Shanghai Noodles

Shanghai Noodles was one of my childhood favorites. There was a Shanghai restaurant called 369 in Milpitas that my cousin Jenn and I would always ask our parents to pick up from in elementary/middle school; I was so sad when it closed down, but funnily enough, when I moved to Anaheim (2004), there was a 369 restaurant a couple miles from my house. That place has closed down since, but at least I was able to enjoy it for a few more years and the memory of it still lives on lol. If you know of any places with good Shanghai Noodles, please send it my way! Below is a variation I made with the ingredients I had on hand (during the time of COVID-19).

Ingredients:

  • Banh Canh noodles (wheat/tapioca/rice flour)
  • Napa cabbage
  • Pork tenderloin
  • Green onion
  • Garlic
  • Soy sauce
  • Thick soy sauce
  • Sugar
  • Garlic salt
  • Pepper
  • Sesame oil
  • Canola oil

(Sorry, everything was eyeballed/done to taste with no measurements. You can trust your inner chef and wing it following my guidelines/instructions…otherwise, I linked some recipes/videos down below under “Recipes I read/watched” from more legit recipe writers lol).

Step 1 – Marinate pork:

  1. I sliced up the pork into match stick size and marinated it with soy sauce, sugar, garlic salt, pepper, cornstarch, canola oil, and a drizzle of sesame oil.
    1. Cornstarch was used to tenderize the meat.
    2. I used canola oil for better adhesion of the seasoning/marinade, and sesame oil for a hint of flavor.
  2. Let it marinate for a minimum of 10 minutes.

Step 2 – Chop (washed) veggies:

  1. Cut green onions into 2 inch length.
  2. Cut napa cabbage to match stick size (matching size of sliced pork) – separate leaves w/ the core (since cooking times for each will vary).
  3. Mince garlic.

Step 3 – Cook:

  1. Heated up a wok on medium high, added canola oil and cooked the pork through (couple minutes).
  2. Removed pork from the wok and put it on a plate to add it back in later.
  3. Threw in the minced garlic into the wok until aromatic.
  4. Microwaved the banh canh noodles for 2 minutes, and tossed it into the wok.
  5. Poured maybe 1/2 cup of water over the noodles, covered the wok with a lid to let it cook for about 5-6 minutes.
  6. Uncovered and threw in the chopped napa cabbage cores and stir fried till cooked (added a little more oil).
  7. Season with soy sauce, thick soy sauce, sugar, pepper, sesame oil.
  8. Added the cooked pork, chopped cabbage leaves, and green onions in and stir fry for another 1-2 minutes.

If I were to do this again:

  • Buy correct Shanghai noodles (wheat flour)
  • Buy shaoxing wine
  • Experiment with different soy sauces and oyster sauce
    • The recipes I’ve read called for light + dark soy sauce
    • I have Kikkoman soy sauce (is this light or dark or something else? lol) + thick soy sauce

Recipes I read/watched:

Inspiration:

369 Restaurant (RIP)

Shanghai Noodles - 369

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