Ingredients
Makes 4 servings
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 cups celery thinly sliced on diagonal (about ⅛-inch thick)
2 cups thinly sliced onions (about ⅛-inch thick)
1 teaspoon sugar, divided use
½ pound boneless, skinless chicken meat, cut into ½-inch-wide pieces
2 cups firmly packed shredded napa cabbage (pieces about ½-inch wide)
1 ½ cups fresh mung bean sprouts
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 cup chicken stock
5 teaspoons cornstarch
2 cups cooked white rice
1 cup chow mein noodles (crispy at room temperature)
Directions
To cook celery and onions:
Place very large wok over high heat. Heat for 1 minute. Add oil, spilling it around sides of wok. Heat until oil is smoking. Add celery and onions. Sprinkle with ½ teaspoon sugar. Stir well. Stir-fry for 2 minutes. Push celery-onion mixture to side of wok, leaving center empty.
To cook chicken:
Season chicken well with salt. If empty space in wok is dry, add a little more vegetable oil. Add chicken to center of wok. Stir-fry for 2 to 3 minutes or until chicken browns slightly and loses it’s pink-red color. Toss with celery and onions, bringing mass into center of wok.
To finish cooking vegetables:
Add cabbage and bean sprouts to wok. Toss with other ingredients. Add remaining ½ teaspoon sugar. Toss again. Reduce heat to medium-high. Cook for 5 minutes or until vegetables start to lose distinctness and merge together.
To make sauce and finish dish:
Add soy sauce. Toss. Add stock. Toss. Bring to a boil. In small bowl, stir cornstarch into a little water to form a milky liquid. Add most of liquid to boiling stock in wok, stirring immediately. (Note: for thicker chow mein, add remaining cornstarch mixture) Remove chow mein from heat.
To serve:
Divide rice among 4 plates or bowls, spreading rice out across bottoms of plates or bowls. Top each plate or bowl with one-quarter of chow mein mixture. Divide chow mein noodles over tops of 4 plates or bowls. Serve immediately.