You are probably used to the typical stir-fried noodle recipes. Why not pan-fry it like this Hong Kong style noodle recipe, which gives you a crispy outer layer and a chewy center at the same time? This recipe can be easily made vegan or vegetarian by choosing your preferred protein, vegetables, and seasonings.
What Is Hong Kong Style Pan-Fried Noodles?
Hong Kong-style pan-fried noodles, also known as Hong Kong-style chow mein, are a combination of smokey, crispy, and chewy. The noodles are pan-fried on both sides until each side becomes crisp and lightly brown. It gets its bomb of flavors with the delicious sauce seasoned with light soy sauce, oyster sauce, sugar, and white pepper.
The main ingredient is the Asian noodles of your choice. This dish typically uses Hong Kong style egg noodles, but you can use other Asian noodles available. Pair the noodles with your choice of protein and vegetables, such as mushrooms, tofu, ginger, green onions, and garlic.
This dish is easy to make in 30 minutes and pairs well with other main dishes, such as Wu Gok 芋角 (Deep-Fried Taro Dumpling Puffs) and Rice Paper Dumplings. Top it with a savory sauce such as soy sauce or chili garlic. If you love noodle recipes, try these quick and easy recipes:
- Chewy And Spicy Potato Noodles
- Easy Recipe Shrimp Chow Mein
- Shrimp Chow Fun
- Beef Wet Chow Fun With Gravy
- Traditional Chinese Beef Chow Fun
- Stir Fried Spaghetti Noodles With Soy Sauce
- Homemade Silver Noodles (銀針粉)
- Japchae (Korean Glass Noodles)
- Jjajangmyeon (Black Bean Noodles)
- Hokkien Mee (Fried Prawn Noodles)
- Spicy Handmade Noodles (Biang Biang Noodles)
- Ban Mian (Handmade Noodles)
- Scallion Oil Noodles (葱油拌面)
What To Know About The Ingredients
Noodle recipes are so versatile and easily customizable with your choice of ingredients. Whether you are creating a vegetarian version or an all-meat dish, it will still taste delish with your pan-fried noodles. Here are some ideas on how to choose or change your ingredients:
- Noodles: Use Hong Kong egg noodles or other types of Asian noodles. Hong Kong egg noodles are thin and yellow. These noodles are typically available in the refrigerated section of an Asian grocery store or in the international section of a grocery store. The noodles are cooked first before pan-frying by soaking or boiling. If you can’t find this type of noodle, you can use other noodles such as chow mein noodles which are thick and soft or regular spaghetti noodles. Both fresh and dried noodles work well with this recipe.
- Ginger: Ginger adds a peppery, sweet flavor and a warming kick to the noodles. If you want the flavors of ginger but don’t have fresh ginger, swap it with ground ginger. Use 1/4 to 1/2 tsp ground ginger for every 1 tbsp of fresh ginger.
- Green onion: Green onions or spring onions impart a sweet and milder taste than regular onions. If you don’t have green onions, substitute this with more chives, shallots, white onions, yellow onions, or red onions.
- Garlic: Garlic adds a nutty and pungent flavor to the noodles. If you don’t have garlic but want the garlicky flavors, you can substitute 1 clove of garlic with 1/8 tsp of garlic powder or 1/4 tsp of granulated garlic. This will give you the garlicky flavor without the chunks of garlic cloves. Keep in mind garlic powder or granules have a stronger taste than fresh garlic. You can also use pre-prepared fried garlic such as my Crispy Fried Garlic Recipe.
- Abalone: These are marine snails which you can buy in fish markets. It tastes buttery and salty and has a chewy texture like a calamari or squid. You can swap this with other seafood meat such as shrimp and oysters.
- Mushroom: Use any type of mushroom, such as fresh shiitake mushrooms, dried shiitake mushrooms, button mushrooms, portobello mushrooms, and king oyster mushrooms. Each type of mushroom will have a varying taste and texture.
- Sauce: To make the savory sauce, I used half a bowl of water mixed with light soy sauce, oyster sauce, sugar, and white pepper. You can adjust the sauce with optional ingredients like dark soy sauce, salt, sesame oil, Shaoxing wine, chicken bouillon powder, and vegetable powder.
- Light soy sauce: Soy sauce deepens the flavor with its salty and umami flavors. You can use regular or dark soy sauce as a substitute, but you may have to play around with the quantity and adjust the taste. If you don’t have soy sauce, use tamari, liquid aminos, coconut aminos, or gluten-free soy sauce.
- Oyster sauce: Oyster sauce tastes like a combination of soy sauce and barbecue sauce. Substitute this with hoisin sauce, teriyaki sauce, kecap manis, Worcestershire sauce with soy sauce and sugar, oyster-flavored sauce, or fish sauce if you don’t have oyster sauce.
- Sugar: Sugar balances out the salty flavors of the sauce. Use any type of sweetener, including brown sugar, maple syrup, or coconut sugar.
- White pepper powder: White pepper tastes earthy with a touch of heat. You can swap white pepper powder with black pepper if needed. However, black pepper powder is more woody, piney, and hot.
- Cornstarch slurry: Cornstarch is key in thickening the sauce to make it stick to the noodles. Without cornstarch slurry, the sauce is watery and not thick. The cornstarch slurry is made by mixing 1 tbsp of cornstarch with 2 tbsp of water (1:2 ratio). If you don’t have cornstarch, swap 1 tbsp of cornstarch with 2 tbsp of tapioca flour or 1 tbsp of potato starch.
- Yellow onions: Yellow chives are similar to green onions in terms of appearance. It has a subtle onion and garlicky taste, which is often compared to regular onions and garlic. You can swap this with other types of onions, such as green onions, shallots, white onions, yellow onions, or red onions.
