsp red chilli flakes
• 150g exotic mushrooms (thinly slice if you’re using the likes of shiitake)
• 2 green onions, thinly sliced
• salt & pepper, to season

Method

1. Remove the egg noodles from their packaging, place in a bowl, add the sesame oil and toss to combine.
2. Thinly slice the chicken thighs, place them in a bowl, add the fresh ginger, 1 tsp rice wine vinegar, cornflour and 1 tsp soy sauce. Toss to combine and set aside to marinade for 10-15 minutes.
3. Heat a wok or large frying pan over medium-high heat, add the sunflower oil and then it starts to glimmer add the chilli flakes and toss for around 20 seconds.
4. Add the chicken and ginger mixture and stirfry until the chicken is cooked. Remove from the pan and set aside.
5. Add a little more sunflower oil to the pan and stirfry the mushrooms until cooked. This should take between 3-5 minutes.
6. Add the cooked chicken, noodles and remaining 1 tbsp each of rice wine vinegar and soy sauce.
7. Toss well to combine everything, add the sliced spring onions and serve immediately.