Cantonese chow mein recipe

5 from 1 vote

Cantonese chow mein with pan fried crispy egg noodles, tossed in a rich and savory chow mein sauce. A great Canton crispy noodle side dish.

Prep Time10

Cook Time10

Total Time20

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: Chinese

Keyword: Cantonese chow mein, Cantonese style chow mein

Servings: servings

Bring a pot of water to boil, use your hands to gently toss and separate the strands as you add the noodles in. Toss the noodles for 30 seconds, using a pair of chopsticks, then drain the noodles and don’t rinse. The noodles aren’t fully cooked and should still feel quite firm and not too sticky.
Shake off the excess water and spread them out over a large sheet pan or plate. They are ready for stir frying.
Shake off the excess water and spread them out over a large sheet pan or plate. Toss the noodles with 2 tsp oil. Keep the noodles dry so it’s easier to crisp them up in the pan. Set aside to cool down.

Add 1 tbsp oil to a large well-heated non-stick pan or wok. When it feels quite warm, add the noodles. Spread them out into a single layer. Turn heat up to medium high and pan fry the noodles without disturbing for 2 minutes. The bottom will crisp up. Then use a spatula to flip the noodles. Add 0.5 tbsp oil along the edge of the pan so that the flip side can crisp up as well. Fry the noodles without disturbing for 1 minute.
Then use a pair of chopsticks to stir and toss to loosen the noodles a bit. The noodle texture should be crisp but not burnt. When you shake the pan, you should hear a crisp sizzle sound. Transfer them out of the pan over a large serving plate.

Use the same pan, add another 0.5 tbsp oil. Add the garlic, onion, chive, and bean sprouts. Season with ¼ tsp salt. Saute for 1 minute over medium to medium-high heat.

Return the noodles to the pan. Stir the sauce one more time then with one hand stirring the noodles and another hand drizzle in the chow mein sauce, little-by-little until all the sauce is poured-in, about 1 minute then turn off the heat.

Transfer to a large serving plate. Season with a small dash of white pepper. Serve hot.

To make a larger quantity, you can double the recipe, using 12 oz of chow mein noodles BUT I recommend you cook only 6 oz of noodles at once so that the noodles are crisp up and seasoned evenly. A larger quantity is harder to manage as chow mein noodles are tangled together.
If using dry chow mein noodles (looks like instant ramen noodles): Cook them for 1 minute less than the package suggests to keep them al dente. After boiling, drain, spread out on a plate, and toss with a bit of oil to keep them dry before stir-frying.
If using fresh precooked chow mein noodles: No need to boil them since they're already cooked. You can pan-fry them directly, adding a little water (about ¼ cup) when stir-frying.
For this dish, I used fresh (uncooked/unsteamed) chow mein noodes.
For gluten-free: Gluten-free thin spaghetti noodles, vermicelli pasta, or rice vermicelli (aka mei fun) are good options. They won’t be as crips but won’t affect the flavor.