I wish I could say that as a Shanghai native, I grew up eating Shanghai Fried Noodles or (Shanghai cu chao mian- 上海粗炒面). I don’t actually remember eating this when I was young, but in recent years, I’ve noticed that my cousin always orders it for her kids when we eat out at Shanghainese restaurants. The kids would immediately go for those noodles, ignoring everything else on the table.
I also couldn’t stop eating them after getting a taste. These noodles are very addictive. They’re somewhat similar to my Soy Scallion Shanghai Noodles (葱油拌面), which I love. The difference is that Shanghai Fried Noodles are often made with thicker, chewier noodles
Shanghai Fried Noodles is a super easy dish to make, with only a few ingredients. It’ll be done and on the table within 15-20 minutes. I assure you that everyone in your family will love it. If you’re a vegetarian/vegan, simply leave out the meat and replace it with more mushrooms!
Other popular Chinese noodles recipes include Cantonese Chicken Hong Kong pan fried noodles, and a Beijing favorite Chinese noodle recipe we picked up while we lived there, Zha Jiang Mian.
Shanghai Fried Noodles: Recipe Instructions
Mix together the pork, cornstarch, light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, shaoxing wine, and sugar. Set aside for 5-10 minutes while you prepare the other ingredients.
Heat a tablespoon of oil in a wok over high heat. Add the pork stir-fry until browned.
Turn down the heat, remove the pork from the wok and set aside. Add a couple more tablespoons of oil to the wok and sauté the shiitake mushrooms for about 2 minutes using medium heat.
Break up the Udon noodles gently with your hands and add them to the wok. The noodles (shown in the photo) I use for this recipe are pre-cooked noodles.
If you use any other noodles, please follow the package instruction to prepare the noodle and have it cooked and ready before start cooking. Just remember to mix in a splash of vegetable oil to prevent cooked noodles from sticking together.
Add the dark soy sauce, soy sauce and sugar. Stir-fry everything together until the noodles get an even, deep brown color. If you’re not seeing the color you want, add a little more dark soy sauce.
Add the leafy greens (choy sum and baby bok choy both work well), along with the pork. Mix in with the noodles until wilted.
Serve these Shanghai Fried Noodles hot!
Some people like to add a few drops of black vinegar right before eating—totally up to you.
Shanghai Fried Noodles (Cu Chao Mian)
Ingredients
For the pork & marinade (omit if you want the dish to be vegetarian):
- 6 oz. lean pork (170g, sliced into ¼” strips)
- 3/4 teaspoon cornstarch
- ½ teaspoon light soy sauce
- 1/8 teaspoon dark soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon shaoxing wine
- 1/8 teaspoon sugar
For the rest of the dish:
- 3 tablespoons oil (divided)
- 8 shiitake mushrooms (fresh or dry; you have to soak them first if they’re dried, thinly sliced)
- 1 pound Japanese-style udon noodles (450g)
- 2 1/2 teaspoons dark soy sauce
- 2 1/2 teaspoons soy sauce
- ¼ teaspoon sugar
- 1 bunch choy sum or baby bok choy (washed and trimmed)
Instructions
- Mix together the pork and marinade ingredients and set aside for 5-10 minutes while you prepare the other ingredients.
- Heat a tablespoon of oil in a wok over high heat. Add the pork stir-fry until browned. Turn down the heat, remove the pork from the wok and set aside. Add a couple more tablespoons of oil to the wok and sautee the mushrooms for about 2 minutes using medium heat. Break up the noodles gently with your hands and add them to the wok.
- Add the soy sauces and sugar. Stir-fry everything together until the noodles get an even, deep brown color. If you’re not seeing the color you want, add a little more dark soy sauce.
- Add the leafy greens now and mix in with the noodles until wilted. Serve hot! Some people like to add a few drops of Chinese black vinegar right before eating—totally up to you.
Thank you for the lovely recipe! If I’m using ground pork instead of pork strips, does the marinade change? Is the cornstarch still necessary?
Hi Malika, you can replace cornstarch with a tablespoon water in the ground pork marinate. Whip it until the meat turns pasty.
The cooked udon i got from the fridge section of 99 ranch, do I have to boil the udon for 1 min. or just mix & cook with the sauce. Does the udon needs to be a bit chewy or soft. Love your
sauce. thanks
I’d follow the cooking instructions on the package. I think you might have to pre-boil it. Just know that the noodle should be slightly chewy.
My family loves this! We have so far only used ready made char sui from the supermarket, and have changed the recipe a bit to suit what we can buy or have, but it’s wonderful!!
That’s wonderful to hear. Thank you for your comment.
My first venture into cooking Chinese was a joyce chin recipe in early 1970s. Over the years most recipes I tried were often over seasoned but not yours! They’re always seasoned to perfection. This recipe is no exception plus it’s fast and easy to prepare. Thanks for another good one.
Thank you so much for your comment, Donna :-)
What kind of lean pork would you recommend? Wondering if sliced tenderloin would work.
Hi Jason, we usually use a lean piece of pork shoulder, but sliced tenderloin also works!
Sure, you can.
Yum! Yum! Awesome! My noodles stuck to wok. Lol. Despite that, this was DELICIOUS!!
Hi Stephanie, this post will be very helpful, have a read.