Pan fried noodles are a Cantonese noodle format the place skinny egg noodles are par boiled after which crisped in a scorching wok with a savory brown sauce. Most restaurant variations of this dish use pork or shrimp or beef, and my residence model at the moment swaps the protein for thick slices of crispy bacon so the rendered fats infuses each strand with taste.
This recipe got here out of a behavior of cooking bacon for weekend breakfast and ending the pan with no matter noodles and greens I had within the fridge. My husband began asking for it as a correct dinner, and after a number of rounds I locked within the fragrant and sauce ratios that maintain up the way in which the bacon does. It is among the few noodle dishes on my website the place I truly sit up for the next-day lunch out of the container. So yummy!
In my recipe under, I stroll you thru each step, from crisping the bacon in a chilly skillet and parboiling the noodles to stir-frying the cabbage, carrot, and onion. Then I fold the savory sauce into the noodles earlier than including the charred scallion whites, garlic, cooked greens, and crispy bacon again to the wok. I end all the pieces with the scallion greens and a small drizzle of toasted sesame oil off the warmth for the right completion.
For those who’re a busy mother like me, I extremely advocate making this scrumptious and satisfying one-pan noodle dish. In simply 45 minutes, you’ll have a comforting dinner on the desk that the entire household will love. Take pleasure in!
Substances
A lot of the elements are Chinese language pantry staples I already hold readily available for stir-fries, so the grocery checklist is budget-friendly and simple to buy.
Bacon: I take advantage of common thick reduce bacon slices. Any smoked pork bacon works right here, although a heavier smoke reads by means of the completed dish greater than a light one, which I like.
Noodles: I take advantage of contemporary Hong Kong pan fried noodles the identical ones I take advantage of in my rooster fried noodles recipe, for the springy chewy texture that holds up in a wok.
Sauce: I whisk collectively rooster broth, Shaoxing wine, oyster sauce, a splash of mild soy sauce, a contact of darkish soy sauce for shade, sugar, and a pinch of white pepper. The sauce is balanced on the low facet of salty so the bacon doesn’t push it over.
Stir fry greens: I shred 1 / 4 head of cabbage, julienne a carrot, and slice half a white onion. These 3 collectively give me the crunch, sweetness, and physique I need.
Aromatics and end: I take advantage of inexperienced onions reduce into quick items with the whites cut up lengthwise, chopped garlic, and toasted sesame oil on the very finish. Peanut oil is my default cooking fats, and I hold a spoonful of reserved bacon fats if I need to push the noodles richer.
Learn how to Make
1. Crisp the bacon: Lay bacon slices in a chilly 12 inch skillet with out overlapping, working in two batches if wanted. Set the warmth to medium and let the bacon sizzle, then flip all the way down to medium low and cook dinner, flipping often, till the slices flip crispy and golden, 8 minutes or so per batch. Switch to a paper towel lined plate and let cool.
2. Lower the bacon: As soon as the bacon is cool sufficient to deal with, snip the slices into chunk sized items with kitchen scissors. Reserve 1 to 2 teaspoons of bacon fats from the pan if you wish to enhance the completed noodles.
3. Par boil the noodles: Deliver a pot of water to a boil. Drop within the Hong Kong pan fried noodles and cook dinner for 1 minute, or observe the bundle directions for different chow mein noodles till simply al dente. Rinse underneath cool faucet water to cease the cooking, drain effectively, and put aside.
4. Combine the sauce: Whisk the rooster broth, Shaoxing wine, oyster sauce, mild soy sauce, darkish soy sauce, sugar, and white pepper in a small bowl till easy.
5. Stir fry the greens: Warmth a wok or massive skillet over medium excessive warmth with a spoonful of oil till it simply begins to smoke. Add the cabbage, carrot, and onion and sprinkle generously with kosher salt. Toss till the greens wilt however nonetheless maintain some crunch, 2 to three minutes. Switch to a plate.
6. Char the scallion whites: Add one other spoonful of oil to the wok. Drop within the scallion whites and toss till calmly charred, 30 to 40 seconds. Add the chopped garlic and stir till aromatic.
7. Toss the noodles: Unfold the drained noodles within the wok and pour within the final spoonful of oil, or the reserved bacon fats if utilizing. Toss them to coat, then pour within the sauce, then toss once more till the noodles decide up the colour of the sauce.
8. Deliver it collectively: Add the cooked greens and toss till the sauce has been absorbed into the noodles. Add the bacon and toss one other minute so the items warmth by means of and their fats carries into the sauce.
9. End off the warmth: Add the scallion greens and toss till simply wilted. Flip off the warmth and drizzle within the toasted sesame oil. Toss yet another time and serve.
My Cooking Suggestions
Begin the bacon earlier than you contact anything: Two batches of bacon in a chilly skillet takes shut to twenty minutes on the range. I get the primary batch going earlier than I reduce a single vegetable so the remainder of the mise en place strains up with the bacon ending.
Oven bacon works if the range is full: I bake bacon at 400°F on a sheet pan for 15 to twenty minutes once I want the burners for different dishes. Similar crispness, much less babysitting.
Watch the bacon on the finish: As soon as a lot of the fats has rendered and the slices flip golden, the pan suggestions over into scorched quick. I hold a detailed eye on the bacon at that stage and pull the slices as quickly as they’re crispy.
Reserve a spoonful of bacon fats as a substitute of the sesame oil end: If I desire a richer, extra bacon-forward pan, I skip the toasted sesame oil on the finish and drizzle 1 to 2 teaspoons of reserved bacon fats into the noodles once I add the final spoonful of oil. Sesame oil end retains the dish lighter and extra restaurant fashion.
