I’ve always preferred dry noodles – tossed in a sauce or pan fried – to soup noodles.  That’s not to say I don’t like noodles in soup, but given a choice, I’d choose soupless noodles.  I find dry noodles so much more tasty because they really absorb the flavours of the ingredients and sauces that you add.

This is an easy and super delicious stir-fried noodle dish that cooks in no time.  It’s my go-to noodle recipe when I want something quick, or when I want to use up leftover meat and vegetables.  I’ve actually never measured any of the ingredients (until I was preparing to write this post).  The seasonings, like light and dark soy sauces, sesame oil and oyster sauce are all Chinese pantry essentials that I always have on hand.  I like to marinate the chicken first before cooking, which gives it more flavour. But if you want to skip this step, you can just use unseasoned chicken.

You can make so many variations on these noodles.  I’ve added prawns before, substituted pork for chicken, and have also used cabbage, carrots, bean sprouts, onions, spinach and chives at one time or another.  And when I don’t want to make a special trip to an Asian supermarket to buy the noodles, guess what I use?  Spaghetti!!  Who would’ve thought of cooking spaghetti this way?!  But it works!

I’ve cooked these noodles countless times over the years. I’ve made this for colleagues, friends and loved ones, and each time, they’ve told me how delicious it was!  It always surprises me how such a simple, humble dish like this never fails to impress!

SOY SAUCE STIR-FRIED NOODLES (Serves 4 as a main dish)

Ingredients:

140g chicken, sliced and marinated**
600g cooked Shanghai noodles (or substitute with udon noodles or 250g dry weight of spaghetti, cooked)
4 tablespoons coconut oil (or use oil of your choice)
3 cloves garlic, chopped finely
1-inch (2.5 cm) piece ginger, grated or chopped finely
4 large white mushrooms, sliced (or use any type of mushrooms)
1 stalk green onion, cut into 3-inch (7.5 cm) pieces
100g (2 cups, packed) baby kale (or spinach or any leafy greens)
2 tablespoons light soy sauce
1 tablespoon thick/dark soy sauce
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon chili garlic sauce (I used this but you can use other brands)
1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste

**Chicken marinade:

1 teaspoon sesame oil
1/2 tablespoon light soy sauce
1/2 tablespoon oyster sauce
1/4 teaspoon chicken/vegetable bouillon powder (or substitute with salt)
1 teaspoon cornstarch
pinch of pepper

Directions:

1. Marinate the chicken with the marinade ingredients, ideally for at least 2 hours.

2. Heat oil in a large saute pan or wok over medium high heat. Saute garlic and ginger until fragrant.

3. Add in chicken and fry until almost done.

4. Add mushrooms and green onions and cook 2 to 3 minutes until mushrooms are tender.

5. Add cooked noodles, stir to mix well.

6. Add light and dark soy sauces, oyster sauce, sesame oil and chili sauce. Mix well, until the noodles are a uniform brown colour.

7. Add in kale and salt to taste.

8. Continue to stir fry noodles for another 3 to 4 minutes, or until kale has wilted.