Cooking for one can be tough. You might just want to chase away your hunger with some cereal, a piece of fruit or a can of soup. At our house, a quick one-person meal for Sarah might be a plate of ten-minute pan-fried noodles; for me, it’s just a batch of dumplings, which we usually stock in our fridge; for Kaitlin, it would probably be microwaving whatever leftovers she can find; and Bill would probably just skip a meal. No matter how much we love to cook, we’ve all had the experience of wandering into the kitchen, poking around, and talking ourselves out of cooking.
But life in Beijing has changed my bad lunch habits. During the week, I’m on my own for lunch and I’ve decided that every lunch hour is a chance to enjoy something really good. Stir-fry is a great way to cook for one person. I take what I have in the fridge, get the right amount of ingredients (typically three to four kinds of vegetables) and whip up a yummy meal for myself. We hope that our recipes inspire you to cook, even if it’s just for yourself.
There are no limits as to what you can do with stir-fries, so use our recipes as guides and be as creative as you want. You can substitute your “likes” for your “don’t likes,” your “haves” for “don’t haves,” and your “can eats” for “can’t eats.” You can also adjust seasoning. I love fish sauce, so I like to add a teaspoon of it with my vegetables. It makes the dish tastier, more complex (in a good way) and definitely more interesting. Some people love spicy food, so add some hot chili pepper, hot sauce or chili oil if that’s what you like.
Another trick to achieve a good stir-fry is to know the cooking time required for each ingredient. For example, carrots require a longer cooking time than celery, so just let the carrots cook for a few minutes first before adding the celery. Once you’ve got that principle down, you can’t go wrong!
So today’s stir fry lunch was a quick cabbage and glass noodle stir fry, something that we were introduced to in a lot of the restaurants here in Beijing. It’s simple, easy, and really delicious. You can find the clear mung bean noodles you’ll need in any Asian grocery store. They come in small individual packages, each with one bundle of noodles in it.
Here are the ingredients you’ll need for this Cabbage and glass noodle stir fry:
- One small package of dried cellophane or mung bean noodles
- ½ of a small head of cabbage, cut into ¼-inch strips
- 2 eggs
- Salt
- 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil, plus an extra splash
- 1 tablespoon shaoxing wine, plus an extra splash
- Oil
- A few dried red chilis (break them open if you want more heat)
- 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 1 scallion, sliced
- ¼ teaspoon white pepper
- ½ teaspoon soy sauce
Soak the cellophane noodles for about 10 minutes until soft. Cut the bundle in half, drain and set aside.
Slice the cabbage…
Beat the eggs along with a pinch of salt, a splash of sesame oil and a splash of cooking wine. Scramble the eggs quickly in a hot wok with a tablespoon of oil.
Eggs cook very fast, so this is usually done in less a minute. Take the eggs out of the wok and set aside.
Heat two more tablespoons of cooking oil in the wok over medium heat. Add the chili, garlic, and scallion. Cook for a couple minutes until fragrant.
Before the peppers start to turn brown, add the cabbage and turn up the heat to high. Stir and mix everything together.
Add noodles, cooked egg, a little more salt to taste, 1 more tablespoon shaoxing wine, ½ teaspoon sesame oil, ¼ teaspoon white pepper, and ½ teaspoon soy sauce.
Stir everything well together and continue to stir-fry for another couple minutes.
Plate and serve your cabbage and glass noodle stir fry!
- One small package of dried cellophane noodles
- ½ of a small head of cabbage, cut into ¼-inch strips
- 2 eggs
- Salt
- ½ teaspoon sesame oil, plus an extra splash
- 1 tablespoon shaoxing wine, plus an extra splash
- Oil
- A few dried red chilis (break them open if you want more heat)
- 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 1 scallion, sliced
- ¼ teaspoon white pepper
- ½ teaspoon soy sauce
- Soak the cellophane noodles for about 10 minutes until soft. Cut the bundle in half, drain and set aside. Prep the cabbage.
- Beat the eggs along with a pinch of salt, a splash of sesame oil and a splash of cooking wine. Scramble the eggs quickly in a hot wok with a tablespoon of oil. Eggs cook very fast, so this is usually done in less a minute. Take the eggs out of the wok and set aside.
