pan fried noodles;
Originally posted April 25, 2016. Updated April 13, 2026 for content and clarity.
Pan fried noodles is a Chinese dish with a bed of noodles crisp on the bottom and tossed with delicious sauce, veggies, and marinated chicken. It takes a little bit of skill and patience to get the crispy pan fried bottom. I always cave and take them off before I get maximum crispiness but that’s because it always smells sooo good and I just can’t wait!
Start with the chicken marinade, since you’ll need to let it sit in the fridge. At a minimum 30 minutes if you’re in a pinch but ideally overnight. The longer it marinades the more time it has to soak up flavor and richness. You don’t even have to stick to chicken–thin sliced beef or pork would work just as well.
Chicken is my favorite but thin sliced beef or pork would work just as well.
secret to success
Making pan fried noodles does take a little bit of time because I always cook things sequentially. The noodles are the star of the dish and so important. I use fresh egg noodles, found in the refrigerated section of our Asian grocery store. You want thin noodles, as this will help them cook through and crisp up nicely in the pan. 
There’s two options with the noodles. First is to par-boil them, which just means quickly boil. You don’t need to saturate them all the way to how you would serve them. Instead you’re just looking to hydrate enough to keep them from being dry and brittle in the pan.
There’s two options to cook the noodles: boil or steam.
secret to success
The second option is to add the noodles directly to your pan and steam them. This requires a pretty big pan to spread all the noodles out in a single-double layer. You want a lot of surface area and then need a lid big enough to cover your pan.
I find that the steaming noodles directly in the pan helps achieve maximum crispy pan fried noodles, but boiling is faster because you can multitask. I’ve done it both ways and it always turns out delicious, but I always choose steamed if I have enough time.
When it comes to pan fried noodles, I really just cook with my heart. So these are my most common ingredients and ratios, but trust that I’m usually eyeballing it and making it up as I go.
Like even the veggies on these. Broccoli is my classic inclusion for pan friend noodles but this time around I had some leftover bok choy and brussel sprouts so that’s what we went with. Might not be traditional but the bitterness of the brussel sprouts worked quite well if you ask me.
Pan fried noodles is pretty forgiving, so you can pick a variety of vegetables. Broccoli, bok choy, Brussels sprouts, Chinese broccoli–the list goes on!
secret to success
I cook the chicken in the pan first, followed by the veggies. For bok choy and delicate veggies I just pan fry them too. More woody or stem-y vegetables like Chinese broccoli or regular broccoli I usually steam separately to cook. It’s much easier to test their done-ness when cooked separately. However, if you like your veggies more on the crunchy side, sauteeing is fine, but I’d still chop them up small so it doesn’t take too long.
secrets to success;
Want all the best tips and tricks to make this recipe a success? Check out the blog post above to find out more!
more recipes;
Looking for other delicious asian-inspired recipes? Here are some of my favorites:
- For a sweet and easy treat that only needs a microwave, try this easy soft, chewy and delicious strawberry mochi.
- Chili crisp udon noodles is a comforting spicy noodle dish perfect for any weeknight meal when you need something quick and easy and delicious.
- For a quick handheld savory bread, try japanese curry bread (カレーパン) also known as kare pan. Thick Japanese curry stew in a perfect fried bread pocket.
- Want to make ramen at home? Better than packet ramen seasoning is perfect to have on hand when you crave those classic instant noodle flavors.
pan fried noodles;
Ingredients
chicken marinade;
- 1 lb chicken
- 1 tsp powdered ginger
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- salt & pepper
- 2 Tbsp rice vinegar
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- 2 Tbsp hoisin sauce
pan fried noodles;
- 4 Tbsp oil
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 small head broccoli (alt. chinese broccoli)
- 2 cups baby bok choy (alt. brussel sprouts, finely chopped)
- 1-2 cups mung bean sprouts
- 1 package egg wonton noodles
- 1 cup water
- ½ cup soy sauce
- 4 Tbsp rice vinegar
- ¼ cup hoisin sauce
Instructions
chicken marinade;
- Slice the chicken into thin 1" pieces and season with ginger, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Add ¼ cup soy sauce, 2 Tbsp rice vinegar, and 2 Tbsp hoisin sauce.
- Allow to marinate 30 minutes or ideally overnight.
- Once ready to cook, heat a pan over medium high heat and add 2 Tbsp. oil. Fry the chicken until cooked through, and remove to a plate.
pan fried noodles;
- Chop the broccoli into small bite-sized pieces, and begin steaming. Remove from heat when still a bit crisp, but mostly cooked.
- If using broccoli, cut into florets. If using Chinese broccoli, cut into roughly 1" pieces. Steam them until cooked but still crisp.
- If using bok choy or brussels sprouts, cut and discard stems, then slice into thin ribbons.
- Add a splash of oil to the same pan that cooked the chicken, and add 2 Tbsp minced garlic. Fry for 30-60 seconds or until fragrant.
- Add the bok choy or brussel sprouts, and add the steamed broccoli or chinese broccoli. Fry until crisp and charred. Remove to a plate.
- (Option 1) Heat a pot with water with 1 tsp salt. Once boiling, add the egg noodles and cook approx 5 minutes or until noodles are al dente. Strain and set aside.
- Add 2 Tbsp oil to the pan and allow it to heat up. Separate the noodles to a loose nest and add to the pan. (Be careful if you boiled the noodles, oil may spit.)
- (Option 2) If you did not boil the noodles first, add 1 cup water to the pan, making sure to swish it around to wet all the noodles. Let the water cook mostly off before proceeding.
- Add ¼ cup soy sauce, 2 Tbsp rice vinegar, and let it cook down and absorb into the noodles.
- Add an additional 1 Tbsp of oil and let the first side of the noodles get crisp.
- Carefully flip the noodles over in the pan, and add the remaining Tbsp of oil and crisp the other side.
- Add remaining ¼ cup soy sauce, 2 Tbsp rice vinegar, and ¼ cup hoisin sauce. Add additional sauce to taste if desired.
- Once crisp, remove the noodles to a plate, and top with chicken and veggies. You can toss the chicken and veggies back in the pan to heat them through if they need to be warmed.
1 Comments
Noel
April 25, 2016 at 10:16 pm
THIS LOOKS SO NOMMY!!!!