Chinese Chicken Stir Fry With Glass Noodles

Glass noodles, cellophane noodles, crystal noodles, bean threads. It has many names. Made from mung bean flour, arrowroot, cornstarch or tapioca, these Chinese noodles are clear and chewy. They have no flavor which make them the perfect accompaniment to stir-frys, soups, salad and even egg rolls. They add body and texture and are easy to work with. So I added them to my chicken stir fry.

I wanted to name this stir fry Whats In The Fridge Stir Fry, but I decided to just keep it simple. Although that's exactly what this is. That is exactly how I decided what I was going to make for dinner tonight. You can switch up the vegetables to whatever you have in the house. Zucchinis, scallions, broccoli, those all work great too. That's what I love about stir-frys. They look fancy and time consuming but they are so fast, easy and versatile. I used bell peppers, carrots and onions, with some garlic, sesame oil and chicken. I would have added sesame seeds too but I didn't have any on hand.

The sauce for this is so simple. Because it's from a jar. What's that you say? Oh yes, that's true, I rarely use sauces out of a jar. But this one is my favorite. It's Mikee's Chinese Marinade with Garlic. It's so good. If you have a pack of short ribs, put them in a pot, throw the sauce on top and shove them in the oven. That's it.

 You will thank me. I should call that 60 second short ribs! Anyways, back to the stir fry.
I would recommend breaking or cutting the noodles so that they are shorter before soaking them. It can get really hard to stir them into other ingredients if they are all like...five feet long... :)

Ok so I like stir-frys where the ingredients are either cut small or julienned thin. I don't like fighting over which big chunk of food will make on to my fork. So I julienned.

The onions are cut as thin as you can get them. Saute them in sesame oil until they begin to get golden brown.

In the mean time soak your noodles. Boil water and pour into a bowl with the noodles. Let them reconstitute until you are ready to add them to the pan.

Then add the rest of the veggies and garlic.

Add the chicken and cook for a bit. Add seasoning and the sauce.

Cover and let the ingredients have a party.

And then enjoy a fabulous dinner.

Chinese Chicken Stir Fry with Glass Noodles
1 onion thinly sliced
2 carrots, peeled and julienned
1 red bell pepper julienned
1 green bell pepper julienned
6 cloves of garlic
2 lbs chicken breast, thinly sliced in to 2 inch pieces.
1 (5oz) package of glass noodles (also known as bean threads or cellophane noodles)
3 tbsp sesame oil
1/2 cup Mikees Chinese Marinade With Garlic
1 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper

Saute onions over med-hi heat until lightly golden. In the mean time boil water and pour over cut noodles in a bowl. Let them soak for at least 15 minutes. Add the remaining vegetables and garlic to the pan and saute for 10 minutes, stirring often. Add chicken and season with salt and pepper. Cook for another 10 minutes. Add garlic sauce and lemon juice, stir well and cover the pan. Cook for 15 minutes or until chicken is cooked through. Add noodles to the pan. Stir to combine everything very well and cook for 2-3 minutes. Serve.