One of my all time favourite dishes at my local Chinese!! Crispy noodles topped with a saucy chicken and vegetable stir fry, this is a CRUNCHY version of Chow Mein. You’ll love how the sauce soaks the noodles so some of it is soft, while some of it stays crispy.
Made healthier by pan frying rather than deep frying the noodles, this is an easy recipe that can be on the table in 20 minutes!
Chinese Crispy Noodles
At my local Chinese, they call this Crispy Chow Mein Noodles. It’s a Hong Kong / Cantonese style dish, and there are a lot of variations but the core of it is a bed of deep fried crunchy noodles topped with a saucy stir fry.
The stir fry topping is much saucier than most Chinese stir fries and this is because you need plenty of sauce so it soaks through some of the noodles, softening them so they can be slurped up like normal noodles.
But the best part is all the crunchy noodle bits that remain! So as you eat your way through the plate, you get that awesome combo of juicy chicken, tender-crisp vegetables, loads of tasty Chinese brown sauce, soft slippery noodles AND crunchy noodles.
It’s crazy good!!!
How to make Chinese Crispy Noodles
Typically, the crunchy noodles served at Chinese restaurants are deep fried.
Tasty, for sure, but my skinny jeans aren’t so much of a fan. 😤
So when I make Chinese Crispy Noodles at home, I pan fry them. It means that the very centre of the noodles don’t go 100% crispy like when you deep fry.
But the entire surface area of the noodle “pancake” does get crispy, so as long as you make them fairly thin, you certainly won’t feel like you’ve been cheated of crispiness!!!
What you need for Crunchy Chow Mein
Here’s what you need for Crunchy Chow Mein. I’ve separated the photos into two components:
Base ingredients – for the sauce and the crispy noodles; and
Vegetable options for topping – there’s really no rules here. Just use around 4 to 5 cups of any vegetables you want.
Type of Noodles
This recipe for Chinese Crispy Noodles won’t work using refrigerated fresh Hokkien noodles, egg noodles because they are stickier and wetter so they don’t crisp up as well.
Chow Mein noodles are distinctly drier and a bit crinkly – see image below – and this is what makes it possible to make them crispy in a pan!
Can’t find Chow Mein noodles?
No problem! Just use ramen noodles or instant noodles (see this Ramen Stir Fry recipe for photos). Spray the UNCOOKED noodles with oil and BAKE! (Yes really, it works 100% perfectly)
The most important part – crunch retention!!
The idea with this recipe is that there’s plenty of sauce, so it soaks the noodles and makes them soft so they can be picked up with chopsticks like normal noodles.
BUT it’s VERY important to ensure that you retain a SOME crunch! What I like to do is to pour the saucy topping in the centre of the crunchy noodle cake so the edges stay crunchy.
The one caveat I have about these Crispy Noodles is that you will make a bit of a mess of yourself eating it. Those darn crunchy noodle bits, they stick out all over the place.
So when you try to shovel noodles into your mouth, it’s inevitable that some of those crunchy bits stick out and miss your mouth, so you end up with sauce all over your face.
That’s just part of the fun of eating this!! ~ Nagi x
Watch how to make it
More unmissable Asian noodles!
Classic Chow Mein – also see the Emergency Chow Mein Ramen recipe!
Chinese Chicken Salad – with crispy noodles!
Express noodles: Quick Beef Ramen Noodles, Chicken Vegetable Ramen Noodles and 12 Minute Thai Chicken Peanut Noodles
Browse the Noodle recipes collection!
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Chinese Crispy Noodles with saucy Chicken and Vegetables (crispy CHOW MEIN!)
Ingredients
Sauce
- 1 tbsp oyster sauce
- 2 tbsp Chinese cooking wine (shoasing wine) (sub Dry Sherry, Mirin, Note 1)
- 1.5 tbsp soy sauce , light or all purpose (not dark soy)
- 1/4 tsp sesame oil
- 1 tsp sugar
- White pepper , one dash
- 3/4 cup (185ml) chicken stock / broth , low sodium
- 3 tbsps cornflour / corn starch
Crispy Noodles
- 200 g / 8 oz fresh chow mein noodles (Note 2)
- 4 tbsp water , separated
- 2 tbsp peanut oil (or vegetable or canola)
Stir Fry
- 150 g / 5 oz chicken , thinly sliced
- 1 tbsp peanut oil , if needed (or vegetable or canola)
- 2 garlic cloves , finely chopped
- 1/2 onion , sliced
- 1 carrot * , small, halved lengthwise then sliced on diagonal
- 1 bok choy * , stems and leaves separated with stems cut vertically into sticks
- 2 shallots/scallions * , cut into 5cm/2″ pieces
- 2 cups cabbage * , cut into 2.4cm / 1" squares
- 1/2 cup (125ml) water
Instructions
Sauce & Chicken Marinade
- Mix the Sauce ingredients EXCEPT cornflour and chicken broth/stock.
- Remove 1 tbsp Sauce and mix through chicke. Leave to marinate 10 minutes+.
- Mix cornflour into Sauce until lump free.
Crispy Noodles
- Turn oven onto low (to keep noodles warm while you cook the topping).
- Divide noodles into 2 then shape into 20cm/8" rounds. Keep them tangled – this holds them together while cooking.
- Heat 1 tbsp oil in skillet over medium high heat. Place 1 noodle cake into pan then drizzle over 2 tbsp water.
- Wait until the water evaporates (steam cooks the noodles), then pat down lightly and let the noodles cook for a further 1 to 2 minute until the bottom of the noodles are golden brown (lift up with a spatula to check).
- Slide noodles onto a plate, then flip upside down back into the pan. Cook for a further 1 1/2 – 2 minutes until golden brown, then transfer to tray and place in oven to keep warm.
