Noodles - RecipeTin Eats

Everyday Hokkien Noodles

Nagi — Tue, 06 Aug 2024 06:00:00 +0000

My everyday Hokkien Noodles recipe. A great sauce. Strips of chicken. Lots of vegetables. 6 minute cook. Dinner in 20 minutes flat!

Hokkien noodles

I know that I’ve repeatedly bleated about how you can throw “any vegetables you want!” into stir fried noodles. But if speed is of the essence, and you want a good amount of vegetables in your dinner, you do actually need to think about what vegetables are quick to chop, quick to cook, won’t make your stir fry watery, and you know you can get at any grocery store.

No pre-cooking required (like broccoli). Doesn’t take 5 minutes to soften (like mushrooms). And not one of those vegetables you can’t always find (like Asian greens).

Scratch all that. Today is about convenience, speed, yet undeniable deliciousness that everybody loves.

Introducing – my everyday Hokkien Noodles!

Ingredients for Hokkien Noodles with chicken

Here’s what you need to make these hokkien noodles. There’s enough protein and vegetables in this to be a complete meal. Gotta love a one-pan dinner!

HOKKIEN NOODLES

Hokkien noodles are medium thickness yellow noodles made from wheat. Get them from the fridge if you can, rather than vac-packed varieties from the aisle. Better texture, better flavour, and less tendency to break easily when tossed in the pan.

Other noodle options – This recipe can be made with pretty much any type of noodles – thin, flat, thicker, white, rice noodles, egg noodles. Or even pasta. There, I said it! Hand on heart, once tossed with the sauce, flavour-wise they are very similar though actually, noodles do have a chewier texture than pasta. 🙂
Dried noodles (like ramen, dried egg noodles, rice noodles, vermicelli noodles) can also be used but you need to use less than the weight specified in the recipe because they expand a lot more in volume when cooked. See the recipe notes for directions.

The hokkien noodle sauce

You can’t just use soy and sugar for a stir fry sauce. It’s too bland! In today’s recipe, oyster sauce is our shortcut ingredient here. It adds depth of flavour, touch of sweetness as well as thickening the sauce so we don’t even need to use cornflour/cornstarch like you typically need to.

Dark and light soy sauce – We’re using a combination of both in today’s sauce because together they deliver really great flavour and colour. Dark soy sauce has a more intense flavour and stains the noodles and chicken a beautiful mahogany colour you can see in the photos. The light soy sauce adds extra salt without too much colour and the soy flavour is milder. If we only used dark soy sauce, the intense flavour would overwhelm the dish as well as it an almost black colour!
See recipe notes for how to switch each of these soy sauces out, and more on different soy sauces here.
Oyster sauce – Punches high above its weight when it comes to adding complexity, flavour and umami all at once to any dish you add a few dashes of the stuff to. It’s a staple sauce in Chinese and South-east Asian cooking made from oyster extract that is sweet, salty, thick and pungent. However it doesn’t tasty oyster-y or fishy at all once cooked. See recipe notes for substitutes.
Mirin – This is a sweet Japanese cooking wine that is the other shortcut ingredient that brings flavour to this dish. Typically in Chinese recipes you’d see Chinese cooking wine used with a touch of sugar added when needed. But today, I’m taking a shortcut by using mirin which already has sugar in it. One less ingredient needed! See recipe notes for substitutions, including non-alcoholic options.
Sesame oil – Toasted (ie brown-hued) as opposed to un-toasted (yellow-hued, with less sesame flavour). Here in Australia, toasted sesame oil is the norm. It’s actually hard to find un-toasted. Note the sesame oil is added to the sauce and not used for as frying fat, because it loses flavour the longer it’s cooked.
White pepper (or black) – Asian cooking typically uses white rather than black pepper. One of the reasons is so you don’t get unsightly black specks in clear, light brown stir fry sauces that are popular in Asian cooking. The flavour is also a little more citrusy than black pepper which is more earthy. We only use a tiny amount so you can substitute black pepper in a pinch.

Quick cooking vegetables and chicken

Quick chop vegetables selection. Ease is the key in today’s recipe!

Boneless chicken thighs – I’m using thighs because they stay juicy when fried up in stir fries without having to tenderise or marinate for too long. You can switch out for chicken breast – because these noodles cook in 6 minutes flat, it won’t overcook and dry out. But, chicken thigh is juicier! 🙂 You can also substitute with more vegetables.
Green onion – Onion is a staple in stir fries because it adds fresh flavour and frying up the onion at the beginning flavours the oil. Green onion makes a good shortcut option, without the need to peel and slice! Just chop into 5cm / 2″ batons. Substitute with regular onion cut into thin wedges, but cook it before the chicken.
Note: As the softer dark green part cooks in literally a minute, we add that in at the end whereas the firmer white/pale green part (the onion-y flavoured part) is stir fried at the beginning because it takes longer to cook and also flavours the oil.
Cabbage – One of my favourite ways to add a stack of veg into a meal, fast! It’s so quick to chop up a large mound and it softens in just a few minutes in the pan. Plus, by cutting it into strips, it flops, clings and mingles nicely with the noodles. Substitute with baby spinach or tuscan kale (also cut into strips) or a couple of handfuls of bean sprouts.
Capsicum/bell pepper – I like the flavour capsicum brings to stir fries as well as a little splash of colour. And again, easy to chop – if you know the trick to avoid getting little seeds flying everywhere! You’ll see me demo it in the video. 🙂
Substitute with carrot or zucchini cut into batons.
Garlic – Finely minced with a knife is best because it disperses throughout the noodles and fries up better. However, in this recipe, you can get away with using a garlic press. But don’t talk to me about jarred garlic! (Sour. Wet. Barely resembles garlic!).

Other vegetable options – As with virtually all stir fries, feel free to substitute the vegetables with what you’ve got. Use 5 cups in total. Just add the longer cooking ones earlier and the quick cooking vegetables towards the end.

How to make Hokkien Noodles with Chicken

The sauce in today’s recipe is doing double duty as the sauce for the noodles and marinade for the chicken (just 10 minutes marinating time). So get the sauce and chicken done first, then move onto preparing the rest of the recipe.

