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. 

VIDEO LINK: https://youtu.be/LzWhaXihAPA?si=D9kiZTD20XEoz8nN

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)

• 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. Remove the oil after frying.

3. Add 1 tablespoon of oil to the pan and fry the minced garlic till fragrant. Add the carrot, red pepper & mushroom strips and stir fry the vegetables for a couple of minutes.

4. Add the gravy and bring it to a boil. Simmer the vegetables in the gravy for 5 minutes.

5. Mix 1 tablespoon of cornflour in 1 tablespoon of water and add to the gravy to thicken it.

6. Pour vegetables & gravy over the crispy noodles.