Shanghai Fried Thick Noodles 上海粗炒 (Cantonese: seung hoi chou chau) has an interesting story. Most people believe that this dish is from Hong Kong and has nothing to do with Shanghai just like the Singapore Fried Rice Vermicelli. But history shows that this is not the case. It’s true that the Chinese name given to this dish is from Hong Kong. In Shanghai it’s called Shanghai Fried Noodles 上海炒麵 (shàng hǎi chaǒ miàn) or 重油炒麵 (zhòng yóu chǎo miàn). By default, it’s a vegetarian dish with spinach or chicken feather vegetable (similar to bok choy) and green onions. You then add your own chili oil and sesame paste. At some restaurants you can also order it with pork.
So, how did it get so confusing? In the 1950’s, many from Shanghai migrated to Hong Kong. Amongst them, many opened restaurants, bringing traditional Shanghai and western-inspired cuisine with them. In order to attract the locals, they decided to add pork, shiitake mushrooms, carrots and cabbage. Some restaurants still add some spinach to it since spinach can absorb oil making the noodles less oily. This became the new birth of the Shanghai Fried Noodles and its name as Shanghai Fried Thick Noodles began.
Now in present day, most Shanghai restaurants around the world, even in China will have Shanghai Fried Thick Noodles because everybody knows what it refers to. However, in Shanghai, they still have both types of noodles, so you should probably clarify which one you want before ordering!
My Shanghai Fried Thick Noodles 上海粗炒 recipe will show you the Hong Kong version since it’s the most popular one and for good reason. It has simple ingredients, great flavour and it’s easy to make!
For more recipes, check out my Hong Kong Cafe section.
Shanghai Fried Thick Noodles 上海粗炒
Ingredients
- 550 g Shanghai thick noodles
- 550 g Cabbage , cut into large pieces
- 80 g Fresh shiitake mushrooms (approx. 8), julienne (dried or canned shiitakes are okay too)
- 250 g Pork , julienne
- 100 g Carrots , julienne
- 2 stalks Green onions , cut into 5 cm long pieces
- 1 tbsp Oyster sauce
- 2 tbsp Light soy sauce
- 2 tbsp Dark soy sauce
- 2 tbsp Shaoxing wine
- 2 tsp Sugar
- ¼ tsp White pepper powder
- 1 cup Water
- 3 tbsp Oil
- 1 tsp Sugar for pork marinade
- 1 tsp Light soy sauce for pork marinade
- 1 tsp Cornstarch for pork marinade
- 1 tsp Oil for pork marinade
- ½ tsp Sugar for shiitake marinade
- ½ tsp Light soy sauce for shiitake marinade
- 1 tsp Cornstarch for shiitake marinade
- ½ tsp Oil for shiitake marinade
Instructions
- Julienne pork and shiitake mushrooms. Put them in separate containers.
- Marinate pork with 1 tsp sugar, 1 tsp cornstarch and 1 tsp light soy sauce. Mix well. Add 1 tsp oil and mix again. Set aside
- Marinate shiitake mushrooms with ½ tsp sugar 1 tsp cornstarch and ½ tsp light soy sauce. Mix well. Add ½ tsp oil and mix again. Set aside
- Prepare cabbage, carrots and green onions. Put the whites of green onions with the carrots. Set aside
- Boil ready-made Shanghai thick noodles in a pot of boiling water. Follow the cooking instructions on the package. Rinse with cold water and let cool in a colander
Some store-bought fresh Shanghai noodles can be fried directly without boiling. If that’s the type you have, you can skip this step - Heat wok to high, add 1 tbsp oil. Add pork. Try to spread it to one layer and let it cook for 30 seconds. Flip to the other side and fry for 30 seconds. Stir-fry for another 30 seconds. Remove from wok
- Add 2 tbsp oil to wok, add carrots and whites of green onions. Stir-fry for 1 minute and move them to one side of the wok
- Add shiitake mushrooms to the wok, stir-fry for 30 seconds by itself. Mix with carrots and move them to one side of the wok
- Add cabbage to the wok, stir-fry by itself for 1-2 minutes until slightly softened. Mix with the rest of the ingredients for another minute
- Add pork back into the wok and add 2 tbsp Shaoxing wine, 2 tsp sugar and ¼ tsp white pepper powder. Mix well
- Add Shanghai noodles to the wok. Add 2 tbsp light soy sauce, 1 tbsp oyster sauce and 2 tbsp dark soy sauce. Mix and toss noodles until mixed well and the dark soy sauce is evenly coating noodles
- Add 1 cup of water, cover with lid, turn heat down to low and let it braise for 5 minutes
There should be little to no sauce when it’s ready to serve - Check the noodles to see if they are cooked to your preferred texture. If they are still too chewy, check if there is water on the bottom of the wok. If it’s dry, add some more water, give the noodles a toss, cover with lid and let it braise for another 3 minutes. Then check again.
The texture of the noodles depends on the brand and type of noodles you use so the amount of water and braising time will vary </font - When the noodles are cooked to your preferred texture, add the remaining green onions, give it a toss
- If the noodles are ready but there is still too much liquid, you can turn the heat up to high, and let the liquid evaporate
- Serve
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