American Chopsuey

Oh how I miss Indian Chinese food! Those road side vendors with their red carts and hot manchow soup with crispy noodles followed by fried rice and manchurian...yum yum. Those days of roadside eating are far gone. Last visit to India proved beyond doubt that I no longer harbored the immunity that I had 7 years back. So now we just go to nice chinese restaurants and eat there...sooo sad..i like the whole roadside feel. My sister had two standard things she always ordered. She NEVER ever changed, much to my mom's annoyance. It was always sweet corn chicken soup, chicken lollipops and american chopsuey. She didn't want to try anything else ever! So couple of nights back I thought of that and started smiling to myself, remembering our childhood days with our parents, piling into our beat up Fiat and driving to Kamling for chinese food. That Fiat would break down often, right in the middle of traffic and then mamma and my sister and I would be pushing that thing till it started. Building up an appetitie my dad would say, and we would huff at him since he got to sit inside and drive while we pushed!! So in memory of those beautiful days I made american chopsuey. One thing with this dish though, you can't omit the egg on top...thats what makes it complete. Here's my recipe.

Ingredients (Serves 2-4)

Two packets egg hakka noodles
one pod garlic crushed
One inch piece ginger crushed
One large onion diced
One large tomato diced
One green pepper diced
Cooked chicken pieces (optional)
3-4 cups chicken/vegetable broth
4 tsp tsp soy sauce
1 tsp vinegar
2-3 tblsp maggi hot and sweet chilli sauce (optional: for heat add chilly powder if you omit)
1/2 cup tomato ketchup (add more as needed for sweetness)
2 tsp sugar
2 heaped teaspoons cornstarch
Oil
salt to taste
Eggs (1-2 per person)

Method

Break noodles and deep fry in oil till golden brown. Drain on paper towels to get rid of excess oil. Alternatively, break noodles onto a baking sheet, drizzle with oil and bake at 400 degrees stirring often till browned and crispy all over. Remove and set aside. Heat oil in a pot. Add onions and fry till transparent. Add ginger, garlic, tomatoes, green peppers and chicken. Stir fry for 5 minutes. Add soy sauce, vinegar, tomato ketchup and maggi sauce. add broth, sugar and salt. Bring to a boil. Add cornstarch to cold water and stir to forma smooth paste. Add to boiling broth stirring as you add. Lower heat and cook for 5 minutes. Meanwhile cook and egg sunny side up in a frying pan. Add noodles to a bowl. Add a generous portion of sauce on top. Place fried egg on it and serve immediately. Yummy yum yum.