No Sweet Sour: Yunnan Liang Mixian (Cold Rice Noodles)
Michelle Zhao of No Sweet Sour for The Mala Market
Servings: 2 bowls
Ingredients
Ingredients for prep
- 1 small handful dried wood ear mushroom
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon minced ginger
- 1 chicken breast
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3 slices ginger
- 1 green onion
- ½ teaspoon Sichuan peppercorns
- 6 ounces (180g) dried rice noodles (thick round noodles are traditional)
- ¾ ounce (20g) mung bean sprouts
- 4 stems Chinese chives, cut in 2-inch pieces
- 2 tablespoons toasted walnuts, finely minced
Sauce ingredients per bowl
- 2 tablespoons prepared garlic and ginger water
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- ½ teaspoon white pepper powder
- 1 tablespoon Chinese light soy sauce
- 1½ tablespoons Chinese sweet soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 1 teaspoon Sichuan pepper oil
- ½ tablespoon sesame paste, thinned with ½ tablespoon warm water
- ½ tablespoon sesame oil
- 2 tablespoons chili oil
Instructions
- Rehydrate the wood ear mushrooms by soaking them in warm water. Combine the minced garlic and ginger in a small bowl and add 3 ounces water to cover. This is to help tame the intense flavors of ginger and garlic so they do not dominate the other flavors.
- Place the whole chicken breast in a saucepan together with salt, ginger, green onion and Sichuan peppercorns. Bring to a boil, skim off the excess foam, and let it cook at a simmer for 12-15 minutes, depending on the size of the breast, until it is just cooked through. Remove chicken breast to a bowl with enough cold water to cover.
- While the chicken breast is cooking, set another large pot of water to boil, add a pinch of salt and the rice noodles. Boil the noodles for 15 minutes, stirring once every 2-3 minutes to prevent the rice noodles from sticking together. Remove the pot from the heat after 15 minutes and cover with a lid, allowing the noodles to rest in the hot water for 10 minutes. Finally, rinse the noodles under cold water until they are completely chilled. Drain well and set them aside.
- Bring a saucepan of water to boil, add the rehydrated wood ear mushrooms and boil for 2 minutes. Remove them to rest in a bowl of cold water. Using the same saucepan, blanch the Chinese chives and bean sprouts for 30 seconds, drain and rinse under cold water. You do not have to blanch the chives and sprouts if you prefer the crunchy and raw flavors of these two vegetables.
- Use your hands to shred the chicken instead of using a knife to cut it. You will get a completely different texture. Start from one end of the chicken breast and thinly shred all the way to the other end.
- To assemble, divide the chilled rice noodles between two bowls. Add all sauce ingredients in list above except chili oil to each bowl, directly on top of the rice noodles. Then top each bowl with small piles of shredded chicken, Chinese chives, wood ear mushrooms and bean sprouts. Garnish with chili oil and toasted walnuts. Diners should mix all ingredients well before eating.