Crispy Pan-Fried Noodles: Spilled Milk #258

Fast, easy and delicious: These noodles are your new favorite weeknight meal.

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• It’s back to school time.

• I want to make inexpensive meals.

• I want to make delicious meals.

• I want to make meals the whole family enjoys.

• I want to make meals that are healthy, and if I want to, I can make them even healthier!

• I want to make meals that require very little prep and can come together quickly because of everyone’s schedules, especially mine.

I could keep going on, but you all understand what I mean. I think we are all in that boat and not just during the beginning of the school year. I am as time poor as anyone, and I love to cook. So THIS is one of the meals everyone loves.

I can make them individually or as a large format noodle cake for family-style serving. I can make this dish with seafood, pork, chicken, beef and any combination of vegetables, although there are some combinations that work better than others, that’s for sure. I also make this with salted fermented black beans, but if you don’t have them or they aren’t your thing, skip it. I only use them about 75 percent of the time, and the recipe is great no matter what.

Regarding the noodles, look for thin egg noodles that are labeled Hong Kong-style pan-fried noodles or chow mein. You could also use fresh wonton-style thin egg noodles, but the main benefit of using the pan-fried variety is that they always crisp well and squirting some water in the wok (as I do in the video) steams them perfectly! When I use thin egg noodles I blanch and dry them or have to use a little more water. Not a big deal.

By adding up to a quarter cup of water to the pan to help create steam, the noodles in the middle of the wok will cook through and the outer noodles won’t burn. The secret there is to keep moving them around the wok and check the bottom to ensure that they're crisping evenly.

This is a simple, easy Hong Kong-style (Cantonese traditionally) dish that I know will be one of your favorites. You love it in restaurants after all, so why not master it at home?

Recipe: Crispy Pan-Fried Noodles