A Delicious Stir Fry with Hong Kong-Style Noodles
When we are looking for a quick and easy meal on a weeknight, we often turn to a stir fry recipe like this one. You can use the ingredients listed below or substitute foods you have on hand.
If you live near an Asian food market or have a supermarket that carries some exotic vegetables, give them a try and let me know your results below.
Chow Mein Noodles
Chow mien is stir fried noodles and is the mispronunciation of the Chinese word “chāu-mèing. Translated, it means fried - chow and noodles - mien. There are several different types of Chinese noodles including thin and wide wonton noodles, lo mein, and Hong Kong-Style Pan-Fried (chow mien) noodles.
If you want to learn more about the differences between these varieties, I found a good article at Seriouseats.com. In their post, they describe Hong Kong-Style as “looking similar to thin wonton noodles.
The main difference is that noodles labeled "Hong Kong" or "pan-fried noodles" are par-cooked in boiling water, which makes them ready to stir-fry.”
If you can’t find these fresh chow mein noodles, they suggest you substitute thin wonton noodles. To use, boil them in water for about a minute, drain, dry and toss them with a little oil.
When cooking Hong Kong-Style (Chow Mein) noodles, it’s important to loosen them up after removing from the package so they don’t clump together when placed in the pan.
📖 Recipe
Chinese Noodles Stir Fry Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons dry sherry wine
- ½ cup water
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 4 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- ½ pound fresh Shiitake mushrooms de-stemed and sliced
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 2 inch piece ginger minced
- 12 ounces broccoli rabe chopped
- 12 ounces fresh Chow Mein Noodles Hong Kong-Style Noodles
- 5 tablespoons peanuts
- 1 bunch chives
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
Prep the Ingredients
- Peel & mince the garlic and ginger.
- Roughly chop the broccoli rabe and peanuts.
- De-stem the mushrooms and thinly slice the caps (Discard the stems or save them for stock)
- Slice the chives on a bias into ½ inch pieces
Make the Sauce
- Combine the sherry and water with the corn starch in a small bowl using a small whisk (fork will do too)
- Add half the soy sauce, taste and adjust flavor by adding more soy sauce if needed.
Make the Stir Fry
- Heat a stir fry pan or large nonstick fry pan over medium hot. Add 1 tablespoon oil to the pan and when hot, add the mushrooms. Cook for 5 to 7 minutes until browned and start to soften.
- Add the garlic and ginger and cook for 1 minute.
- Add the broccoli rabe and continue stir frying for 4 to 6 minutes. Transfer the stir fried veggies to a plate and reserve.
- In the same pan, add the other tablespoon of oil and spread it around the bottom of the pan.
- Separate the noodles with your hands and spread them out in the pan to make a single layer. Cook the noodles using a pair of kitchen tongs to turn them over, keep them separated and coat them with the oil. Cook for 8 to 10 minutes until crispy and browned.
- Add the sauce you just made to the noodles and carefully combine the noodles with the sauce with the tongs.
- Add the reserved vegetables to the pan and then half the peanuts and chives. Again, using your kitchen tongs, mix everything together until it is well combined and heated through.
- Remove from heat, taste and adjust seasonings with salt and pepper.
- Plate the stir fry and top with the remaining chives and peanuts as a garnish.
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