Low-fat char sui chicken with noodles, beans and bamboo shoots

This recipe for low-fat Char sui chicken with noodles is one my father learned in Kowloon harbour in 1965. It's definitely stood the test of time; easy to cook and delicious.

Red Sorghum

Working my way through my father's journals of recipes he learned in the 1960s, I've been delighted to discover that there are many recipes I can actually cook on my current ultra-low fat, post-operative regime.

This recipe for char sui chicken with noodles is a case in point. May dad used to call it "toffee apple chicken" because of the marinade that caramelises. Sugar, maybe, but almost zero fat...

Char sui—or Char suey—is a well known Chinese dishe outside of China, most commonly the barbecued pork versions. But it is rather, a "style" rather than a specific dish. Individual recipes vary substantially. My dad learned the recipe for this particular dish from the mother of dude he met in Hong Kong while sailing the high seas who invited him to eat with the family.

Unusually, this version is made with chicken, not the more usual pork. When I spent time with my father in Australia in the 1990s, when he first showed me these journals, and I asked him why it was made with chicken, he said, "Kenneth, what do you think? The guy knew your godmother. Look at me: he thought I was a Sabra." That's as far as this mystery ever went. I'll never know whether chicken is a traditional Hong Kong version or the hospitality of a Chinese family inviting my father into their home, mistakenly thinking he was Jewish. Either way, it's both delicious and a lived experience I value.

You can make this recipe with Hoisin sauce the from-scratch recipe that you'll find here, or you can use a store-bought version.

It's a really easy three-stage recipe. This recipe is for 2 to 3 diners. Scale up or down as needed. You can store the remainder of the char sui sauce you don't use—you'll be challenged—in a sealed container in the fridge for use up to two weeks later. Actually, you can even freeze it.

Shopping list

Low-fat char sui chicken with noodles

• Approx. 1 large skinless chicken breast per diner; sliced vertically

• ½ cup honey

• ¼ cup hoisin sauce; according to this recipe or store-bought

• 2 tbsp light soy sauce

• 1 tsp Chinese five spice powder

• 1 tbspn vegetable oil or sunflower oil, (NB: not olive oil)

for the fried noodles

• Approx. 450g egg noodles, fresh or cooked and drained

• 1 tspn sesame oil or (or "wok oil")

• 2 tspns garlic & ginger paste

• 7 or 8 spring onions; chopped

for the green beans and bamboo shoots

• Approx. 200g green beans; "topped and tailed"

• Approx. 200g bamboo shoots; sliced; tinned or defrosted

• 1tbspn dark brown sugar

• ½tspn Chinese five spice powder

• ½ tspn Sichuan pepper (or black pepper)

Cooking Method

the low-fat char sui chicken

1. Mix all of your marinade elements together in a bowl. Cut the chicken breasts vertically into long, narrow strips, then baste with the marinade on all sides using a pastry brush or clean fingers. Season with black pepper. Cover and store in the fridge for 2 to 3 hours

2. Roast the chicken in a pre-heated oven at 250℃ on a non-stick flat tray for approx. 25 to 30mins, turning about halfway through so that it cooks on all sides. Turn more often towards the end of the cooking if needed. You need the chicken to be cooked without being dried out. But you also need the marinade to carmalise

3. When optimally cooked—so that the marinade has caramelised—turn off the oven and allow to rest.

4. When cool, slice the chicken into pieces horizontally and decant to a serving dish
   

for the green beans and bamboo shoots

1. Cook the green beans and bamboo shoots first. Using barely ½ tspn vegetable or "wok oil", heat on a medium heat. When hot, add your garlic & ginger paste and allow to sizzle for a minute or so

2. Add the green beans and the bamboo shoots. Cook in the wok, stirring all the time with a wooden spatula. Add a little water—a couple of tbsns at a time—and allow these vegetables to cook in this "sugar water". About halfway through cooking, add a sprinkling of Chinese 5 spice and Sichuan pepper (if using) and allow to cook in

3. Once the beans are cooked, al dente, decant to a serving bowl. Cover and keep warm until taking to table
   

for the wokked egg noodles

• Using the same wok, heat a little—i.e. 1 tspn—of sesame or "wok oil" on a medium heat. Add the noodles and stir almost constantly

• Add 2tbspns light soy sauce and continue to stir. When the noodles are almost done, add the roughly chopped spring onions and wok for a few minutes more. While still hot, take to table and serve with the chicken and beans and bamboo shoots

Alternatives

For vegans, this dish works really well with tofu or large oyster mushrooms in lieu of the chicken, though they require less cooking time in the oven.

The same goes for pescatarians: this is a delicious dish with fresh white fish such as cod or haddock, but requires a far shorter cooking time. It's best to cook it on a very high heat so that the marinade still caramelises without overcooking the fish.

Pairings

Bizarrely, I don't ever remember having this dish with wine. Mostly I've had it with beer. Yeah, obviously Asian beers such as Tsingtao or San Miguel, a long-time favourite from the Philipines in Hong Kong.

However, I once cooked this for six real hosers in Montreal—yeah, we all have pasts—to chow down on during a crucial hockey match and all these guys had in their fridge was a ton of Molson. I confess: I'll never know whether it was quantity or context, but it tasted pretty damned fine with this dish on that occasion.