A Bean Noodle Called Long Rice??

I had the worst time finding the long rice noodles for this Chicken Long Rice recipe. It turns out, they aren’t made from rice, but from beans!!

When you go to your local Asian market, you’ll find about a billion different types of noodles. Here’s what you need:  Vermicelli (Bean Thread) Noodles. The brand I got was L & W.

Chicken Long Rice

3 pounds boneless, skinless chicken cut into small pieces or strips

6 T soy sauce

1 T sesame oil

2 T minced fresh ginger (I’d use only 1 T)

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 ½ tsp sugar

dash pepper

2 T vegetable oil

6-8 oz. sliced mushrooms

2-4 chopped green onions

10 oz long rice (cellophane noodles)

8 oz chicken broth

Combine 2 T soy sauce, sesame oil, ginger, garlic, sugar, and pepper to create a marinade. Add the chicken and refrigerate at least 1 hour.

Cover and soak long rice in cold water for 30 minutes. Cut into eight lengths. (Smaller lengths can be used based on preference.)

Place a large skillet or wok over high heat. When hot, add vegetable oil and marinated chicken. Cook until chicken no longer is pink, turning often. Reduce heat and add mushrooms, green onions, long rice, chicken broth, and remainder of soy sauce. Simmer until hot, stirring often—about 3 minutes.

NOTE!! Long rice requires very little cooking time. It absorbs liquid very easily and can break down if cooked too long.

When I cooked this recipe, I used the leftover breast from an already cooked whole chicken (which I used to make the broth as well.) The fresh ginger is very strong, so unless you love strong ginger flavor, I would suggest using about half of what the recipe calls for.

Chicken Long Rice is a staple at luaus, and my family loved it! I ate it when I lived in Hawaii, but had never cooked it.

Before I got the right noodle, I prepared it with a couple different types of noodles. They worked well too. So, if you’d like to vary this recipe, try the Bun Gao Tuoi Vermicelli (a rice noodle) or Banh Pho Rice Stick, which makes the recipe more like Pad Thai (Photo on left.)

Enjoy! More recipes will be coming in 2011.

Mahalo for your support in 2010!

Cheryl

www.cheryllinnmartin.com