1. Noodle sauce & marinated chicken

Mix the sauce ingredients in a bowl.
Marinate chicken – Measure out 1 1/2 tablespoons of sauce and toss with the chicken. Set aside for 10 minutes while you prepare the other ingredients and soak the noodles. It only needs a short time because the chicken pieces are so thin and the sauce flavour is quite intense.

2. Prepare noodles

Prepare noodles per the packet directions. Usually they will say to soak for a few minutes in a large bowl of boiling water, such as the one I’m using. Some brands call to be boiled for a couple of minutes. Then drain in a colander.
Rinse (💡pro tip!) – Whatever the method, rinse the noodles under the tap water briefly to remove excess starch which can make the surface of the noodles unpleasantly gummy once cooked with the sauce. It’s not a problem that happens with all brands of noodles and it depends how you prepare it, but it’s just good practice to do it so you never experience this problem.
Rinsing also prevents the noodles from hardening into a block as they sit in the colander before tossing into the pan.

3. Noodle sauce & marinated chicken

Cook chicken – In a large non-stick pan (mine is 30cm/12″) or very large wok*, heat the oil over high heat until very hot. Then add the chicken and cook 1 minute. Add the garlic and white part of the green onion stems and cook for another 1 minute until the surface of the chicken is sealed (but still a bit raw inside).
Vegetables – Add the capsicum and cabbage, then toss for 2 minutes or until the cabbage is mostly wilted. By this time, the chicken should be cooked through. If not, keep going as the chicken won’t cook much more in the next steps.

* This is quite a big batch recipe to try to make in a wok. You run the risk of the chicken and vegetables getting watery because of the smaller surface area in contact with heat, unless you use a very large one with a very large burner. It is safer to use a very large pan.

Noodles and sauce – Add the green part of the green onions, noodles then sauce. Toss for 1 1/2 to 2 minutes or until the sauce stains the noodles a lovely brown colour. Using two wooden spoons will make your life easier here (tongs break the noodles).
Finished noodles – Then that’s it! Ready to eat. So fast. How good is that!

Between transient living situations*, changes within my team, an increasingly high maintenance dog well into his senior years* and a workload that never seems to ease, I’ve been making these noodles regularly in recent months. It’s not just the speed, but also because cabbage, green onion and some type of noodles are pantry staples in my world. The capsicum is easily substituted with another vegetable (carrot, zucchini etc). Chicken is optional (I often use more vegetables). And the sauce is made with a mix of my absolute bare minimum Asian sauce essentials.

You can’t beat Hokkien Noodles freshly made, steaming, shiny and slippery. But honestly, they are still really great for one, two, three days afterwards with just a quick microwave reheat, and they freeze well too.

I hope you enjoy them! – Nagi x

* Not complaining about either of these! I know I’m fortunate to have a roof over my head, full stop. As for the other? My greatest company asset. 🐶❤️

Watch how to make it

Hokkien noodles with chicken

Recipe video above. My everyday Hokkien Noodles recipe. A great sauce. Strips of chicken. Lots of vegetables. 6 minute cook. Dinner in 20 minutes flat!

Course Mains, Noodles, stir fried noodles

Cuisine Asian, Chinese

Keyword hokkien noodles, pan noodles, Thai stir fried noodles

Prep Time 14

Cook Time 6

Servings

Calories 445cal

Author Nagi

Ingredients

500g/ 1 lb hokkien noodles , (fridge best) (Note 1)
350g/ 12 oz chicken thighs (boneless, skinless), cut into lot of thin 0.5 x 3cm / 0.2 x 1.2" pieces (Note 2)
2 tbsp canola oil (or vegetable, cottonseed, peanut oil)
2 garlic cloves , finely minced
8 green onion stems , cut into 5cm / 2″ lengths, white part separated from green part (Note 3)
1 red capsicum (bell peppers) , cut into thin 0.5cm / 0.2″ strips
3 heaped cups green cabbage , cut into thin 1 x 5cm / 0.5 x 2" strips

Sauce:

2 tbsp light soy sauce (Note 4)
1 1/2 tbsp dark soy sauce (Note 4)
2 tbsp oyster sauce (Note 5)
1 tbsp Mirin or Chinese cooking wine (Note 6)
1 tbsp sesame oil , toasted (Note 7)
1/8 tsp white pepper (sub black pepper)

Optional garnishes

White sesame seeds
Finely sliced green onion

Instructions

Abbreviated recipe:

Marinate chicken with 1 1/2 tbsp Sauce. Cook chicken 1 min, add garlic and white part of green onion, cook 1 min. Add capsicum & cabbage, cook 2 min. Add green part of green onion, noodles, sauce, toss 2 min. Serve!

Full recipe:

Sauce – Mix the sauce in a small bowl.
Briefly marinate chicken – Toss the chicken with 1 1/2 tbsp of the Sauce. Marinate for 10 minutes while you prepare the noodles and vegetables.
Rinse noodles – Prepare the noodles per the packet directions (soak in boiling water or briefly boil). Drain in a colander then rinse briefly under tap water (Note 8)
Sear chicken – Heat the oil in a large non-stick pan over high heat until very hot (mine is 30cm/12", Note 9 re: wok). Add the chicken and toss for 1 minute. Add the garlic and white part of the green onion, then toss for another 1 minute or until the surface of the chicken is sealed (but still a bit raw inside)
Cook veg & noodles – Add the capsicum and cabbage. Toss for 2 minutes until the cabbage is mostly wilted. Add the green part of the green onions, noodles and sauce. Toss for 1 1/2 to 2 minutes until the noodles are stained a lovely mahogany colour.
Serve immediately, sprinkled with sesame seeds and green onion if desired!

Notes

Easy recipe substitution suggestions (without altering cook times, order or method)

Noodles – See below
Chicken – 2 heaped cups extra vegetables
Green onion – Finely sliced regular onion, cook before adding the chicken.
Cabbage – Sliced Tuscan kale, Chinese cabbage (wombok), baby spinach, bean sprouts
Capsicum – Carrot or zucchini batons, thin asparagus, broccolini cut into thin batons, snow peas cut on diagonal.

1. Noodles – Hokkien noodles from the fridge are better than the vac pack ones from the aisle. Use the same amount of other fresh noodles from the fridge, or 350g / 12oz any dried noodles or 250g/8oz dried vermicelli.

