Spicy Turkey Stir Fried Egg Noodles

It's been a while since I've featured a Chinese style stir fry on this blog and I was surprised myself to learn, looking back through my summary notes, that I have never featured one made with egg noodles. I was originally going to prepare this dish with beef but decided at the last minute to make it with turkey breast. You could use beef, chicken, pork, or even large prawns in exactly the same way, though from those ingredients only the chicken should be subjected to the velveting process. Do try to get fresh egg noodles if you are making this dish, as the dried ones which are reconstituted in boiling water simply do not work as well in a stir fry.

Today's recipe will make two decent servings.

Ingredients

1 bag of fresh egg noodles (just under 1lb in weight)
1/2 diced turkey breast fillet
1/2 red bell pepper
1/2 green bell pepper
1/2 medium white onion
1/2 tsp hot chilli flakes (dried)
1 tbsp dark soy sauce
Salt and pepper
Vegetable oil for frying

One egg white and 1 tsp cornflour for velveting the turkey

Method

Velveting is a procedure used by Chinese cooks to help protect usually chicken from the high intensity heat of the stir frying process. It is achieved by essentially marinating the meat in egg white and cornflour (corn starch) prior to cooking.

Put the egg white in to a small glass bowl and add a teaspoon of cornflour and a pinch of salt. Stir well to form a smoothe paste. Add the turkey breast and stir well again to ensure the pieces are all evenly coated. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for twenty to thirty minutes.

When the turkey is removed from the fridge, it should be drained through a colander or sieve. Stir it around well in the colander to try to drain off as much of the paste as possible.

Put about a tablespoon of oil in to your wok and bring it up to a high heat. Stir fry the turkey for a couple of minutes until it is evenly sealed and has turned opaque. Remove to a plate with a slotted spoon.

The onion half should be halved again across the way and separated in to leaves. The bell pepper halves should be de-seeded and sliced in to half inch strips.
Add some more oil to the wok if required, bring back up to heat and stir fry the vegetables for around a minute, before adding the noodles and chilli flakes. You may of course choose to use a fresh red chilli, very finely diced, instead.

Stir fry the noodles and vegetables for a further minute before re-adding the turkey and the soy sauce for a final two minutes of cooking.

Taste the dish for seasoning, add what is required and divide between two serving plates. A fresh herb such as basil can be torn and scattered over the top if desired as a final garnish.

When you are making a stir fry, a proper Chinese wok is pretty much an esssential tool. If you do not have a wok, or your present one is past its best, below are a couple of options from both Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk which you may wish to consider.