There was a noodle factory in my hometown, which is only 5 minute walk from my house, so I grew up with fresh rice noodles, which are 10 times better than the dry form. In the USA, I only have access to dried rice noodles. By using this hot water soaking method, the mi fun comes out very close to fresh quality. They maintain a chewy texture, and they don’t break as much while stir-frying.

INGREDIENTS:

To marinate the pork

• 200 grams of pork, cut into strips
• 1 tbsp of soy sauce
• 1 tsp of dark soy sauce
• 1/4 tsp of baking soda
• 1.5 tsp of cornstarch

To season the noodles

• 150 grams of angle hair thin dried rice noodles
• 1 tbsp of soy sauce
• 1 tbsp of oyster sauce
• 1 tsp of dark soy sauce
• 1/2 tsp of five-spice powder
• 1/2 tbsp of lard

Others:

• 2 tbsp of pork lard or cooking oil for stir-frying
• 2 eggs
• 150 grams of mixed julienned vegetables (I used onion, carrot, bean sprouts, and chives)
• Toasted sesame seeds as garnish
• Chili flake to taste, optional

INSTRUCTIONS

Marinade the pork with soy sauce, dark soy sauce, baking soda, and cornstarch, then set aside while prepping other ingredients. The baking soda tenderizes the meat, and the cornstarch prevents the meat from drying while stir-frying, so you get a juice-tender pork. 

Bring a pot of water to a light simmer. Turn off the heat. Soak the angel-hair-thin noodles for 1 minute, then drain thoroughly. Soaking in hot water instead of cold maintains the chewy texture and strength, so the noodles don’t break into short pieces while stir-frying. Note: Thicker noodles take a longer time to soak.

Season the noodles with soy sauce, oyster sauce, dark soy sauce, pork lard to prevent sticking, and five spice powder. Then mix and fluff the noodles until most of the strings are loosened up. Thin noodles like to tangle together. pre-fluffing them makes the string much easier. 

Seasoning the noodles before stir-frying is beginner-friendly because you can take your time to prepare all the sauce to avoid rummaging around. 

Besides the noodles, you will also need some vegetables. Although you can use whatever you have in your fridge, I do like to collect different colors and textures so the dish will come out better. I have got here some onion, julienned carrot, bean sprouts, and chives. 

Crack two eggs into a bowl and beat them well. Turn the heat to high and pre-heat your wok until smoking hot. Then add 1 tbsp of pork lard. Pour in the egg and fry for 30 seconds. Break the egg into bite-size pieces. Remove to the side. 

Add one more tbsp of lard, then stir the marinaded pork over high heat until the meat has changed color. In my family, chow mei fun has to be cooked with lard. If you don’t like animal fat, you can use vegetable oil.

Add onion and carrot, and stir for a minute then add the rice noodles and the bean sprouts. Keep cooking and fluffing the noodles until you smell a toasty rice fragrance.

Every string needs to be thoroughly loosened up so it can be cooked evenly. By the way, if you are like me, who has wrist pain, you can fluff the noodles with chopsticks or tongs but do not use a spatula or a turner because they either cut off your noodles or compact your noodles. 

The most important tip while stir frying noodles is to have the heat on high, otherwise all the noodles will end up sticking to the bottom. I didn’t even use that much oil, but the wok is completely non-stick. That is the beauty of cooking with a carbon steel wok. The ingredients sear immediately when they touch the hot surface, so they don’t stick. Also, the heat creates a smoky flavor, which makes the chow fun extra tasty. 

Add the chives, egg, toasted sesame seeds, and chili flake at the end. Keep tossing until the chives are welted. Enjoy!