2. Chicken – Thigh is best as it stays juicier, however, breast or tenderloin can be used too. Lean pork would also be great. For beef, use any steak but I recommend velveting it so it stays tender and juicy (thin strips of beef will overcook in less than 2 minutes).

3. Green onion stems – The firmer white/pale green part takes longer to cook (like onions) so add it first, whereas the soft dark green part wilts quickly so add it at the end.

4. Soy sauce – You can substitute the light soy with all purpose soy, and dark soy with more light soy (but noodles won’t stain dark). Don’t substitute the light soy with more dark soy (too intense, will overpower dish). More on different soy sauces here.

5. Oyster sauce – Adds sweetness, depth of flavour and thickens sauce. Vegetarian oyster sauce can be used, or hoisin sauce (adds lovely hint of five spice).

6. Mirin adds depth of flavour and touch of sweet into this otherwise simple sauce. Chinese cooking wine is an excellent sub, followed by cooking sake or dry sherry. Non alcoholic – add 1/3 cup chicken stock into the sauce and toss for extra minute or two.

7. Toasted sesame oil is brown (default in Australia). Untoasted is yellow and doesn’t taste as sesame-y.

8. Rinsing noodles removes excess starch so the noodles are slippery once tossed with sauce. If you don’t rinse, sometimes the surface is gummy. Also prevents from sticking together in colander while waiting to be used.

9. Wok v pan – This is quite a big batch recipe to try to make in a wok. You run the risk of the chicken and vegetables getting watery because of the smaller surface area in contact with heat, unless you use a very large one with a very large burner. It is safer to use a very large pan.

Leftovers will keep for 3 days in the fridge, I just reheat in the microwave. It actually freezes pretty well too (not rice noodles though, they have a tendency to break once frozen).

Nutrition per serving.

Nutrition

My noodle life

I’m a noodle-crazed lady, and I make no apologies for it!

Mie Goreng (Mee Goreng – Indonesian noodles)

Chow Mein

Pad See Ew (Thai Stir Fried Noodles)

Singapore Chicken Vermicelli Noodles

Garlic Noodles

Chinese Crispy Noodles (Chow Mein)

Chicken Stir Fry with Rice Noodles

Noodles

Life of Dozer

Who here is surprised that I bake for Dozer’s vet? 😂

Brown butter oatmeal choc chip cookies

Took him in for check ups and treatment of on-going seniors problems, including his funky joints and early sign of age related spinal issues.

Here he is at the magic dog doctor, Neil Barnsley of Holistic Animal Therapies. It takes over an hour to drive there but I’ve been taking Dozer for the last 8 years – because he’s that good, and I have so much faith and trust in him. He treats Dozer for muscle, bone and joint related issues, of which there have been many over the years because he was such an active dog in his youth!

With the magic dog doctor, Neil Barnsley of Animal Holistic Therapies.

And here he is at our local vet, Gladesville Vetinary Hospital, where I took him in for vaccinations and a check up. Got the all clear – yay!

Lordy, this dog is getting high maintenance in his senior years.

Lucky I kinda love him.

The post Everyday Hokkien Noodles appeared first on RecipeTin Eats.

Garlic Noodles

Nagi — Wed, 06 Sep 2023 06:00:00 +0000

These extraordinarily delicious, yet simple Garlic Noodles are a fusion Asian dish made famous by Thanh Long restaurant in San Francisco, via Kenji Lopez-Alt. Top with a fried egg and vegetables for a quick meal. Also makes an excellent Asian side dish for “anything”!

Garlic noodles

This is yet another example of an excellent fusion Asian dish that brings together Asian and Western ingredients to create something incredibly tasty. Big garlic flavours – with a secret ingredient: parmesan. Yes, you read that right! Parmesan. Mixed with Asian sauces (oyster, fish sauce and Maggi seasoning or soy sauce) and a stack of garlic, it adds a punch of savoury flavour when it melts into the sauce. And it goes amazingly well with the Asian flavours!

Ingredients in Garlic Noodles

Here’s what you need to make Garlic Noodles. There are lots of noodle options but my favourite are ramen / noodles cakes, as pictured below.

Noodles – As mentioned above, this recipe can be made with any noodles, dried or fresh (from fridge). It’s pictured below made with hokkien noodles. It can even be made with spaghetti – there’s plenty of recipes that use pasta!! But my favourite are ramen / noodles cakes, like those pictured above. The wrinkly nature of those noodles just makes the sauce cling better.
As for spaghetti – it works and tastes fine, but pasta doesn’t have the same chew that noodles do. I’d still plough ahead if I only had pasta though!
Garlic – Lots. We need 2 whole tablespoons of finely minced garlic. The garlic flavour is unmissable in this!
Fish sauce – The savoury sauce that’s got more layers of flavour than soy sauce. Though, if you don’t have it, soy sauce can be substituted. Use light or all-purpose soy sauce, not dark soy sauce (too strong). More on different soy sauce types here.
Maggi Seasoning is a savoury Asian sauce, I think of it like soy sauce + an Asian Worcestershire sauce. Find it in the Asian aisle of large grocery stores (Coles, Woolies) or Asian stores. It’s used for noodles, stir fries and it’s also the secret ingredient in Banh Mi Sauce.
Substitute with soy sauce (light or all-purpose, not dark soy). Though note if you substitute both the fish sauce and Maggie Seasoning you will start losing flavour in this dish. 🙂

Maggi Seasoning – think of it like soy sauce, but with more flavour!

Parmesan – The “secret ingredient” that adds a punch of savoury flavour and saltiness! There is subtle parmesan flavour in the dish, it’s not the dominant flavour.
Be sure to finely shred the parmesan using a microplane or similar so it melts seamlessly into the sauce. If you use store bought pre-grated (sandy type or fine batons) it won’t melt as well. But if that’s all you’ve got, I’d still make this!
Butter, not oil. Tastier!
Green onion for freshness.

These garlic noodles made with hokkien noodles. Delish!

