Thai Noodles with Chicken, Bok Choy, and Broccoli

In the small town I grew up in [small = 13k people], there really wasn’t much in terms of restaurants. Who am I kidding? There STILL isn’t much in the way of food options except Jack in the Box. The last vestige of great drive thru hamburgers [that rival In N Out by the way] closed recently–RIP Old Fashioned Maid. I guess you can’t sustain $9 cheeseburger baskets, who knew? The other option is this fabulously dingy hole-in-the-wall Chinese restaurant. I remember begging my parents to go here for my birthday as a kid. Even now, when I’m over at their house, I casually hint at the prospect of getting Chinese take out. I love this place. It still looks exactly the same as it did 20 years ago. It’s ruined any other Chinese restaurant for me. I have yet to find anything that comes close. My usual meal these days is their appetizer sampler–egg roll, BBQ pork, and a ton of deep fried cream cheese stuffed wontons that claim to have crab in them but I’ve never ever been able to tell crab puffs. There is a lot of food, but it’s enough to not leave me with a greasy Chinese food baby like most combination plates. Occasionally, I’ll spice it up with an order of egg flower soup and split it with my sister. That soup is what I remember most about this Chinese cafe. When you eat in, you always get a cup of it. I guess it’s like the Chinese equivalent to miso soup, but man I love it 100x more.

That soup is exactly what I thought of when I took my first bite of dinner last night. Every subsequent bite yielded the same reaction. It was heavenly. The same mellow flavors were packed into this noodle dish. I love that I can get my egg flower soup fix without having to trek out to my parents’ house [I’m working on crab puff and BBQ pork recipes, too].

Inspiration: Lauren @ A Full Measure of Happiness

Ingredients

• 1/2 lb rice noodles
• 1 tablespoon coconut oil
• 1 clove minced garlic
• 1/2 lb chicken breast, thinly sliced
• 1/2 bunch of bok choy, rinsed and thinly sliced
• 1 small head of broccoli, chopped into florets
• 1 tablespoon miso paste
• 1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon fish sauce
• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 3/4 cup water
• 1 tablespoon of cornstarch dissolved in 3 tablespoons of water
• salt, pepper, or chili flakes to taste

Preparation

1. Bring a pot of water to boil, remove from heat, and dump in the rice noodles.
2. Heat the coconut oil in a wok or large saute pan.
3. Add the chicken and garlic.
4. Season with salt and pepper.
5. Once the chicken no longer has its freakish pink hue, add in the bok choy and broccoli.
6. Stir to coat with oil, and continue cooking until the bok choy starts to wilt.
7. Add in the miso, rice vinegar, soy and fish sauces. Stir.
8. Add in the water and cornstarch mixture.
9. Continue stirring, coating everything well.
10. Drain the noodles and set aside. They’ll be done cooking by now.
11. After 2-3 minutes, add the noodles to the stir fry.
12. Stir well, and let the noodles soak up the saucy goodness.
13. Dish up onto a plate [or a bowl–I’ll admit, I considered it], and continue watching the US stomp Canada in the Gold Cup.