Chinese Restaurant Noodles

The Secret of Making Chinese Restaurant Style Noodles

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How to make Chinese Restaurant style noodles such as chow mein

The Problem

I don't know about you but I have found that cooking chinese style noodles such as chow mein at home to be usually particularly dissapointing. They are too soggy, lack that smoky aroma of chinese restaurant noodles and worst of all the noodles and other ingredients never really mix together properly. Therefore I spent a weekend recently working out the secrets. None of the chinese cookery books I have (incluidng 2 which purport to be the secrets of chinese restaurant cooking) really revealed anything of much use. My first stop was to visit our local chinese supermarket the "See Woo" in Reading. I purchased a few different types of noodle, though all of the thicker variety. I bought a new Iron wok and a few other chinese essentials.

Secret 1. Seasoned Wok

I had a bit of a hunch that a proper iron wok which would need to be seasoned was part of the secret for that smoky flavour and that is the first part of the puzzle. Get a good iron wok and season it. This is done by heating the wok fairly high heat and keep adding cooking oil and rubbing it into the wok using a cloth. This can take about 30 minutes until the wok is totally black with burned on oil. Now you must never scrub the wok, just rinse and wipe to clean. This surface prevents sticking and imparts that smoky flavour.

Secret 2. Soy Sauce

We did a tasting comparison to see how the various Soy Sauces compared. The winner with a thicker texture and deeper flavour was a Soy sauce labelled as "Superior Soy Sauce", I don't know if this is an official label such as the clover leaves on balsamic vinegar. The Soy sauces which we had purchased at a supermarket were basically thinner and much more bland with little more than salt to the taste. So hunt out your local Chinese or Asian supermarket for the best Soy sauce you can find.

Secret 3. Noodles

We tried many types of noodles but the best results came from fresh egg noodles which were cooked straight in the wok without any boiling. If using dried noodles, soak them in hot water until soft (about 10 mins) then drain thoroughly before adding to the wok.

Secret 4. Hot Wok. Fast Cooking

Put your wok on the biggest burner you have and turn the heat up and leave for 15-20 minutes to get really hot. Add the oil and stir any vegetables and meat until the meat is cooked enough (they should be small pieces which will cook very quickly). Then add the noodles and stir fry until the noodles are piping hot. Add a few dashes of the superior soy sauce and serve.

Secret 5. Pasta Stirrer

When stir frying the noodles use a pasta stirrer to really work the noodles around, this helps mix the noodles and everything else together more evenly.

Secret 6. Don't crowd the Wok

Finally don't try to cook too much in one go. If you over-crowd the wok the temperature will fall too much and it will be harder to stir the ingredients and mix them together. Aim for 1 portion at a time and have the ingredients ready to knock out the number of portions you need. Each portion should only take 2-3 minutes so you can cook as you need more.

That's it!

Now you can experiment with your own spices and extra flavours like chinese 5 spice, curry powder etc. Simple when you know how - enjoy.

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