How to make Garlic Noodles

In the video, you’ll see me boil the noodles then make the sauce using the same saucepan. It works fine because the sauce barely takes a minute to make. But sometimes, I’ll get the sauce going while the noodles are boiling then toss it together in a pan. Do what works for you. 🙂

Reserve noodles water – Cook the noodles per packet directions. Just before draining, scoop out a mugful of the cooking water (this is to make the sauce later). Take at least 1/2 cup or more – you need 1/4 cup for the recipe plus extra just in case.
Drain the noodles then leave in the colander while you make the sauce (it’s barely a minute).

Sauté garlic – In the same saucepan, melt the butter then sauté the garlic for 30 seconds or until it smells ridiculously good.
Sauce – Add the fish sauce, Maggi seasoning, Oyster sauce and 1/4 cup reserved noodle cooking water. Stir to combine the sauce ingredients, there’s no need to simmer or cook it.
The noodle cooking water is what makes the sauce – the starch in the water helps thicken the sauce so it clings to the noodles.
Noodles & parmesan – Add the noodles and parmesan then toss for 30 seconds or until the sauce is coating the noodles rather than pooling at the bottom of the saucepan. The parmesan will melt seamlessly into the sauce. The noodles should be slick and loose. If it gets sticky and thick (because the heat is too high / tossed for longer than needed), just add a splash of noodle cooking water to loosen it up!
Toss through green onion then serve immediately!

To serve

Make a quick meal out of these garlic noodles by adding a fried egg or slices of boiled egg, plus a side of greens. Pictured at the top is broccolini which I boiled with the noodles then tossed with Asian Sesame Dressing (which you always have in the fridge, right!).

Otherwise, this is literally the perfect side dish that will go with “any” Asian mains that needs a starchy side. I see…..Sticky Chinese Wings, Chinese BBQ Pork, Chinese BBQ Chicken, Vietnamese Lemongrass Pork Steaks, Golden Turmeric Fish or Asian Glazed Barramundi! I’m sure you’re visualising many other options. 🙂 Tell me what you see! – Nagi x

Watch how to make it

Garlic Noodles

Recipe video above. Quick & easy, this is a fusion Asian dish made famous by Thanh Long restaurant in San Francisco, via Kenji Lopez-Alt. Big garlic flavours and Asian sauces are combined with parmesan which gives it an extra savoury punch. Makes these noodles lip smackingly good!

Add a fried egg and broccolini cooked with the noodles for a quick meal. Or serve as a side with any Asian meal!

Course Noodles, Side, Side Dish

Cuisine asian fusioin, Asian-esque

Keyword garlic noodles

Prep Time 5

Cook Time 6

Servings

Calories 450cal

Author Nagi

Ingredients

Noodles:

140g/ 5oz dried ramen or noodle cakes (2 cakes) – Note 1 for other options

Sauce:

30g / 2 tbsp unsalted butter
2 tbsp (6 cloves) garlic, finely minced (yep, a lot!)
2 tsp oyster sauce (sub vegetarian oyster sauce)
2 tsp fish sauce (sub soy sauce – Note 2)
1 1/2 tsp Maggi seasoning (sub soy sauce – Note 3)
1/4 cup noodle cooking water , more if needed (Note 4)
1/4 cup (tightly packed) finely grated parmesan (freshly grated, Note 5)
1/4 cup green onion , thinly sliced (~1 stem)

Cups – Metric

Instructions

Noodles – Cook the noodles in a large saucepan per packet directions. Scoop out ~1/2 cup cooking water. Strain noodles and set aside.
Sauce – Melt butter in the same saucepan over medium heat. Add garlic and cook, stirring until soft. Add oyster sauce, fish sauce, Maggi seasoning and 1/4 cup cooking water. Stir to combine.
Toss – Add cooked noodles, parmesan and green onion. Toss until the noodles are all coated, and the sauce is not pooled in the bottom of the saucepan. Add more cooking water 1 tbsp at the time, if needed to loosen the noodles.
Serve immediately!
Serving suggestion: fried egg and broccolini cooked with the noodles*, tossed with Asian Sesame Dressing you always have in your fridge. 🙂
* Broccolini takes about 3 minutes, so put it into the water before/after/with the noodles depending on the noodle cooking time.

Notes

Recipe adapted from Kenji Lopez-Alt from his cookbook The Wok.

1. Noodles – I like this best with ramen noodles / noodle cakes ie wrinkly, because the garlic bits and sauce clings better. Fresh egg noodles (ie from fridge section, yellow) are a close second – thick or thin (like hokkien, lo mein), use 220g/8oz – or dried egg noodles (amount per recipe).

Angel hair pasta or spaghetti can also be used (amount per recipe) but I prefer noodles as pasta doesn’t have the same “chew” as noodles. If I only had pasta, I’d still make this! Rice noodles also works but texture is different.

2. Fish sauce will give the best savoury flavour here (doesn’t taste fishy!) but can be substituted with soy sauce (light or all-purpose, not dark soy).

3. Maggi Seasoning is a savoury Asian sauce, I think of it like soy sauce + an Asian Worcestershire sauce. Find it in the Asian aisle of large grocery stores (Coles, Woolies) or Asian stores. Staple sauce in South East Asia! Sub with soy sauce (light or all-purpose, not dark soy).

4. Cooking water – This is what creates the sauce that coats the noodles. The starch in the water helps thicken the sauce.

5. Freshly grated parmesan required for smooth melt that disappears into the noodles. Store bought sandy or finely shredded grated won’t melt as perfectly but if that’s all you’ve got, do it!

6. Leftovers will keep for 3 days in the fridge, loosen with a touch of water.

Nutrition per serving, assuming 2 servings.

Nutrition

More quick noodle recipes to try!

Buy a big bag of noodle cakes so you can make these with the leftover noodles:

Quick Asian Caramelised Beef Ramen Noodles

12 Minute Thai Chicken Peanut Noodles (mince)

Chilli Crisp Noodles

Teriyaki Salmon Noodles

Mie Goreng (Mee Goreng – Indonesian noodles)

Asian Mushroom Ramen Noodles

Chicken Vegetable Ramen Noodles

Noodles

Life of Dozer

I returned yesterday from a long overdue but unfortunately very short trip to Tokyo for family reasons. Dozer was, as always, sent to the golden retriever boarder’s place for his own holiday. She sends me daily updates. Here he is at the beach, looking far too happy despite being separated from me. I’m sure he’s weeping on the inside. 😂

The post Garlic Noodles appeared first on RecipeTin Eats.

