There’s a good chance that you’ve had Chinese egg noodles if you’ve ever ordered a noodle dish from a Chinese restaurant. Chinese egg noodles are made of wheat and eggs and come in a variety of cuts, including (1) very thin and narrowly cut noodles that are used in Hong Kong or Cantonese-style wonton noodle soup, (2) slightly thicker and wider cut wonton noodles, and (3) an even thicker but narrowly cut noodle that is frequently used for chow mein or other stir-fried noodle dishes.
When you chew egg noodles, which are made of flour and water, they have a springier texture compared to plain noodles. The eggs’ protein content is what gives them their springy texture. Egg noodles are also great for stir fries because they don’t become mushy easily.
Mama Lin’s neighbor makes great Chinese-style egg noodles. The neighbor will deliver a batch of freshly made egg noodles to my mother once every few weeks. The last time I saw Mama Lin, I had a chance to try the egg noodles, and I thought they were excellent. So I requested my mother get the recipe from her neighbor and give it to me.
The recipe was extremely simple, written in the manner of an Asian mother: just a few sentences describing the ingredients and how to make the dough. I have created a more streamlined recipe with comprehensive instructions for making these Chinese egg noodles at home after testing the recipe several times.
Are These Specifically Chow Mein Noodles?
Chow mein noodles are the final product, but this is really just a base for any Asian noodle made with wheat. These homemade Asian noodles, which form the basis of chow mein, are, in my opinion. The method of cooking will determine how these Chow Mein noodles turn out.
There are essentially only two methods for making chow mein noodles, as we covered in our definition post. Both involve deep fat frying and one involves boiling and stir frying.
Chinese Egg Noodles: Recipe Instructions
In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the flour and salt. To create a shaggy dough, combine the water and eggs.
Start the mixer with the dough hook attachment and knead the dough for 10 minutes. Be patient and allow the dough to slowly come together. For a total of 15 minutes of hand-kneading, add 5 more minutes.
Cover the dough and allow to rest for 30 minutes. After the dough has rested, you’ll notice that it is softer and more malleable.
Divide the dough in half. Set one half aside, covered.
To roll by hand, follow instructions here. Flatten the dough half into a thin rectangle that is between 12 and 34 inch (about 1-2 cm) thick before rolling it with a pasta roller.
Feed the dough through the pasta roller while it is set to the thickest setting, being careful to guide it straight to prevent it from going crooked or getting caught in the roller’s sides.
Keep passing the dough through the roller once at each setting, thinning it out by one setting each time.
To make the dough less bulky and challenging to handle once you’ve completed half of the settings, you might want to cut it in half. When my dough had reached the second-to-thinnest stage, I cut it.
It was getting pretty long, as you can see in the picture below!
Flour the dough sheet completely on both sides once it is thin enough that you can see your hand through it.
Then run it through your desired noodle cutting setting.
The first batch was fairly thinly cut, but wide egg noodles could also be made. Noodle soups benefit more from thinner noodles, while stir-fries benefit more from wider noodles.
To stop the noodles from sticking to one another, toss them in more flour. You may have noticed that a few of the noodles weren’t completely cut through. Because the noodles are elastic and stretchable, you can pull them apart to separate them.
Repeat with the other half of the dough. This recipe makes four portions.
Bring a sizable pot of water to a boil in order to prepare the noodles. To prevent the noodles from clumping together, add them and stir them right away.
They can now be added to your preferred sauce, noodle soup, or stir-fry after being immediately drained.
If you aren’t planning on eating all four portions of noodles at once, you can freeze the leftovers. Simply toss them thoroughly in flour, and transfer them to an airtight freezer bag. We love these reusable bags.
The noodles will stick together if they are compressed in the freezer (don’t stack anything on top of them).
To cook, add them straight into boiling water frozen. Do not thaw beforehand, or they may stick together. The frozen noodles will emerge from the freezer bag as a single large block, but once they contact the boiling water, they will quickly separate. Stirring and separating the strands should be done with a pair of chopsticks.
It’s best to keep the dough and roll it out freshly if storing in the refrigerator. The refrigerated dough must be used within 1 day.
With my serving of these delicious noodles, I did something fairly simple.
Here’s exactly what I did:
I sprinkled chopped scallions (about 1 tbsp), garlic, and chili (half of a Thai bird chili) on top, then drizzled a few tablespoons of hot oil over the aromatics to make them sizzle and release their flavors. Following that, I added 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil, 1 teaspoon black vinegar, and 2 teaspoons soy sauce. I mixed it up, and HOOVERED it. It was SO DELICIOUS.
Here are some more recipes you can make with these noodles, trust me, they’re worth it:
Wait. Chow Mein Noodles with No Chow Mein Recipe?
Yes, I will, but I’ll only prepare a very simple stir-fry sauce without any meats. Just a small amount of previously stir-fried bok choy is being added before I stir-fry these noodles. We are just focusing on making noodles today.
To learn more about the complete deal on the remaining items, check back or subscribe. Try new things and savor delicious, fresh Asian noodles by using the recipe in the video or simply eating them by themselves.
FAQ
How are chow mein noodles made?
In order to prepare chow mein noodles, you must use a small amount of oil in a very hot wok to quickly stir-fry the ingredients. Instead of being fried, the noodles in lo mein are simply mixed and tossed with the other ingredients.
What noodle is used for chow mein?
Chinese egg noodles, which are wheat flour noodles with added egg, are used to make both lo mein and chow mein. For lo mein, use fresh egg noodles that are ideally 1/4-inch thick; for chow mein, use either fresh or dried egg noodles. In either case, the noodles must be cooked with boiling water to soften them.
Can I use normal noodles for chow mein?
The following are the ingredients you’ll need to make homemade Chow Mein: Chow Mein Noodles – You’ll need about a half pound of chow mein noodles, but if you don’t have any on hand, you can substitute thin spaghetti.
What can I use if I don’t have chow mein noodles?
What are these? You can probably find them sold as “lo mein noodles” or even “chow mein noodles” if you live close to a good Asian grocery store. However, if you don’t, using linguine or regular Italian spaghetti noodles is a great alternative.
