Soy Sauce Fried Noodles aka Chow Mein | Hong Kong Food Blog with Recipes, Cooking Tips mostly of Chinese and Asian styles | Taste Hong Kong

Soy Sauce Fried Noodles aka Chow Mein

Soy Sauce Fried Noodles aka Chow Mein 豉油王炒麵

I always want to bundle a wish with the order for this dish. It may not be a friendly request because the bean sprouts, which I greedily desire more, often appear as if they were there only for adorning the noodles.

But that is the way how this common, classic dish is cooked here in Hong Kong. Egg noodles are fried together with a small bunch of bean sprouts, chives, and more importantly premium soy sauces. That explains why its Chinese name is called 豉油王炒麵, literally ‘Soy Sauce King Chow Mein’.

In my kitchen, as always, I have roughly doubled the amount of bean sprouts. The end result is having bites of noodles with a little more crunchiness and sweetness.

I also like the garlic flavor from the chives. However, you may skip it for a lighter taste or simply replaced them by a few cloves of garlic, crushed, for the aroma, and some garnishing green onions (scallion), sliced, for the color. Have fun with your variations to whip up this simple and quick vegetarian dish!

Light Soy Sauce, Dark Soy Sauce and Bean Sprouts
Dried Egg Noodles

  • Ingredients
  • 2 patties of dried egg noodles, ~100g
  • 2 cups bean sprouts, ~100g
  • 6 sprigs chives
  • 1 1/2 tbsp cooking oil
  • 1/2 tsp cooking wine
  • 1/8 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp roasted white sesame seeds
  • Serving: side dish for 2; main dish for 1
  • Sauce
  • 1 tsp light soy sauce
  • 1 tsp dark soy sauce
  • 1 tsp oyster sauce
  • 1/4 tsp salt, or to taste
  • 1/4 tsp sugar
  • 1/2 tsp sesame oil
  • 2 tbsp water

Soy Sauce Fried Noodles aka Chow Mein

Method

Cook and loosen the dried noodles in a pot of boiling water until just cooked. The instructions on the packet suggested boiling noodles for 2 minutes; I removed them a little bit earlier to have them slightly under-cooked.

When done, immediately drain noodles in a colander and run them under cold water. Drain dry.

Wash bean sprouts and chives and drain dry. Cut chives into similar length of sprouts. Mix well ingredients for making sauce, set aside.

Heat half table spoon of oil in wok over medium heat, sauté chives until fragrant, toss in bean sprouts. Quickly turn and stir, at the same time, splash in wine on side of wok near sprouts and sprinkle salt while stirring continuously, completing the whole step in half to one minute.

Dish up bean sprouts before they get wilted, or water will start to leach from them.

Add one table spoon of oil in wok, toss in noodles. Stir them constantly to minimize their lumping together or sticking to wok (add some more oil if required). Swirl in sauce, and stir well with noodles. Then, return bean sprouts and chives to wok. With the sauce, the noodles may stick to wok easier, so keep turning quickly, about half minute, until done.

Dish up, sprinkle sesame seeds on top. Serve hot with your preferred chili sauce if you like a hint of spiciness.

Enjoy!

Soy Sauce Fried Noodles aka Chow Mein

Note:
If you use fresh egg noodles, briefly blanch them in hot water to soften a bit and to remove the starchy coating, if any. Whichever type is used, do not over-boil them, otherwise they will break easily while being stir-fried.

It is important to drain excess water from the noodles. Wet noodles easily lump together and are not good for stir-frying.


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Comments

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  1. Smoky Wok (Jen)

    I can eat chow mein anytime and I would love to try yours 😀 Totally drooling at your chow mein now haha

  2. The Missing Lokness

    I have always love this noodles. When my parents were eating congee, I would be eating the chow mein. I can’t wait to make this!!! Thank you for the recipe!

  3. Jean from modernchinatable.com

    OMG. I do need that noodle NOW!!!

  4. Reem | Simply Reem

    I am droooooollllliiiiiiinnnnngggggggggggggggggggg………….
    God this looks absolutely fabulous, I love chowmein and I can eat this right now…..

  5. lena

    yes, there would be lots of beansprouts for me too! i can see that the noodles that you used here is really thin..i like that!

  6. penny aka jeroxie

    ohh…! I love chow mein. So good as breakfast. 🙂

  7. Yi @ Yi Resevation

    I just love dishes like this that are amazingly delicious yet simple to make. Thanks for sharing.

  8. Lori

    I think I’d like extra bean sprouts too. Such a simple dish that now I’m craving like crazy! 🙂

  9. noobcook

    I ate something like this in HK, so delicious. Your version looks so lovely, making me hungry.

  10. Mai Gek

    What perfect timing. My husband asked me to cook this after we had lunch at a dim sum restaurant. I cooked this on saturday and it was yummy! my husband thought so too and was surprised when I served this for lunch. Thanks for the recipe. My noodles turned out very dark, perhaps i should get the same lee kum kee dark sauce next time i cook this again.

  11. TasteHongKong

    @Mai Gek,
    You are welcome! Just to share with you another dim sum recipe on Lotus Leaf Rice. Hope this also comes in time; enjoy!

  12. TasteHongKong

    @Mai Gek,
    Or, in case you have not yet finished your existing bottle of dark soy sauce, you may half the amount of it and supplement a pinch of salt if required. Have fun cooking!

