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15-Minute Fried Noodles

5 from 9 votes
Fried noodles are a perfect way to create a hearty, quick, and healthy one-dish meal. This recipe introduces an optimized workflow and numerous tips for creating a great noodle dish with minimal effort.
To make it gluten-free, replace soy sauce with tamari or coconut amino and use dry sherry instead of Shaoxing wine.
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 15 minutes
Course: Main
Cuisine: Chinese
Keyword: comfort food, takeout
Servings: 2
Author: Maggie Zhu

Ingredients

Marinade

  • 1/2 pound (220 grams) ground meat (beef, chicken, pork, or turkey) or shrimp
  • 2 teaspoons Shaoxing wine (or Japanese sake, or dry sherry)
  • 1 teaspoon potato starch
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

Sauce

  • 1/4 cup chicken stock
  • 2 teaspoons light soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon dark soy sauce (*see footnote 1)
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt (or 1 tablespoon oyster sauce, or hoisin sauce)

Stir-fry

  • 2 tablespoons peanut oil (or animal fat)
  • 6 green onions , chopped into long slices (separate the white and green parts)
  • 1/2 tablespoon ginger , grated
  • 2 cups mustard greens , chopped

Instructions

  • Cut rice noodle threads into 8-inch (20 cm) lengths with a pair of scissors (*see footnote 2) and transfer them to a large bowl. Add hot tap water to cover. Be sure to submerge the rice noodles. Let sit for 5 to 7 minutes (*see footnote 3), until tender. The noodles should be flexible but remain al-dente (*see footnote 4). Drain. Add a few drops of vegetable oil and gently toss a few times.
  • While soaking the noodles, prepare marinade, sauce and cut veggies.
  • Combine ground meat (or shrimp), Shaoxing wine, potato starch, and salt in a small bowl. Mix well.
  • Combine chicken stock, light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, sugar, and salt in a small bowl. Mix well.
  • Place all the ingredients and a pair of tongs (or pair of chopsticks) next to your stove.
  • Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet (or a wok) over high heat until hot. Add ginger and half the green onion (all the white parts). Cook and stir until it starts to sizzle.
  • Add ground meat. Cook and stir until the surface is slightly charred, but not cooked through yet.
  • Add mustard greens and the rest of the green onion (all the green parts). Cook and stir for 30 seconds.
  • Pour in sauce. Stir a few times. Add rice noodles. Toss and stir with a pair of tongs, until the liquid is fully absorbed. Remove skillet from stove. Carefully taste the noodles. If the noodles are still a bit tough, you can return the skillet to the stove and pour in 3 to 4 tablespoons chicken stock (or water). Continue tossing and stirring until the liquid is absorbed.
  • Transfer everything to serving dishes. Serve immediately as a main dish.

Notes

  1. The dark soy sauce will add a nice dark brown color to the noodles. You can use 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon soy sauce instead of using the combo of light and dark soy sauce. The noodles will be seasoned correctly, just with a lighter color.
  2. By cutting the noodles into shorter lengths, they won’t be tangled together during stir-frying and will be easier to eat.
  3. The soaking time varies depending on the noodles and on the temperature of the water. If you’re using boiling water, the soaking time might shorten to 3 minutes. I used the hottest water I could get from the tap in this recipe and it took 7 minutes.
  4. It is OK if the noodles are still a bit tougher than they should be. You can fix this during stir-frying, by adding a bit more chicken stock (or water) and cooking until the noodles are tender. On the other hand, if you soak the noodles for too long, they will be more prone to stick together and will turn mushy after cooking.

Nutrition

Serving: 389g, Calories: 519kcal, Carbohydrates: 43.5g, Protein: 35.7g, Fat: 22.3g, Saturated Fat: 5g, Cholesterol: 98mg, Sodium: 1082mg, Potassium: 637mg, Fiber: 4.5g, Sugar: 9.6g, Vitamin A: 6450IU, Vitamin C: 66.8mg, Calcium: 120mg, Iron: 3.2mg