Japchae – Korean noodles

Nagi — Wed, 26 Jul 2023 06:00:00 +0000

Japchae – the bright, colourful Korean noodle dish made with an abundance of vegetables, juicy bits of marinated beef and a sesame-forward dressing. Made with sweet potato noodles which have a unique slippery, chewy texture, this is sort of a stir fry, sort of a noodle salad, and 100% YUM!

Japchae

Japchae is a famous Korean noodle dish that I describe as sort of a stir fry, sort of a salad. It’s a cross between the two in my mind because stir fried vegetables are tossed with noodles and sauce in a bowl rather than on the stove, and served barely warm.

You start by mixing the sauce in a giant bowl, then pile all the ingredients in one after the other – the noodles, a giant mound of cooked vegetables then lastly the seared marinated beef. Then finally, you give it a big toss to mix it all together in the bowl. This part is really satisfying, getting really stuck into it! (Just make sure you use a really big bowl else you’ll be cursing!).

The sauce is mixed in the bottom of the bowl then noodles are added on top

Then all the vegetables and beef are piled on top before mixing it all together

Ingredients in Japchae

Here’s what you need to make Japchae. I’ve broken it up into:

Noodles and sauce
Beef and marinade
All the colourful veg!

The noodles & sauce

Here’s what you need for the noodles and sauce:

Some notes on some of the pictured ingredients:

Japchae noodles – The noodles used in Japchae are dried sweet potato noodles called dangmyeon. They are made from sweet potato starch and are almost transparent when cooked. It’s like the Korean version of glass noodles! The packets shown above are sold at large grocery stores in the Asian aisle, though you can get them cheaper at Asian stores.
Substitute with glass noodles (ie the clear vermicelli noodles). And though Korean nationals may have my head for saying this, just quietly, you can totally make this recipe with any noodles. It will still be delicious!
Soy sauce – Either light or all purpose soy sauce. But not dark soy sauce – flavour is too strong and the colour is too intense! More on which soy sauce to use when here.
Sesame oil – toasted sesame oil is brown and has more flavour than untoasted (which is yellow). The default sesame oil sold in Australia is toasted, untoasted is harder to find.

Beef and marinade

We’re using beef short ribs in today’s recipe. Yes, it’s an unusual option for a stir fry – but I think you’ll be really impressed. It surprised me!

Beef (choices!) – Beef short rib is my favourite cut to use in Japchae. Contrary to popular belief, it’s not just for slow cooking! When cut off the bone then thinly sliced, the beautifully marbled meat is juicy, tender and flavourful when cooked quickly on high heat – just 90 seconds. (If using beef short ribs whole, however, they must be slow cooked to break down the tough fibres. Try this, this, this or this recipe).
It really is so much nicer to have the beef bits extra tender and juicy in a noodle dish that is not as saucy as your everyday Chinese Beef Stir Fry. So I really hope you give beef ribs a go! I honestly think it’s better than even pricier steaks like scotch / rib-eye.
Other options – Scotch fillet/boneless rib eye is best, as it is the juiciest. If using other steak cuts like rump, porterhouse/t-bone, sirloin/strip etc (especially if economical), I recommend tenderising them before using in the recipe so the beef pieces are extra tender (directions in recipe card). Thin strips of beef are difficult to keep juicy as they overcook in a microsecond. As mentioned above, you can get away with that in saucy Beef Stir Fries. Not so much in noodle dishes.
Soy sauce – As above!

Vegetables

The vegetables shown below is a fairly common combination for Japchae, with a lovely contrast of colour, textures and flavour. But you can really use any stir-fry-able vegetables you want.

Just a note on a few of the vegetables:

Shiitake mushrooms – These are Asian mushrooms with a more intense mushroomy flavour than standard white mushrooms, brown/cremini mushrooms etc. However, if you can’t find them or they are a bit pricey, feel free to use ordinary mushrooms. They are, as you’d expect, better value in Asian stores.
Baby spinach – Substitute with chopped English spinach, the leafy part of Asian greens or even kale. *She ducks as Koreans start throwing rotten tomatoes at her*

How to make Japchae (semi-traditional way)

Traditional Japchae recipes call for each vegetable to be cooked individually to factor in the different cook times and preserve the flavour of each. Yes, it’s cumbersome (you count 6 vegetables above!).

But if you jumble them all up into one giant stir fry then the flavours do tend to bleed into each other a bit. So I’ve compromised and cooked the vegetables in 2 lots, bundling vegetables together by factoring in cook times and flavour “bleeding” to best replicate the same result where vegetables are cooked individually. Bonus: We use less oil.

I hope my slight short-cut method doesn’t offend Korean nationals! 😇

Cutting beef short ribs

As noted above, I really think the best beef for Japchae is beef short ribs – juiciest, best flavour. It’s typically sold on the bone (off the bone is not common here in Australia), so here is how to slice the meat.

If you are using a boneless steak instead, or boneless beef short ribs, then you obviously don’t need to cut the meat off the bone!

Beef ribs – Not gonna lie. My step photo templates use even number of photos and I only had 5. So I stuck this in as a filler. “Beef short ribs. Ta da!”
Trim excess fat – Beef ribs tend to have quite a generous layer of fat on them. So slice off the thick layers on the surface. Not all of it though! The fat is what keeps it juicy!
Cut the meat off the bone simply by holding the beef rib upright then slicing the knife down against the bone. It’s easy – the bone is straight and flat.
Cut in half horizontally to form 2 thin steaks so we can cut thin beef strips.
Cut strips – Keep the halves stacked. Then cut into thin 0.5cm/ 1/5″ slices.
Voila! Tasty beef strips. You are going to love how juicy these are!

Cooking Japchae

Marinate beef ~20 minutes – Place the beef with the marinade ingredients into a bowl and toss to combine. Then just set aside while you prepare and cook everything else, so it ends up marinating for around 20 minutes. It doesn’t need to be marinated for long because the beef strips are so thin, though it wouldn’t hurt to leave overnight.
Mix the sauce ingredients in a very big bowl. We are going to be tossing the whole batch of Japchae in this bowl so I really mean it when I say make it a big one!
Cook the Japchae noodles per packet directions. Mine says 8 minutes in boiling water.
Noodles on sauce – Drain, rinse briefly under tap water, shake off excess water well then place in the bowl with the sauce. Do not mix – just leave it there.

