Chicken Chow Mein

Surely everybody loves chicken chow mein? It's the most popular dish at most Chinese takeaways and, I'm not knocking Chinese takeaways, but this is a fresh, healthy version which you could eat not just on treat nights!

Apart from the marinading (which actually only takes 20 minutes), this is an extremely quick stir fry dish - perfect for weekdays.

Once you've made it the first time, start mixing up the ingredients - baby corn, bamboo shoots, mushrooms etc would all go perfectly. Depends what you have in the fridge!

Chicken Chow Mein
400g chicken breasts
4 tbsps light soy sauce
4 tbsps rice wine
4 tbsps sesame oil
6 garlic cloves
200g mange tout
70g prosciutto or other cured ham
400g fresh egg noodles
8 spring onions
Sesame seeds, to serve

1. Slice the chicken breasts into thin strips and put in a bowl. Add 2 tablespoons each of the soy sauce, rice wine and sesame oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper, then leave for about 20 minutes. You can leave for longer than this, but make sure you put it in the fridge if you do.
2. Add 1 tablespoon of the sesame oil to a wok over a high heat and tip in the chicken. Sizzle for 2 minutes, then add the crushed garlic.
3. After 10 seconds, add the mange tout and thinly sliced ham.
4. Stir fry for another minute, then add the noodles, remaining soy sauce and rice wine. Stir fry for 2 more minutes.
5. To finish, add the thinly sliced spring onions and remaining sesame oil and fry for another 30 seconds.
6. Top each bowl with a sprinkling of sesame seeds for a bit of crunch.