Chicken hakka noodles

Even the chicken thighs out and cut them into very thin strips.

Marinate the chicken with a teaspoon of vinegar, half a teaspoon of chili sauce, a teaspoon of soy sauce, half a teaspoon of cornstarch and a quarter teaspoon of baking soda, mix well and leave it while the rest is prepped.

Cut the bell pepper into thin strips, cut three green onions into long pieces and separate the leaves of a medium onion.

Peel and finely chop about an inch of ginger, finely chop four to five garlic cloves and deseed and chop one green chili.

Mix the sauce: about three tablespoons of water, a tablespoon each of light and dark soy sauce, a teaspoon of vinegar, two teaspoons of chili sauce, a tablespoon of tomato ketchup and a teaspoon of sugar.

Bring a big pot of water to a boil, add a teaspoon of salt and a tablespoon of oil, add the noodles and loosen them.

Cook the noodles only to the point where they are still a bit chewy, tasting as you go, because they cook further in the sauce; it took about five minutes.

Drain the noodles and wash them under tap water to get rid of the excess starch so the strands stay separate.

Heat two tablespoons of oil in a screaming hot wok on high, spread the marinated chicken out in a single layer and leave it about a minute.

Fry the chicken about four minutes until it turns from pink to white, add a pinch of salt and about four tablespoons of water, cover immediately, lower to medium-low and leave it five minutes.

Take the chicken out and add four tablespoons of oil on high heat.

Fry the ginger, garlic and green chili for a few seconds, then add the onion, bell pepper and the white parts of the green onions with a pinch of salt, scraping up the brown bits left by the chicken.

Add the green parts of the green onions, then the fried chicken, then the sauce, and let it bubble up.

Add the noodles and toss with two spoons until every strand is coated and no sauce is left in the pan.

Drizzle sesame seed oil over at the end.