Crispy Noodles is one of my favourite Chinese restaurant dishes. The noodles are crunchy and go really well with the delicious thick gravy. I had always wondered how they get those noodles so crispy !
As I had some fresh egg noodles in my fridge (after using some of it to make my wonton noodles), I decided to see if I could make them as crispy. I thought deep frying them in small batches might do the trick. Boy, was I surprised to see the noodles puff up in the hot oil and turn golden and crispy in no time at all. All I needed to do is to place them on a plate and spoon the delicious gravy I made over it.
INGREDIENTS
- 50 gm fresh egg noodles (usually found in the fridge in Asian grocery)
- 1 carrot (thinly sliced)
- 1 red pepper (thinly sliced)
- 8 green beans (thinly sliced)
- 2 Chinese mushroom (soaked & thinly sliced)
- 1 clove garlic (minced)
- 2 eggs (beaten) (you could add pork or chicken strips or fresh prawns)
- Oil for deep frying
- Gravy: Mix together
- 1 rice bowl of water
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon light soya sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon sugar
- 2 teaspoons oyster sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
- Dash of white pepper
- 1 tablespoon cornflour (mixed with 1 tablespoon of water) – keep this separate from the rest of the gravy ingredients – to be added at the end of the cooking process.
METHOD
1. Loosen the fresh noodles and separate into 4 small piles.
2. Put some oil in a small saucepan – about 2 inch deep. Drop a small piece of noodle into the oil. When the noodle bubble up, the oil is ready for use. Drop a pile of noodle into the hot oil. It will puff up immediately. Let it cook till golden – takes 1 -2 minutes; flip over & cook for another minute or 2. Lift the noodles, drain on kitchen paper and place on a serving plate. Repeat process for the other 3 piles of noodles. If you have a large wok and happy to use a lot more oil, you could make all the crispy noddles in one go.
3. In a separate frying pan, make an omelette with the eggs and cut into strips. Place the egg strips on top of the crispy noodles.
4. Add 1 tablespoon of oil and fry the minced garlic till fragrant. Add the carrot, red pepper & mushroom strips and stir fry the vegetables for a couple of minutes.
5. Add the gravy and bring it to a boil. Simmer the vegetables in the gravy for 5 minutes.
6. Mix 1 tablespoon of cornflour in 1 tablespoon of water and add to the gravy to thicken it.
7. Pour vegetables & gravy over the crispy noodles and egg strips.
8. Sprinkle some fried onions on top.