Vegetables Batch 1 – Cook the onion, mushrooms and white part of green onions first, until the mushrooms just start to soft. Then transfer into the noodle bowl.
Vegetables batch 2 – Next, cook the carrot and capsicum/bell pepper first, until they are just cooked but still have a soft bite to them. ie “tender crisp”. Soggy floppy overcooked vegetables is unacceptable! 😂 Then add the spinach and the green part of the green onions and toss for a minute just until the spinach is wilted. Then transfer into the noodle bowl.
Cook beef – Lastly, cook the beef! Cook it on high heat just until you no longer see red – with a strong stove and good pan it should be barely 90 seconds. Hopefully in this time you’ll get a bit of browning in some patches too. Then add it into the bowl.
Toss! Add the sesame seeds, and now it’s time to toss! You used a giant bowl right, like I said to right at the start?? If you didn’t, you’ll start to cry (or swear) right about now.
Toss, toss, toss, until the sauce is evenly distributed. Check by looking at the colour of the noodles – the sauce stains the glassy noodles a brown colour.
Then tumble it all into a bowl, finish with a sprinkle of sesame seeds and serve!

YUM. That sauce is everything! I really like that it’s not as sweet as the Japchae sauce you get at some Korean restaurants which I find a little too sweet.

This is a big batch recipe so it’s an excellent one for taking leftovers to work. It will keep for 3 days in the fridge. Just lightly warm it – or serve hot if you want. Though honestly, it’s also very good at room temperature too! – Nagi x

Watch how to make it

Japchae – Korean Noodles

Recipe video above. Sort of a stir fry, sort of a noodle salad, this big, colourful Korean noodle dish is tossed together in a bowl rather than on the stove and served barely warm. Made with chewy, slippery sweet potato noodles (dangmyeon) which are available in large grocery stores, though can be substitute with glass noodles (bean thread noodles) or vermicelli noodles in a pinch.

Makes a big batch – leftovers make for a terrific lunch!

Course Lunch, Mains

Cuisine Korean

Keyword japchae, korean glass noodles

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 15

Servings

Calories 504cal

Author Nagi

Ingredients

Choose beef option (Note 1):

600g/1.2lb bone-in beef short ribs *RECOMMENDED* (300g/10oz boneless)
300g/10 oz boneless beef short ribs *RECOMMENDED*
300g/10oz scotch fillet / boneless rib eye or other steak, recommend tenderising (Note 1)

Beef marinade:

2 tsp soy sauce , all-purpose or light soy (Note 2)
2 tsp white sugar
2 tsp finely minced garlic
1/2 tsp black pepper

Noodle dressing:

1/4 cup soy sauce , all-purpose or light soy (Note 2)
2 tsp white sugar
1/2 tsp finely minced garlic
1 1/2 tbsp sesame oil
1/2 tsp cooking/kosher salt
1/2 tsp black pepper

Noodles & vegetables:

250g/ 8oz sweet potato noodles (dangmyeon), dried (Note 3)
4 tbsp vegetable oil (or other plain oil)
1 tsp cooking/kosher salt , divided
1 onion , peeled, halved, sliced into 6mm/1/4″ wedges
3 green onion stems , cut into 5cm / 2″ lengths, white & green parts separated
200g/7oz fresh shiitake mushrooms , stem removed, cut into 5mm/1/5″ slices (Note 4)
2 carrots , peeled, cut into 3mm / 1/8" batons
1 red capsicum/bell pepper , cut into 0.5cm / 1/5″ slices
4 1/2 cups (tightly packed) baby spinach
2 tbsp white sesame seeds

Cups – Metric

Instructions

Quick beef marinade:

Cut beef into strips that are ~ 5mm thick, 1cm wide and about 5cm long (1/5" x 2/5" x 2"). If using shortribs, trim excess fat, cut the meat off the bone. Then cut each piece in half lengthwise (to form 2 "steaks") then slice into 5mm thick. (See step photos in post or video at 0.11s, Note 6)
Marinate – Put beef in a bowl. Add marinade ingredients, then mix. Set aside marinate while you proceed with recipe, ~15 – 20 minutes is all it needs. (Note 5)

Sauce and noodles:

Sauce – Mix the Sauce ingredients in a very large mixing bowl.
Noodles – Cook sweet potato noodles per packet directions (normally 8 min in boiling water). Drain, briefly rinse under tap water then shake off excess water well. Add noodles into the bowl with the dressing. DO NOT MIX.

Vegetables:

Batch 1 – Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a large non-stick pan (30cm/12") over high heat. Cook the brown onion, white part of green onion and shiitake mushrooms with 1/2 tsp salt for 2 1/2 to 3 minutes, stirring constantly, just until starting to soften but not going golden. Pour on top of the noodles – don't mix yet!
Batch 2 – Using the same pan still on high heat, heat 1 tbsp oil then cook the carrot and capsicum for 1 1/2 minutes, constantly stirring. Add spinach, green onion and the final 1/2 tsp salt. Keep cooking for 1 1/2 minutes until the spinach is wilted. Transfer into the noodle bowl – still don't mix!
Cook beef – In the same pan, heat the final 1 tbsp of oil still on high heat. Add beef and cook for 1 1/2 minutes until very lightly golden and just cooked through. Add to the noodle bowl. Don't mix!
Mix! Add most of the sesame seeds (reserve some for topping). NOW you can mix! Toss, toss, toss.
Serve – Transfer into a serving bowl, sprinkle with remaining sesame seeds. This is meant to be eaten warm, not piping hot. Eat!

Notes

1. Beef quality matters here because the strips of beef are so thin they will overcook in a flash.

Beef short ribs when sliced thinly is excellent for fast-cook stir frying – superior flavour, juicy and tender. Only needs to be slow cooked to “fall-apart-tender” when it’s served whole!

Next best option in my opinion is scotch fillet/boneless rib eye.

