I was telling The Missus a few weeks back about this noodle dish at Chin-Chin, a small Fusion-Chinese chain here in LA. The name of the dish is "Anthony's Special Noodles". We don't have a Chin-Chin anywhere nearby, but when I lived near one, I ordered it often, like every week sometimes. Lo-mein noodles, in a slightly sweet, spicy cilantro sauce with chicken concoction that absolutely rocked my world very single time I ate it.

There is absolutely NOTHING authentic at all about this dish, but it's addictive as crack, and then some. It's clearly the magical blend of ingredient ratios in the spicy cilantro sauce that makes this dish.

Here's a link to Chin-Chin's site:

http://www.chinchin.com/

In the hopes I might be able to at least find a copycat recipe, a targeted google search led to a copycat recipe on another food blog that looked like the real deal.

In reading through the recipe that was linked to the above blog, it sure sounded like the real deal, so yesterday, we decided to give it a try.It wasn't terribly difficult, just a fair bit of prep work. Here's how it looked when we served it up:

It was absolutely delicious, and so close to the original that I could barely tell the difference!

A few observations:

They don't tell you how many servings this is for, but 4 seems about right. Also, 4 tsp chili paste is WAY too much, and made the dish a bit spicier(and I love spicy) than I would have liked. This dish shines with just a bit of heat.
Lastly, next time I make it I may add just a bit of honey or hoisin sauce to sweeten it up, just a bit.

Here's the recipe as I originally found it:

"Anthony's Special Noodles"

(adapted from the dish anthony’s special noodles from Chin Chin)

ingredients

4 - Chicken cutlets

2 packages of lo mein noodles (appox. 2 lbs)

1/4 cup + 4 tablespoons low-sodium chicken stock

4 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce

1/4  cup vegetable oil

2 tablespoons rice vinegar

2-4 teaspoons  asian chili paste

8 cloves garlic smashed

2 tablespoons grated ginger

1 carrot, shredded

2 medium-large bunches of cilantro

10-12 green onions

Preheat oven to 350


for the chicken

4 chicken cutlets

2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce

4 tablespoons low-sodium chicken stock

Place the chicken cutlets in a small baking dish. Pour the chicken stock and soy sauce over chicken.  Cook for 10 minutes in 350 degree oven. Flip chicken over and cook another 10-15 minutes until cooked through.  Slice cooled chicken into thin strips. set aside.

for the sauce

1/4 cup low-sodium chicken stock

2 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce

2 tablespoons rice vinegar

2-4 teaspoons asian chili paste

8 cloves garlic smashed

2 tablespoons grated ginger

2 medium-large bunches of cilantro

4-6 green onions roughly chopped

Place all ingredients into food processor and pulse until sauce-like. Some bigger leaves of cilantro okay to have running throughout. Does not need to be uniformly pureed. Set aside.

the noodles

2 packages of lo mein noodles (appox. 2 lbs)

1/4  cup vegetable oil

1 carrot, shredded

4 green onions finely chopped


Cook noodles according to directions on package. 

While the noodles are cooking, heat the vegetable oil in a large sauté pan or wok over medium heat. Add the sauce to the pan and the heated oil. Cook until fragrant and heated through. Add the carrots, chicken and finely chopped green onions (reserving a bit of the carrots and green onions for garnish). Toss to coat. Add the cooked noodles and toss well to coat.  Turn off heat and let sit for 2-3 minutes, continuing to toss if necessary. Transfer noodles to big serving bowl, garnish with carrots and scallions.