Instant noodles dressed up in Hainanese chicken flavors.
After obsessing over Rie McClenny's Make it Fancy series, I've been looking for every possible way to zhush up instant noodles. Pancit canton, specifically. And the answer, it turns out, was Hainanese chicken.
You'd think making pancit canton fancy would require some skills and complicated ingredients. It doesn't.
Hot oil hits the aromatics, it sizzles, the chicken poaches, the broth cooks the noodles, and the sauce goes on everything. Shocking the chicken in ice water keeps the skin plump and the meat from drying out. Fancy enough to impress someone, even with a packet of pancit canton lying in your pantry.
You just made pancit canton fancy. Rie would be proud.
Poach chicken: Pat chicken dry and rub generously with salt. Place in a medium pot and add just enough water to cover. Add garlic, ginger, and green onion. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce to a gentle simmer. Cook for 6-8 minutes, until the thickest part of the chicken is just cooked through with no pink at the center. Transfer immediately to a bowl of ice water and let cool for 5 minutes. Reserve broth in the pot.
Make sauce: Combine grated garlic, grated ginger, and chopped green onion whites in a heatproof bowl. Heat neutral oil in a small pan over high heat until it just begins to smoke. Pour it directly over the aromatics to sizzle. Stir in a pinch of salt, sesame oil, and the soy sauce and oil from the packet. Set aside about 1 tbsp of sauce separately to finish the chicken.
Cook noodles: Bring reserved poaching broth back to a boil. Cook noodles according to package directions, then drain and toss immediately with sauce.
Assemble: Slice chicken into 1-inch pieces. Pile noodles in a bowl, layer chicken on top, and spoon reserved sauce over it. Finish with sliced green onion greens.
