Southeast Asian Inspired Stir Fry Banh Pho with Chicken and Shrimps

Happy Thanksgiving!!

I hope you guys can munch on juicy turkey with wonderful homemade cranberry sauce this year. As for me, I'll be off to Cancun for a fun and relaxing trip. So I guess tacos will on my Thanksgiving night menu? But don't worry, I'll try to order some chicken to make up my turkey lost.

Southeast Asian inspired stir fry banh pho with chicken and shrimps -

Ingredients (3 to 4 people)?

Marinade -
1 tablespoon of soy sauce
1 tablespoon of rice cooking wine or sake

1 large pack of dried banh pho
1 lb of chicken thigh
1/2 lb of shrimps (peeled and deveined)
2 eggs
2 cups of green bean sprouts
6 stalks of bak choy
1 small carrot
1 medium shallot
1 stalk of scallion
1 small bundle of cilantro
1/2 large onion
5 garlic cloves
1 teaspoon of grated ginger
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon Chinese chili sauce
3 tablespoons of soy sauce
2 tablespoons of fish sauce
2 tablespoons of shrimp paste
1 tablespoon of Sriracha
1 tablespoon of brown sugar
1/2 cup of hot water
1 lime
Some olive oil
Some sea salt
Some freshly ground black pepper

How?

I know it's a long list of ingredients but trust me, the end result is mouth-watering.

Remove excess fat from the chicken thighs and cut into bite size pieces. Mix 1 tablespoon of soy sauce and 1 tablespoon of rice cooking wine. Add in the chicken and marinate for at least 20 minutes.

Here's the large pack of banh pho found at a local Ranch 99 market -

Package instruction states that you can either soak the noodles for 15 minutes or cook them in hot water for 2 minutes before stir frying. I tried to follow the lead but ended up with still very chewy banh pho. So here's what you should do to prepare the noodles: Bring a big pot of water to a boil and cook the noodles till al dente in texture, about 3 to 5 minutes. Once done, drain well and set aside for later use. Mix in a little bit of olive oil can prevent clumping.

Beat two eggs together with a tiny pinch of salt. Drizzle some oil in the pan, just enough to coat the surface. Bring to medium high heat and pour in the eggs once the oil gets hot. Scramble the eggs till the edges of each little pieces turned slightly brown. Scoop it out and set aside for later use.

Peel and finely chop the garlic cloves. Chop half of the scallion into 2 inch pieces and the remaining into tiny bits. Peel and slice the onion into thin strips. Peel and slice the shallot.

Remove the very bottom stems for the bok choy and cut into thin strips. Peel and julienne the carrot. Remove the very bottom stems from the cilantro and give the rest a rough chop.

Take a big pan, add in about 3 tablespoons of olive oil, 1/4 teaspoon of sea salt, 1/4 teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper, 1/2 teaspoon of red chili flakes or more if you like it spicy. Also add in the onion and shallot. Give it a quick stir and turn to medium high heat.

Cook till the shallot slices start to get slightly burned on the edges, about 3 minutes. Add in chopped garlic, grated ginger, and scallion strips. Cook for another minute.

Pour in the chicken along with its marinade, cook till the chicken is about 70% done then add in the carrot. Cook till the carrot softens.

Add in bean sprouts and bok choy. Also add in our main seasonings here: 3 tablespoons of soy sauce, 2 tablespoons of fish sauce, 2 tablespoons of shrimp paste, 1 tablespoon of Sriracha, 1 tablespoon of brown sugar, 1/2 teaspoon of chili sauce, and juice of 1/2 lime. Mix well and let it cook for about 3 to 5 minutes, till all the flavors soaked into the ingredients.

Add the shrimps, scrambled eggs, and 1/2 of the chopped cilantro to the mixture. Once the shrimps start to turn pinkish color, pour in the noodles along with some hot water. Mix well and cook till the noodles have fully absorbed the seasonings. I just left it till the noodles reached my desired texture, about 6 minutes.

Serve with some of the chopped scallion and cilantro we reserved earlier along with one wedge of lime. Perhaps more chili sauce for spicy lovers (like me!).

See you after Thanksgiving break!

Other recipe using shrimp paste:
Stir fry ongchoy with shrimp paste and fish sauce 蝦醬空心菜

Other Asian noodles recipes:
Taiwanese ruo gen soup noodles 酸辣肉羹麵 
Japanese style dan dan noodles