Crispy Fried Noodles – if you can’t resist those golden, crunchy noodles that come as a side to soups and salads at restaurants, you are going to love this simple method to make them at home! In just five easy steps, you can make your own crunchy, crispy fried noodles at home and enjoy them whenever you want.
Reading: how to prepare fried noodles
These noods are addictive guys so beware. They might be gone within five minutes of coming out of the deep fryer.
But they are so good in everything!! Use them as a crunchy topping on manchow soup, hot and sour soup or even a wonton soup, or as a mix in when you toss together a crunchy chinese chicken salad for lunch. Or make your favorite chinese dish and use these as a base instead of regular noodles.
The thing with these crispy fried noodles is that it’s not as simple as boiling the noodles and then deep frying them. There is a specific method that you need to follow to be able to get noodles that look like this 👆where each noodle is separate, perfectly crunchy and golden brown and I’m showing you how.
Table of Contents
Step #1 Select your Noodles
This is not a science. Just choose your favorite egg or regular hakka noodles. This will work with any Lo Mein noodles or even Ramen. But I wouldn’t pick a thicker variety of noodles such as Udon noodles or even rice noodles.
Step #2 Boil the Noodles
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Boil your noodles in salted water with a teaspoon of oil till they are just al dente. Al dente means that the noodles should be cooked such that they are still firm when bitten into. The rule that I follow is to subtract 30 seconds from the cooking time mentioned on the packet. In this case, my packet suggested I cook these for 3 minutes in boiling water so I cooked them for 2.5 minutes. That ways you always avoid over cooking these, because remember they will cook again when you deep fry these.
Step #3 Drain the Noodles
Once the noodles are cooked, immediately drain them in a colander and wash them with cold water. This is a really important step because the longer you leave them in the cooking water, the longer they will continue to cook. Washing them in cold water removes any extra salts and starch and prevents them from sticking together.
Step #4 Dry them on a sheet
Once the noodles are drained completely, spread them out on a baking sheet or parchment paper and leave them out to dry for 30 minutes. This gets rid of any extra moisture and helps them fry evenly. Plus they won’t splatter as much when you deep fry the noodles.
Step #5 Dust them with Cornflour
Once the noodles are dry, dust them and toss them with cornflour. The cornflour takes care of any extra moisture, and prevents them from sticking together by acting as an extra layer. The starch also makes them extra crispy when they are deep fried.
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Step #6 Deep Fry the noodles
Heat oil in a wide skillet like a cast iron or frying pan till the oil starts shimmering (about 350F/ 180C). If you don’t have a thermometer, insert a chopstick or the stem of a wooden ladle into the oil. The oil should start shimmering around the edges of the ladle or chopstick and that’s when you know its ready. Make sure the heat is on medium high (if its too low, the noodles will soak up the oil and if its too high they’ll fry from the outside without cooking from the inside), and slowly add noodles to the oil. Don’t overcrowd, just spread them out evenly. Fry these for 2-3 minutes till they are a deep golden brown from the outside. And then take them out on some tissue paper to get rid of any extra oil.
Let them cool completely before storing them in an air tight container or use them immediately. These can be stored for up to 10 days in an airtight container.
And that’s it! You have your own batch of homemade crispy fried noodles ready to be used. I like to make a big batch and use them for soups, salads or to serve with chinese stir fries.
Serve this with:
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- Hot and Sour Soup
- Chicken Manchow Soup
- Crunchy Chinese Chicken Salad
- Crispy Tofu Broccoli Stir Fry
- Sweet Chili Tofu Stir Fry
- One Pan Veg Noodle and Manchurian Stir Fry
