Drunken Noodles

From Megan and Fowler's Kitchen, modified from Woks of Life

For the chicken & marinade:
2 tablespoons water
3 large chicken breasts, chopped into 1/4 inch thick pieces
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon oil
2 teaspoons cornstarch

For the rest of the dish:
8 ounces wide dried rice noodles
1½ teaspoons brown sugar, dissolved in 1 tablespoon hot water
2 teaspoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon dark soy sauce
1 tablespoon fish sauce
2 teaspoons oyster sauce
pinch of ground white pepper
3 tablespoons vegetable or canola oil
3 cloves garlic, sliced
1 tbsp fresh grated ginger (approx)

2 shallots, sliced (about ⅓ cups)
1 scallion, julienned into 3-inch pieces
4 Thai red chili peppers, deseeded and julienned (we use the small red and green chilis from our local asian market, so anything works here)
1 cup loosely packed Thai basil (don't substitute normal basil. It will taste very different)
1 red bell pepper
2 teaspoons shaoxing or rice cooking wine

Instructions
1. Work the two tablespoons of water into the chicken with your hands until the chicken absorbs the liquid. Add the soy sauce, oil and cornstarch, and mix until the chicken is evenly coated. Set aside for 20 minutes.

2. Follow the directions on the rice noodle package to prepare your noodles. Note: this can vary a lot based on type. 

3. Stir together the dissolved brown sugar/water mixture, soy sauces, fish sauce, oyster sauce, and white pepper in a small bowl and set aside.

4. Heat a large skillet or wok until it's close to smoking, and spread 2 tablespoons of oil across the surface. Add the chicken and let it sear for 1 minute on each side until it's about 90% cooked. 

5. Remove from the skillet and set aside. If the heat was high enough and you seared the meat correctly, your pan should be still clean with nothing sticking to it. If not, you can wash the skillet to prevent the rice noodles from sticking.

6. Continue with the wok on high heat and add 1 tablespoon of oil, along with the garlic and grated ginger.

7. After a few seconds, add the shallots. Stir fry for 20 seconds and add the scallions, chili peppers, basil, red and rice wine. Stir-fry for another 20 seconds and add in the rice noodles. Use a scooping motion to mix everything for another minute until the noodles warm up.

8. Next, add the prepared sauce mixture and stir-fry at the highest heat for about 1 minute until the noodles are uniform in color. Take care to stir well and to scrape the bottom of the pan to try to prevent sticking. Add the seared chicken and stir-fry for another 1 to 2 minutes.

Serve and enjoy!