Why eat Shanghai fried noodles?
China is a great place for food. Cumin-dusted lamb and noodles in the West, spicy cuisine from Szechuan province, fried delicacies in Yunnan, dumplings in the North…I could go on but I get too hungry to finish the list. However, if your taste runs more to the sweet than savory, you might want to consider a trip to Shanghai.
In this international city, food is often flavored with a bit of sugar at the end of cooking. The amount of you need though, can readily depend on your taste. Once on a train from Shanghai to Beijing, my Shanghaiese seatmate told me that grandmothers add as much as 1/2 cup of sugar to the food at the end. Whether that is true or not, be careful with the amount. The amount of sweetness you add should be just enough to enhance the saltiness. This, in turn, will help to provide a depth of flavor to other ingredients like ginger and garlic and cooking wine.
But don’t just take my word for it. Taste it for yourself with these noodles fried with Shitake mushrooms, chopped Choy Sum and shredded pork all coated in a sweet and salty soy sauce. For me, it’s a great one-pot/wok meal that pleases the entire family. Also great as leftovers when eaten cold for a quick lunch. Eat it as is, or season with Chinese black vinegar and Chinese Chili Oil for an added kick.
Shanghai Fried Noodles with Shitake Mushrooms and Pork
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: Serves 4
Description
Shanghai fried noodles with shitake mushrooms, chopped choy sum & shredded pork then coated in a sweet and salty soy sauce. #noodles #pork #easyrecipes #quickrecipes #stirfry
Ingredients
- 400–500 g (14 ~ 18 oz) Chinese wheat noodles
- 1–2 tbsp sesame oil
- 4 tbsp cooking oil
- 200 g (7 oz) Shitake mushrooms
- a large bunch of Choy Sum (about 300 g/ 10.5 oz)
- a small bunch of scallions (about 5-7 stalks)
- 2 tbsp roughly chopped ginger
- 2 tbsp roughly chopped garlic
- 200 g ( 7 oz) pork shoulder
- splash of Chinese cooking wine (about 1 oz)
- 2–3 tbsp dark soy sauce
- 2–3 tbsp light sauce sauce
- 1 heaping tbsp of sugar
Instructions
Prep
- Clean mushrooms with a damp towel. Remove fibrous stems then thinly slice mushrooms no bigger than 1/2 cm (1/4 in) thick
- Chop the stalks of the choy sum into 2 cm/1 inch long pieces but keep the leaves in bigger pieces
- Thinly slice the white parts of the scallions and cut what is usable of the green parts into pieces about 5 cm/ 2 inches long.
- Slice the pork as thinly as possible. Ideally, short and thin strips work the best.
Wok Frying
- Cook the noodles according to directions, drain and rinse in cold water.
- Toss in 1-2 tablespoons of sesame oil to prevent sticking.
- Set aside or place in the fridge for 20 minutes to let cool. Always make sure the noodles are cool or cold before frying to fry otherwise you risk a sticky mess.
- In a large wok, heat 2 tablespoons of cooking oil over high heat. Add the sliced white parts of the scallions and thinly sliced Shitake mushrooms. Fry until mushrooms have browned.
- When mushrooms have browned, add the chopped ginger and garlic. Stir and cook until fragrant (about a minute or two).
- Add the shredded pork shoulder to the wok and stir.
- Quickly add a splash of Chinese cooking wine (about 1 oz) to the pork and mushroom mix. Stir and cook until liquid has evaporated. This shouldn’t take long at all.
- Add the chopped Choy Sum along with the chopped green stems of the scallions. Toss in the stir fry, cover and cook for a minute.
- Toss the stir-fried vegetables then add the remaining 2 tbsp of oil to the wok and cooked noodles. Make sure they are cool to the touch when added. If they stick together, break them up with your hands before adding them. Mix together with the veg and fry for 1-2 minutes.
- Add the soy sauce and sugar. Toss together until everything is evenly coated and let cook for a minute or so then turn off the heat.
- Serve and eat as is or spice it up with a spoonful or two of Chinese Chile Oil (Lajiao), Chinese black vinegar or a combination of both.
- Prep Time: 30 min
- Cook Time: 10 min
- Category: Noodles, Stir-fry, Main
- Method: Stir Fry
- Cuisine: Chinese
Keywords: Shanghai noodles, stir fry, noodles, soy sauce, pork, wok fried, choy sum. mushrooms
Eat more Asian noodles with these recipes:
Vegan Spicy Rice Noodles with Tofu and Mushrooms
Amazing!!!!! Yummmmmm
glad you liked it!☺