Lower the bacon with scissors after cooling: I let the crispy slices cool on the paper towel plate first, then snip them into chunk sized items with a pair of kitchen scissors. Cooling first units the crisp so the items keep intact once I reduce them.
Serving Strategies
I serve this as a one-pan dinner on weeknights once I come residence drained after an extended day on the studio. The wok goes straight on a trivet in the midst of the desk so my husband and I can spoon it into large bowls with a facet of egg drop soup or a bowl of scorching and bitter soup alongside. My 2.5 12 months previous loves this one, and if I go away the completed plate on the desk he grabs items and snacks on all of them afternoon as a substitute of asking for crackers.
For a much bigger vacation get together the place these noodles play the facet dish function, I depend on the make-ahead benefit and stage them upfront. On the desk with the noodles I set a inexperienced vegetable like bok choy with oyster sauce, a lightweight appetizer like spicy cucumber salad, and a protein foremost so the bacon-heavy noodles match their facet dish job. The following-day container in my fridge is genuinely the reheat I sit up for for lunch.
Steadily Ask Questions
Can I take advantage of a special noodle as a substitute of Hong Kong pan fried noodles?
Sure. Any skinny contemporary or dried chow mein noodle works, simply boil based on the bundle till al dente as a substitute of the 1 minute I take advantage of for Hong Kong noodles. Thicker lo mein noodles maintain sauce otherwise and shift the dish nearer to a rooster lo mein fashion plate, which is ok however not the identical crisp chunk I personally like.
Why received’t my noodles get crispy?
I cook dinner the noodles till they’re simply al dente, then rinse them underneath cool working water instantly to cease the cooking. Drain them completely earlier than including them to the wok, and wait till the greens have been eliminated and the aromatics are aromatic earlier than including the noodles.
In case your noodles aren’t crisping up, it’s normally as a result of they’re nonetheless too moist after boiling, the pan isn’t scorching sufficient, the pan is overcrowded, or the noodles are being stirred too typically as a substitute of being left undisturbed to brown. Utilizing somewhat additional oil additionally helps create a crisp, golden crust.
Can I take advantage of a nonstick pan?
Sure. A nonstick skillet works effectively and normally requires much less oil. A carbon metal or forged iron pan will create barely higher browning and char, however all three work for this recipe.
Can I add extra greens?
Sure. Bell peppers, mushrooms, carrots, snow peas, bok choy, bean sprouts, or Chinese language broccoli all work effectively. Preserve the entire quantity of greens reasonable so the noodles keep crispy as a substitute of changing into steamed.
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This bacon pan fried noodles recipe is the one-pan noodle dinner I like making for a weeknight or a vacation facet, with crispy bacon, Hong Kong pan fried noodles, and a wok of shredded cabbage and carrot on the coronary heart of the plate. My savory Cantonese sauce coats each strand, and the leftovers style even higher the subsequent day. From chilly skillet to completed wok, the recipe takes me solely 45 minutes.
Stop your display from going darkish
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Cook dinner in batches, unfold bacon slices in a chilly 12” skillet with out overlapping (*Footnote 1). Cook dinner over medium warmth till the bacon sizzles, and switch to medium low warmth. Cook dinner, flip often, till the bacon turns crispy, 8 minutes or so. Switch bacon onto a paper towel lined plate. Let cool earlier than reducing into chunk sized items utilizing a pair of scissors. (*Footnote 2)
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Deliver a pot of water to a boil. If utilizing Hong Kong pan fried noodles, cook dinner for 1 minute. For different varieties, cook dinner the noodles based on the directions, till al dente. Rinse with faucet water to cease cooking. Drain and put aside.
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Combine all of the sauce elements in a small bowl.
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Warmth 1 tablespoon of oil in a wok (or massive skillet) over medium excessive warmth till smoking. Add the cabbage, carrot and onion, sprinkle with a beneficiant quantity of kosher salt. Cook dinner and stir till wilted, 2 to three minutes. Switch to a giant plate.
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Add 1 tablespoon of oil and scallion white. Cook dinner and stir till calmly charred, 30 to 40 seconds. Add the garlic and stir to launch perfume.
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Unfold the noodles and pour within the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil (or reserved bacon fats, if utilizing). Toss the noodles to coat with the oil, then pour within the sauce. Toss the noodles to coat with the sauce, till evenly coated however there’s nonetheless some sauce left. Add again the cooked greens, toss till the sauce has been absorbed. Then add again the cooked bacon. Toss one other minute.
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Add the scallion greens. Toss till wilted. Flip off the warmth and add the toasted sesame oil. Toss once more to combine effectively.
Ingredient Substitution Information
- It’s also possible to cook dinner the bacon in a 400ºF (200ºC) oven for 15 to twenty minutes, till golden crispy.
- You’ll be able to reserve 1 to 2 teaspoons of bacon fats so as to add to the noodles to spice up the flavour. If utilizing bacon fats, skip the toasted sesame oil on the finish.
Serving: 192g, Energy: 595kcal, Carbohydrates: 26g, Protein: 18g, Fats: 57g, Saturated Fats: 17g, Polyunsaturated Fats: 11g, Monounsaturated Fats: 25g, Trans Fats: 0.1g, Ldl cholesterol: 75mg, Sodium: 1120mg, Potassium: 429mg, Fiber: 3g, Sugar: 6g, Vitamin A: 2706IU, Vitamin C: 24mg, Calcium: 48mg, Iron: 2mg
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