Thermal Tjap Tjoy

December 4, 2016

Tjap Tjoy is a standard dish my family orders when we have Chinese take-away. For that reason I wanted to make it myself, so we could make it anytime we feel like it! After finding a Dutch recipe (click here for the original recipe) that claimed to be better than the tjap tjoy from the take-away places, we had to give it a try!

For four people you will need:
•1 kg chicken
•1 chili pepper
•4 cloves of garlic
•300 g of snack carrots
•1 big red (sweet) pepper
•1 cucumber
•250 g chestnut mushrooms
•125 g bean sprouts
•200 g sugar snaps
•4 tablespoons soy sauce
•4 tablespoons fish sauce
•600 ml chicken stock
•Cornflower
•1 cm fresh ginger
•Noodles
•(A few cashews)

The best approach (I’ve noticed after making it a few times) is to prep all the ingrediënts before you put your wok on the stove (unless you have a partner in the kitchen with you that can prep the veggies as quick as you can wok/cook them). Cut the chicken in thin slices and put aside. Chop the chili pepper, garlic and carrots and put them aside (in a bowl). Cut the cucumber in half and scrape the inside of the cucumber out and throw away. Cut the leftover cucumber in slices. Don’t cut the mushrooms and peppers too small, they will cook really fast. Mushrooms in quarters is usually good, depending on the size. Bring a big pot of water to the boil and cook the noodles according to the instructions on the packet.

For the sauce. Use a saucepan and add the chicken stock, soy sauce and fish sauce and bring to the boil. Keep adding 1 tablespoon of cornflour at a time and leave it to boil for a minute before putting more in if needed, do this until the sauce is thick.

Now it’s time to, as we call it, wok! Make sure your wok is preheated before adding the ingredients. Start with some oil and the chicken. When the chicken is cooked take it out of the wok and leave it until later. Add some more oil to the wok if necessary and fry the chili pepper, garlic and carrots for 2 minutes. Add the mushrooms, sugar snaps and peppers and cook until they start to get softer. Then add the cucumber and bean sprouts. The cucumber and bean sprouts only need to warm up in the pan. Grate the ginger over the vegetables and mix well. Add the chicken, sauce and noodles to the wok. When warm it’s time to dish up. We enjoyed sprinkling some cashews over the dish to give it some crunch. My family said it was better than our local take-away place!