Other steak cuts – rump, porterhouse/t-bone, sirloin/strip etc will work but if using economical cuts, consider tenderising them before using in the recipe so they are soft and tender to eat using the Asian “velveting” technique – read about this here. To do this, slice per recipe, toss with 3/4 tsp baking soda (bi-carb), set aside for 20 minutes. Rinse in colander, pat dry, then marinate per recipe.

2. Soy sauce – Use all purpose or a light soy sauce. Not dark soy sauce, colour and flavour is too intense.

3. Korean noodles that are sweet potato noodles called “dangmyeon” sold in dried form that looks a bit clear, like glass noodles. Sold in the Asian aisle of large grocery stores here in Australia, cheaper in Asian stores. Cooked by boiling – follow packet times.

Substitute with glass noodles (“bean thread noodles”) or vermicelli noodles. Or any other very thin noodles.

4. Shiitake mushrooms – Asian mushrooms with a more intense mushroomy flavour than standard white mushrooms, brown/cremini mushrooms (though feel free to sub!).

5. Marinating – No need to marinate overnight though you can.

6. Beef cutting – Aim for thin strips so you get plenty dispersed throughout the noodles.

7. Leftovers make great lunch! Keeps for 3 days in the fridge. Not suitable for freezing.

Nutrition per serving, assuming 5 servings.

Nutrition

Life of Dozer

I can feel him heavy breathing on my feet. 🙄 Also, don’t miss Dozer’s cameo in today’s recipe video – at 0:36!

The post Japchae – Korean noodles appeared first on RecipeTin Eats.

Beef chow mein – great mince/ground beef recipe!

Nagi — Mon, 03 Jul 2023 06:00:00 +0000

Here’s a great beef mince recipe for you that’s quick to make, economical and full of hidden vegetables so it’s a complete meal – Beef Chow Mein! It’s the beef version of everybody’s favourite Chicken Chow Mein, made with the convenience of ground beef.

Beef chow mein

Here’s something new to try with that packet of beef mince you throw into your shopping cart every week! The beef is stir fried with chow mein sauce until it’s beautifully caramelised then tossed in a tangle of noodles and vegetables.

A neat trick in today’s recipe is to scramble up an egg with the beef. It makes the beef bits stick to the noodles better, with the added bonus of upping the protein.

Another bonus: chow mein actually has a vast amount of noodle-shaped vegetables hidden in the noodles. A carrot, 2 heaped cups of cabbage and a heaped cup of bean sprouts. That’s a good veg serving for a meal!

What you need

Here’s what you need to make this:

Noodles & add-ins

Noodles – Chow mein noodles are sort of dry and crinkly, rather than oily and straight like hokkien noodles, lo mein noodles. But this dish can really be made with any noodles – or even spaghetti (yes really, who’s going to know once tossed in chow mein sauce??). Use the same weight.
Garlic – Rarely do Asian stir fries happen without garlic, and this one is no exception!
Beef mince – That’s ground beef to Americans. Any fat % is fine here though lean beef won’t caramelise quite as well.
Other proteins – Any other mince will work just fine here. Chicken, pork, turkey, even lamb! Though bear in mind the sauce is quite intense flavoured to suit the beefy flavour of beef, so you won’t taste the flavour of white meats through the sauce.
Egg – We use this to scramble into the beef. Neat trick to make the beef stick to the noodles better with the added bonus of a free protein boost!
Green cabbage – Or Chinese cabbage. Finely sliced so it disappears into the tangle of noodles.
Bean sprouts – Excellent grab-and-throw-in vegetable option! STORAGE TIP: Keep bean sprouts in water in an airtight container. Change the water every couple of days. This will increase the shelf life of beansprouts 3x.
Carrot – Cut into thin batons. More noodle shaped vegetables so it all jumbles up together!
Green onion – We use 3 whole stems here. They are the onion in this dish, as well as some fresh green colour.

Chow Mein Sauce

The combination of sauces used in Chow Mein is common in Chinese dishes.

Soy sauces – We’re using both light and dark soy sauce in this recipe. What’s the difference? Dark soy stains the noodles a lovely warm mahogany colour as well as adding soy flavour. Light soy sauce provides the salt without overwhelming with soy flavour, and does not stain the rice.
Substitutions -You can use only light soy sauce or just an all-purpose soy sauce (ie bottle just labelled “soy sauce” without “light” or “dark” in front of it) instead of dark soy sauce. But you cannot use only dark soy sauce as the flavour is too strong! More on different types of soy sauces here.
Oyster sauce – A load of flavour, all in one sauce! It’s sweet and savoury and adds a neat flavour shortcut in dishes. Makes a regular appearance in Asian dishes, from Pad See Ew to Asian Glazed Salmon to Honey Pepper Beef to Supreme Soy Noodles. And Steamed Asian Greens with Oyster Sauce!
Vegetarian oyster sauce is available these days, at Asian stores and some large grocery stores (Australia – there’s Ayam vegetarian oyster sauce at Woolies). Otherwise, hoisin is a good alternative. Slightly different flavour profile (hint of Chinese five spice) but similar savoury / sweetness.
Chinese cooking wine (Shaoxing wine) is an essential ingredient for making truly “restaurant tasting” Chinese dishes. Without it, the dish will be lacking something. Substitute with Mirin, cooking sake or dry sherry.
Non alcoholic sub – sub both the cooking wine and water with low sodium chicken broth/stock.
Cornflour / cornstarch (left out of photo – oops!) – For thickening the sauce so it clings to the noodles. It also makes the sauce lovely and glossy.
White pepper and sugar – For seasoning.

How to make Beef Chow Mein

Be sure to cook the beef well once you add the sauce to get it really nicely caramelised, for a free flavour boost!

1. Sauce & thickener

Sauce – Mix the soy sauces, oyster sauce, Chinese cooking wine, sugar and pepper in a small bowl. We’re going to use some to flavour the beef, then we will mix the rest with the sauce thickener (next step) to make the noodle sauce.
Sauce thickener (cornflour slurry) – Mix the cornflour / cornstarch and water in a separate small bowl. This is what thickens the sauce so it coats the noodles, as well as making it shiny and glossy.

