Shanghai noodles are thick and chewy.  At Chinese restaurants, they are usually darkly coloured and stir fried with thin strips of pork and cabbage.  Since the noodles are so thick, they don’t tend to be as flavourful as they appear.  That’s why I like eating this dish with Chinese red vinegar.  I don’t know if anyone else does this, but I find that the red vinegar adds flavour, helps to cut the oil, and makes the dish feel less heavy.  Try serving these noodles alongside sticky rice rolls (recipe here).

Stir Fried Shanghai Noodles Recipe

1 pound of fresh thick cut, Shanghai noodles (Note:  These are not made with egg and can be found in the refrigerator of Asian grocery stores.  For this dish, I highly recommend using fresh noodles instead of dried noodles.)

2 cups, packed, of green cabbage that has been sliced thinly into 2 inch long pieces that are 1/4 inch wide

1 cup, lightly packed, of pork tenderloin that has been sliced into thin strips (Note:  Put the meat in the freezer for about 30 minutes as this will make the meat easier to cut thinly.  Slice the tenderloin thinly and then cut the slices into thin strips.)

3 tbsp dark soy sauce (Note:  Depending on the brand, dark soy sauce varies in the colour and salt content, so adjust this to taste and colour of the noodles.  I like using Lee Kum Kee’s mushroom flavoured dark soy sauce for this dish because it is a thicker dark soy sauce and I feel that it adds depth to the otherwise simple flavour of this dish.)

1/2 tbsp sesame oil

ground white pepper

shaoxing wine (optional)

vegetable oil

red vinegar (optional for serving)

Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil over high heat.  Add the fresh noodles and cook uncovered, stirring occasionally with a pair of chopsticks, until a soft and slightly chewy texture has been achieved.  When the water returns to a rolling boil, after you first drop your noodles into the water, it will not take much longer to cook the noodles through.  It will take approximately 5 minutes in total, but follow the guidelines on the packaging of your noodles.  Do not overcook the noodles or they will be sticky and soggy.  Meanwhile, when the water comes back to a rolling boil, start to heat up your wok over medium high heat.  When the wok is very hot, but not burnt, coat the bottom of the wok with vegetable oil.  Move very quickly to swirl the oil to coat the bottom half of the wok and add the cabbage.  Immediately stir it continuously until tender but still crisp, up to 2 minutes.  Add a splash of shaoxing wine and add the pork. Stir frequently until the pork is just cooked through, about 1 minute.  Then add the soy sauce and a few dashes of ground white pepper.  Work very quickly to add the hot, well-drained noodles to the wok and stir vigorously to distribute the dark colour evenly throughout the noodles.  Then turn off the heat, add salt to taste, stir in the sesame oil, dish out and serve with red vinegar on the side (optional).  Enjoy immediately.