- Heat two more tablespoons of cooking oil in the wok over medium heat. Add the chili, garlic, and scallion. Cook for a couple minutes until fragrant. Before the peppers start to turn brown, add the cabbage and turn up the heat to high. Stir and mix everything together. Add noodles, cooked egg, a little more salt to taste, 1 more tablespoon shaoxing wine, ½ teaspoon sesame oil, ¼ teaspoon white pepper, and ½ teaspoon soy sauce. Stir everything well together and continue to stir-fry for another couple minutes. Plate and serve!
Soira Nokuda says
The most essential thing to have in any Asian home is a metal wok. All stir-fry dishes done on metal wok is more satisfying than if it’s done on the western kind of pots and pans. The wok can be used to steam or reheat food. That’s equivalent to microwave. The second most important is all metal metal spatula for all that stir frying. The pong pang pong pang sound of metal spatula meets metal wok when you stir fry? THAT sparks joy too. It makes for a lively kitchen. It makes the person cooking feel as if he/she is the star of the show.
Judy says
hahaha, I concur :-)
Brittany says
This meal saved me tonight when I only had a sad hunk of cabbage in the fridge and some glass noodles. Finding this recipe turned my dinner from boring to WOW! Thanks for all of the great recipes!
Bill says
Hi Brittany, I feel the same way when Judy makes this dish for dinner!
Florence Lewis says
In our house we (I) love mung bean noodles! I made this dish to go with your recipe for Peking Pork along with steamed jasmine rice. I ran out of napa cabbage so I substituted bok choy and in place of the chili’s I used three tablespoons of “Lady sauce”. I had to omit the egg because of my eldest daughters egg allergy so I added slices of red peppers. It was a hit! Everyone loved it and they have requested for it to be made again. I think the noodles and cabbage will be a regular in my kitchen. Thank you for the recipe, I have been cooking dishes from all of asia for years now and it is my personal favorite cuisine.
Judy says
Hi Florence, your family is so lucky to have you. Tell them I said that :-)
Florence Lewis says
Thank You so much, Judy!
Tim says
Great recipe!
Judy says
Thank you, Tim.
DottyJ says
This is now my go to favourite for a light, comforting and nutritious meal.
The first time I made it, I lightly fried some tofu and stirred this through at the end. Last night, I warmed through some left over roast chicken at the beginning and it added a wonderful dimension.
Best made with Savoy cabbage.
Simple, delicious and I am so grateful I can now make it from memory. Thanks xx
Judy says
Hi Dotty, sounds like you have made this dish numerous times. So glad you like one of my favorite dishes.
Vicky from Maine says
I made this last night with the napa cabbage. I omitted the eggs but added one sliced Chinese sausage (made in Boston) and juilian cut carrots. Yum! My husband and I loved it. No leftovers! I am so glad I found your blog. I’ve been telling everyone about it!! Thank you again for another great recipe.
Judy says
Hi Vicky, thank you so much for sharing our blog with your friends and family! We do appreciate it.
Mei says
Sarah,
This is my soul food dish, my mac and cheese. Always too afraid to cook it, because I didn’t want to ruin it. I’ve always asked my grandma, my mom, or aunties to make ..so we can doggy bag. My grandma just made us a large container today, enjoying with my hot bowl of congee.
It’s about time I learn to make this myself!! Thank you for this recipe!!!
And much thanks to your family, for sharing your love of food, cooking and each other. One day I hope my two boys will be like you and kaitlin..fun, smart and able to cook well!!
Judy says
You are so very welcome, Mei! Hope you had a chance to try this recipe.
Rhonwyn says
Just made this for the first time tonight, and it was great!
I must say thank you again for your blog. Up till recently, most of my Chinese recipes were cobbled together from a lot of trial and error trying to recreate the things I ate when I first lived in China when I was 18, and so rarely could I find a blog where the recipes just tasted “right” straight off the bat. Yours do, and I’m having such fun with the recipes.
Judy says
Hi Rhonwyn, how great!!! So glad that you are having fun cooking and eating. Keep going!
Natalie G says
Hi Judy,
Can I use napa cabbage for this dish and would it totally change the flavour ?
Thanks! I love your website :-)
Judy says
Thanks Natalie, you can use napa cabbage! you’ll get some extra liquid, as napa cabbage contains more water.
Maggie says
Forgot how much I liked this dish :)
Sarah says
Good on ya! It’s what my mom makes whenever she’s feeling a little lazy but wants something tasty and satisfying. : )