  13. Juliana

    Love the simplicity of this noddle dish…bean sprouts and oyster sauce…yummie!
    Hope you have a wonderful week ahead 🙂

  14. tigerfish

    A simple dish it might look but needs good-quality seasonings, ingredients and some great skills/experience from a cook like you 🙂

  15. sophia

    oh man…those egg noodles. I forgot how much I love them–chewy and flavorful…I’ve never actually heard of 豉油王炒麵, but it seems easy enough to make at home. I’m totally trying this! I’m going to triple the bean sprouts though. LOVE bean sprouts in noodles.

  16. Mai Gek

    thanks for your suggestions, will try that!

  17. Von

    I never really liked brean sprouts, though I guess I sorta like them when they’re stir fried 🙂 Your chow mein is very photogenic!!

  18. mycookinghut

    I love chow mein! Simple yet yummy!!

  19. Pepy @Indonesia Eats

    Simple chow mein is yummy! I love it!

  20. Angie@Angiesrecipes

    I don’t know how did you manage it…but you have made simple dishes look like they were prepared by the star chefs…

  21. The Missing Lokness

    What kind of cooking wine did you use? Shaoxing wine?

  22. TasteHongKong

    @The Missing Lokness,
    With me, it was Shaoxing wine. You may choose a cooking wine you like as I believe the difference is not that significant (but I’d stick to Shaoxine wine if I were making drunken chicken). The action of splashing wine in Chinese cooking is to make the already heated wok more alive (in Chinese 鑊氣), through which the foods will be flavored more effectively. I know some don’t add wine for reason of simplicity.
    Have fun and enjoy!

  23. Caroline Foo

    Hi

    I will be going to hong kong this weekend and would like to buy the egg noodles so that I can try out this recipe.

    Can you please let me know where I can get the egg noodles in Hong Kong.

    Thank you.

  24. TasteHongKong

    @Caroline Foo,
    You may find dried egg noodles in almost all supermarkets here in H.K. Have fun!

  25. Barbara

    Could you give the brand name of the seasonings and Sauces you use? Like Dark Soy and Soy Sauces. I’m also looking for the recipe for Pork Lo Mein, could you help me out. The restaurant I go to won’t share. 🙁 I just really need to know the amounts and ingredients for the sauce. Thanks 🙂 🙂

  26. TasteHongKong

    @Barbara,
    For the light soy sauce I used, it is Kikkoman; for dark soy sauce, Lee Kam Kee.
    I’d love to share the recipe with you if I’ve got what you desired. But I doubt mine would be the same as the restaurant, anyway, I’ll see if I could share my version one day.

  27. Barbara

    Thanks for the reply, and hope to see your recipe for Pork LO Mein someday!!! 🙂 🙂 🙂

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  29. Vivian N.

    Hi! Could someone suggest a good brand of noodles to use for this recipe? Thanks.

  30. TasteHongKong

    Vivian N,
    As far as I could remember, the one I used here was brand Sau Tao 壽桃牌.

  31. Camilla

    Hi, I’m loving your site and the next time I’m making a Chinese meal I’m going to try these noodles. I have just started a blog at Fabfood4all.co.uk if you’d like to visit sometime?

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  34. Omega

    Thank you so very much for this.thank thank you thank you

  35. TasteHongKong

    @Omega,
    Enjoy, enjoy!

  36. Myrna

    I love lots of bean sprouts in my noodles as well! WIsh they would do that at the restaurants. Great recipe. Thanks for sharing.

  37. TasteHongKong

    @Myrna,
    That is why I love making this at home, feeling free to add bean sprouts to taste.
    Thanks and enjoy!

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  39. Lucie

    I’m surprised you are not using “toasted sesame seed oil” when I want to give an Asian taste to my cooking that’s the one I use!

  40. Lucie

    Sorry I just saw you are using it in the sauce!

  41. Andrea

    I love this recipe!!! It also tastes great if you add some walnuts to it as well!!!

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  43. Munchkin

    I tries this today, my kids loved it! It was yummy!!! Thanks for the recipe.

  44. TasteHongKong

    @Munchkin,
    You are welcome! Thanks for telling me that your kids loved this, happy.

  45. Sasha

    I love soy sauce chowmein! I will try this recipe soon! Is cooking wine required? Will the noodles lack flavor without it?

  46. TasteHongKong

    @Sasha,
    Yes, I cook this without any wine, but the taste to me is sufficient.

  47. Meimi132

    Yesssssssss this has worked the best so far. Adding water to the sauce mix is something I’ve not done before, and rinsing the noodles in cold water and letting them dry, also new to me. Works SO much better. Glad I found this page :DD Now to browse moar…

  48. Juana

    Yummmy! It was very simple to make and delicious! Thanks for sharing the recipe 🙂

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  50. Alina

    I’ve made 4 times as much sauce since it wasnt enough for me 🙂 Delicious!!!!! Loved the flavor and the crispy bean sprouts!

  51. TasteHongKong

    @Alina,
    You’re right. Hardly feel enough, always.

  52. donna mikasa

    Thank you for sharing this! A friend just brought back a box of these noodles from Hong Kong and I wasn’t sure how to cook them. The recipe sounds delicious, too!

  53. Bruce Wong

    Thanks for sharing this!

    I gave it a go and it was fantastic. I added one further ingredient to give it a bit of a kick in flavouring. Ginger, which is used in a lot of Cantonese Style cooking especially with the shallots or chives.

    Easy to prepare and was a great recipe to follow.