Name: Cantonese Chow Mein with Prawns
Yield: Serves 2 for Lunch
Cuisine: China
Ingredients: chilli sauce; 2.5 ml (½ tsp) cornflour; 10 ml (2 tsp) potato or tapioca flour; 150 ml (5 fl oz/⅔ cup) chicken stock; 30 ml (2 tbsp) oyster sauce; 7.5 ml (1½ tsp) egg white; 2.5 ml (½ tsp) salt; 225–285 g (8–10 oz) bean sprouts; 4–6 spring onions, trimmed and cut into 5 cm (2 in) sections, white and green parts separated; 2 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped; 150–175 ml (5–6 fl oz/⅔–¾ cup) vegetable oil; 12 large raw prawns in the shell (about 450 g/1 lb) but without heads; 225 g (8 oz) dried or 350 g (12 oz) fresh Chinese egg noodles; 7.5 ml (1½ tsp) thin or light soy sauce; 4 thin slices ginger, peeled; 105 ml (7 tbsp) peanut or vegetable oil; Chinese red vinegar

Preparation info

Serves
2
for Lunch

Difficulty
Medium

Appears in

Classic Food of China

By Yan-Kit So

Published 1992

About

Chow Mein has always been authentic Cantonese food, and this dish is a very popular example of it. Across the boundaries of regional cooking, there seems to be a national consensus about the best technique of frying noodles (chow mein); the ideal is to achieve a golden-brown toasted effect on both sides, while the centre remains moist and tender.