2. Making the stir fried noodles

Prepare the noodles per the packet directions then drain. I usually get the water boiling while I’m prepping the vegetables then cook the noodles when I start cooking. The chow mein noodles I get just call for soaking in hot water for 3 minutes. Some brands need to be boiled.
Caramelise beef – Using a large non-stick pan, cook the garlic first to flavour the oil. Then cook the beef, breaking it up as you go, until you can no longer see raw beef.
Then add the white part of the green onions and 1 1/2 tablespoons of the Sauce. We add the white part of the green onions first as it takes longer than the green part. Cook for another 2 minutes to get the beef nicely caramelised.

Finish sauce – Meanwhile, mix the cornflour slurry into the remaining sauce.
Scramble egg – Add the egg into the pan then mix it through the beef, it will sort of scramble into the mixture. This is what makes beef stick to the noodles better!
Keep cooking! – When the egg is mostly cooked, add the carrot and cabbage. Cook for 1 minute until cabbage starts to wilt.
Sauce & noodles – Give the sauce a quick mix. Add the bean sprouts, noodles and sauce into the pan. Toss well for 1 minute or until sauce is dispersed through the noodles. Add green part of green onions. Toss for another 1 minute, then serve!

So there you go! Stir fried noodles for dinner, relatively low effort and quick to make. Great way to get a noodle fix, very economical, and highly versatile – switch out the vegetables and proteins with what you’ve got or what you love.

Enjoy! – Nagi x

Watch how to make it

Beef Chow Mein – great beef mince noodle recipe!

Recipe video above. The beef mince version of everybody's favourite Chicken Chow Mein – great way to cook up ground beef with noodles. Economical and no meat chopping required, with plenty of hidden vegetables so it's a complete dinner!

Scrambling up an egg with the beef is a neat trick to make the beef cling to the noodles better.

Course Mains

Cuisine Asian, Chinese

Keyword beef mince recipe, beef noodles, Chow Mein, ground beef stir fry

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 10

Servings

Calories 664cal

Author Nagi

Ingredients

Chow Mein:

200g/ 7 oz chow mein noodles , or other thin yellow egg noodles or 3 ramen cakes (Note 1)
1 1/2 tbsp canola oil
2 garlic cloves , finely minced
200g/ 7 oz beef mince / ground beef (any fat %)
3 green onion stems , cut into 5cm/2″ lengths, white and green parts separated
1 egg
2 cups green cabbage , finely sliced (or Chinese cabbage)
1 carrot , peeled, cut into thin batons
1 heaped cups bean sprouts (~ 75g / 2 1/2 oz) (Note 5 – storage tip)

Chow Mein Sauce:

1 1/2 tbsp light soy sauce or all-purpose soy sauce (Note 2)
1 1/2 tsp dark soy sauce (Note 2)
1 1/2 tbsp oyster sauce (Note 3)
1 1/2 tbsp Chinese cooking wine (Shaoxing) (Note 4)
1 1/2 tsp white sugar
Pinch white pepper

Sauce thickener:

1 1/2 tsp cornflour / cornstarch
3 tbsp water

Cups – Metric

Instructions

Sauce – Mix ingredients in a small bowl then set aside. Some is used to flavour the beef, then the rest for the noodles.
Sauce thickener (cornflour slurry) – Mix the cornflour / cornstarch and water in a separate small bowl.
Prepare noodles per packet directions then drain.
Cook beef – Heat the oil in a large non-stick pan over high heat. Cook garlic for 10 seconds, then add the beef and cook until you can no longer see pink. Add 1 1/2 tablespoons of the Sauce and the white part of the green onions. Cook for another 2 minutes to get the beef nicely caramelised.
Finish sauce – Mix the cornflour slurry into the remaining sauce.
Egg – Add the egg into the pan then mix it through the beef, it will sort of scramble. Egg makes the beef stick to the noodles better!
Cabbage & carrot – When the egg is mostly cooked, add the carrot and cabbage. Cook for 1 minute until cabbage starts to wilt.
Sauce & noodles – Give the sauce a quick mix. Add the bean sprouts, noodles and sauce into the pan. Toss well for 1 minute or until sauce is dispersed through the noodles. Add green part of green onions. Toss for another 1 minute.
Serve – Divide between bowls and serve!

Notes

1. Noodles – Chow mein noodles are sort of dry and crinkly, rather than oily and straight like hokkien noodles, lo mein noodles. But this dish can really be made with any noodles – or even spaghetti (yes really, who’s going to know once tossed in chow mein sauce??). Use the same weight.

2. Soy sauce – Light soy sauce and all-purpose soy sauce add salt but doesn’t add much soy flavour or colour. The dark soy sauce stains the noodles a brown colour and adds soy flavour. It’s intense so you don’t need much!

3. Oyster sauce – Sweet and savoury, adds depth of flavour to an otherwise simple sauce. Sub with vegetarian oyster sauce (available in some large grocery stores and Asian stores these days) or Hoisin (different flavour with hint of five spice but similar savouriness and sauce thickness).

4. Chinese cooking wine (“Shaoxing wine”) is an essential ingredient for making truly “restaurant standard” Asian noodles. Substitute with Mirin, cooking sake or dry sherry.

Non alcoholic sub – sub both the cooking wine AND water with low sodium chicken broth/stock.

5. Keep beansprouts submerged in water in an airtight container in the fridge. Change the water every couple of days. This will extend the shelf life 3x. Also, here in Australia, bean sprouts at Asian stores are much better quality than ordinary grocery stores!

6. Leftovers will keep for 3 to 4 days in the fridge. Will freeze fine but not ideal – noodles get a little soft.

Nutrition per serving. Serves 2 very generously – more like 2 1/2 servings. 🙂

Nutrition

My noodle life

Chow Mein

Lo Mein Noodles

Chinese Crispy Noodles (Chow Mein)

Chicken Stir Fry with Rice Noodles

Singapore Noodles

Thai Drunken Noodles (Pad Kee Mao)

Supreme Soy Noodles (NEW recipe – finally!)

Noodles

Life of Dozer

Visited our old stomping ground on the weekend – Bayview dog beach! Plenty of Dozer smiles that morning. 🥰

The post Beef chow mein – great mince/ground beef recipe! appeared first on RecipeTin Eats.