- Optional ingredients: Add in more protein with fried tofu cubes, shrimp, beef strips, and chicken strips. Make it highly fibrous with vegetables like mung bean sprouts, bok choy, shredded cabbage, carrot strips, broccoli, and baby corn.
Kitchen Tools And Ingredients To Prepare
Let’s get started by preparing what you need. You can use the same pan for soaking and pan-frying the noodles, as well as cooking the ingredients and sauce. The ingredients to prepare are:
- Noodles (3 portions, about 350g)
- 2 tablespoons of cooking oil – one for pan-frying the noodles and another for pan-frying the aromatics. I recommend using peanut oil.
- 5g of ginger slices
- 5g of chopped green onion, utilizing the red part for the stir-fry and saving the green part for the final step of the recipe.
- 5g of chopped garlic
- 4 pieces of abalone
- 5g of sliced mushrooms
- Sauce:
- Half a bowl of water
- 2 tsp of light soy sauce
- 2 tsp of oyster sauce
- 1/2 tsp of white granulated sugar
- 2g of white pepper
- Cornstarch slurry (1 tbsp of cornstarch with 2 tbsp of water)
- 10g of chopped yellow chives
How To Make Hong Kong Style Pan-Fried Noodles
I believe you can make this dish in 30 minutes or less, depending on how fast the ingredients are prepared. Simply cook the noodles, pan-fry the ingredients, and combine them with the cooked sauce. Follow these easy steps by watching my Instagram or TikTok tutorial video.
If you loved this recipe, don’t forget to share it by tagging me @kitchenmisadventures. Remember to leave a comment to let us know your thoughts and recommendations as well. Here is a 10-step instructions on how to make Hong Kong style pan-fried noodles:
- Prepare a pot with water and bring to a boil. Once it boils, turn off the heat.
- Soak the noodles in boiled water for about 2 minutes. Separate the noodles gently as they soak using chopsticks. Do not oversoak the noodles, otherwise, it will become mushy.
- Drain excess water and let the noodles cool down for pan-frying.
- Pour in a tablespoon of cooking oil, swirl it around the pan, and allow it to heat up. Lay the noodles evenly flat on a pan and pan-fry on medium heat for 6 to 7 minutes or until crispy. Do not keep lifting or checking the bottom to allow the noodles to crisp up and turn slightly brown.
- When the bottom is crisp, flip the noodles to the other side to cook for another 6 to 7 minutes. Transfer the pan-fried noodles to your chosen serving plate.
- Add a tablespoon of cooking oil to the pan and sauté the chopped ginger, along with the white part of the green onions and garlic.
- Then, add abalone and sliced mushrooms.
- Make the sauce with half a bowl of water mixed with light soy sauce, oyster sauce, sugar, and white pepper. Add the sauce to the pan and cook on medium heat for 2 minutes.
- Give the cornstarch slurry another mix and add it to the pan. Cook until the sauce thickens.
- Toss in chopped yellow chives, and the red part of the green onion, and transfer the sauce to the pan-fried noodles. Serve and enjoy while hot and fresh!
Hong Kong Style Pan-Fried Noodles
You are probably used to the typical stir-fried noodle recipes. Why not pan-fry it like this Hong Kong style noodle recipe, which gives you a crispy outer layer and a chewy center at the same time? This recipe can be easily made vegan or vegetarian by choosing your preferred protein, vegetables, and seasonings.
Ingredients
- Noodles About 350g
- 2 tablespoons of cooking oil - one for pan-frying the noodles and another for pan-frying the aromatics. I recommend using peanut oil.
- 5 g of ginger slices
- 5 g of chopped green onion utilizing the red part for the stir-fry and saving the green part for the final step of the recipe.
- 5 g of chopped garlic
- 4 pieces of abalone
- 5 g of sliced mushrooms
- Sauce:
- Half a bowl of water
- 2 tsp of light soy sauce
- 2 tsp of oyster sauce
- 1/2 tsp of white granulated sugar
- 2 g of white pepper
- Cornstarch slurry 1 tbsp of cornstarch with 2 tbsp of water
- 10 g of chopped yellow chives
Instructions
- Prepare a pot with water and bring to a boil. Once it boils, turn off the heat.
- Soak the noodles in boiled water for about 2 minutes. Separate the noodles gently as they soak using chopsticks. Do not oversoak the noodles, otherwise, it will become mushy.
- Drain excess water and let the noodles cool down for pan-frying.
- Pour in a tablespoon of cooking oil, swirl it around the pan, and allow it to heat up. Lay the noodles evenly flat on a pan and pan-fry on medium heat for 6 to 7 minutes or until crispy. Do not keep lifting or checking the bottom to allow the noodles to crisp up and turn slightly brown.
- When the bottom is crisp, flip the noodles to the other side to cook for another 6 to 7 minutes. Transfer the pan-fried noodles to your chosen serving plate.
- Add a tablespoon of cooking oil to the pan and sauté the chopped ginger, along with the white part of the green onions and garlic.
- Then, add abalone and sliced mushrooms.
- Make the sauce with half a bowl of water mixed with light soy sauce, oyster sauce, sugar, and white pepper. Add the sauce to the pan and cook on medium heat for 2 minutes.
- Give the cornstarch slurry another mix and add it to the pan. Cook until the sauce thickens.
- Toss in chopped yellow chives, and the red part of the green onion, and transfer the sauce to the pan-fried noodles. Serve and enjoy while hot and fresh!
Video
Nutrition
Calories: 144kcalCarbohydrates: 4gProtein: 1gFat: 14gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 4gMonounsaturated Fat: 9gTrans Fat: 0.1gSodium: 511mgPotassium: 47mgFiber: 1gSugar: 1gVitamin A: 25IUVitamin C: 2mgCalcium: 13mgIron: 0.4mg
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
