My husband said we should call it hill feast because it was a variation of the noodle feast (fiesta noodles) recipe and, at the same time, an original made-in-the-house-on-a-hill dish. Well, why not? While the idea did start with a noodle feast, this oriental noodle dish recipe was cooked in an entirely different way. While the usual way of cooking dry noodles is to boil them in plenty of water, I cooked the noodles in chicken broth. I added more broth, little by little, just enough to cook the noodles without making them soggy. The resulting texture was just wonderful. Furthermore, because I added all the seasonings to the broth while the noodles cooked, it absorbed all the flavors.
I used chicken breast meat and pork balls only because they were what I had in the freezer. You can use other kinds of meat (sliced pork or beef) or seafood (squid, clams, mussels, or shrimp). Whether you use meat or seafood, pre-cook them in a little water first; you will need the broth to cook the noodles later. Mushrooms would be good for a recipe like this too.
Boil the chicken breast in four cups of water with the whole garlic, onion, peppercorns, and salt. Cover and simmer for about 30 minutes. Remove the chicken from the broth and cool. Strain the broth. Separate the chicken meat from the bone and cut into large chunks. Set aside. Prepare the pork balls. Mix the ground pork, beaten egg, chopped garlic and onion, bread crumbs, salt and pepper. Form into balls about 2 inches in diameter. Heat the cooking oil in a skillet until smoking. Fry the pork balls until golden. Drain on paper towels and keep warm.
In a skillet or wok, reheat two cups of chicken broth. When boiling, add the carrots. Cook for about 2 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and transfer to a bowl. Bring the broth to a boil once more and add the peachy or Chinese broccoli. Cook for 1 minute, remove with a slotted spoon, and arrange on one side of a serving platter.
Add another cup of broth to the saucepan and bring to a boil. Add the ho fan noodles. If the liquid dries up before the noodles are tender add more broth, about 1/2 c. at a time. When the noodles are halfway done (you will need to test a noodle now and then but cooking ho fan noodles don’t take longer than 5 minutes), add the oyster sauce; season with salt and pepper. Stir well. Add the chicken chunks, pork balls, and carrots. Toss the meat and vegetables with the noodles. Continue cooking until the mixture is almost dry. Transfer to the serving platter and serve at once.