- Repeat with remaining noodle cake.
Saucy Stir Fry Topping
- Add an extra 1 tbsp oil if needed, increase heat to HIGH. Add garlic and onion, cook for 30 seconds.
- Add chicken and cook until it changes from pink to white (still raw inside)
- Add the carrot and bok choy stems, cook 30 seconds.
- Add cabbage and leaf of buk choy, cook for 1 minute until they start to wilt.
- Add chicken broth, water, then Sauce and stir. Let it simmer for 1 – 2 minutes until the Sauce thickens to a syrup consistency (see video).
To serve
- Place a noodle cake on the plate, then spoon over the stir fry onto the middle of the noodles (leave edges crispy) being sure to use up all the sauce so it soaks the noodles. Serve immediately!
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
Originally published August 2014, updated September 2019. Long overdue for an overhaul – new photos, new video, new writing and slightly streamlined recipe. Most importantly, Life of Dozer section added!
Life of Dozer
You have no idea how much time I’ve invested into trying to get him to “bow” on command…..
Love this recipe! Bye bye take out noodles that turn out to be soggy when you come home. We had this last night and everybody loved it! I’m in Holland and we have great Asian supermarkets so no problems with finding the chow mein noodles. I added some babycorn and some shii take to the vegeatables. Delicious! Will definately make this again Thanks for sharing!
Great to hear Isabel! Thank you for coming back to let me know! N xx
Hi Nagi, I found your site today while looking for a Crispy Noodle Recipe. None of my recipe books, Ken Hom, Ching He Huang, Gok Wan, had one. So I will be trying this out in the next few days and let you know how it goes. Thanks
I hope you enjoy it Carol! 🙂
This looks so good. Thanks do much for sharing this. Simon
Thanks Simon! I keep meaning to shoot new photos of this, thanks for the reminder! N x
Hello Nagi,
I just made your “CHARLIE”,and was going to use it with the crispy noodle and chicken recipe but I see you have a different sauce with the noodle recipe.
Can I still use “CHARLIE”?
I am loving all the positive comments.Looking forward to serving the dish to my family at dinner tonight:)
Hi Mary! You absolutely can use Charlie for this recipe! 🙂
You can use any kind of noodles. You need to first cook the noodles like you usually do in boiling water then rinse and dry. Then you deep fry the noodles in oil until crispy. I used to do it with meehoon but I tried Pancit Canton today and it worked great. The noodles turned out really crispy, like something you would put in a salad.
I love this dish! In Indonesia we call it I Fu Mie and it’s sold almost everywhere. It’s my favorite way to eat noodles, next to ramen. Thank you for the recipe! Now I can make it myself at home 🙂
I didn’t know that!! I’ve been to Indonesia and I don’t remember seeing it!! 🙂
I used ramen noodles. It reminded me of a Chinese restaurant in San Francisco called The Garden Restaurant (it’s closed now). They used ramen noodles, or something similar to it. Really good
I haven’t tried this with ramen noodles, I must! Thank you! I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
I made this last night and it was so good. My husband even brought the leftovers for work and called at lunch time to say again how awesome it was. I couldn’t find any noodles that said chow mein but the asian market that we shop at said the pack of really thin egg noodles they had was the same and the directions said to only boil them for 10 seconds before continuing the recipe. I don’t think it was the same noodle- but it had flour around the noodles which I read was good. When I cooked the first batch it seemed like it might not be done when I turned the noodles so I added just a little more water. I did that for the second batch of noodles too and they were really good. I wish I could find the noodles you show! But in spite of the wrong noodles I had – this was such an incredible dish! So flavorable!!
Hurrah! I am so glad you enjoyed it!! It sounds like the noodles you got were pretty similar if they had flour on them because flour means they would be less wet than other noodles like Hokkien which means they crisp up when you pan fry them.
Oh yay yay! I am so so glad you enjoyed it! Thank you so much for coming back to share your feedback Jeanine! 🙂
Hi there, I am based in Dubai, if I cannot find Chow Mein noodles is it possible to use thin egg noodles, is this ok? I am keen to try out this recipe as its alway mine and mums favorites at our chinese restuarant in China Town, London…Thanks!!!
Hi Niki – absolutely, you can sub with any noodles! Thin egg noodles are definitely the closest. You will notice that they aren’t as “crinkly” as the noodles in my photo and they are more slippery in texture. But overall flavour wise, it is very close! I do remember seeing Asian grocers in a large supermarket in Dubai but it was not in the built up areas where most ex-pats live, it was in a suburban area. 🙂
I love crispy noodles. Your way of stir frying them are really interesting, a pancake shape. I am always disappointed by the arrangement of my fried noodles. Thanks for the inspiration.
Thanks Elaine! So honoured by your comment – from the Queen of Chinese Cooking herself!!
Delicious!!! This is one of my favorite noodles and I always makes sure some parts of noodles won’t get soggy. I love the crunchy part as much as the soften noodles covered with the ingredients. Yours look perfect! I have to try this recipe!
I agree! Actually you can even see in the photo that I only poured sauce over 3/4 of the plate….to leave the remainder as crunchy as possible!!
I’m spending more time on your blog than I should, looking at all those mouth watering recipes and drooling all over my keyboard 😉
Wish you could send me a plate!
I’ll trade – you send me your fish cakes, I courier over these noodles!
Oh snap, you made me drool at 3am in the morning. I remember these kind of noodles! Used to serve them on hot plates or claypots all crunchy and stuff with a super comforting soup drenching it. Seriously hungry now. I probably haven’t had that in a decade!
I don’t have fancy clay pots or hot plates, but it’s still super yum just served up on a plain dinner plate!!