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Hong Kong Chow Mein - Best and easiest homemade Hong Kong style chow mein pan-fried in soy sauce just like Chinese restaurants. Healthier and MUCH better than takeout.
Soy Sauce Chow Mein
I love Cantonese dim sum and every time I go dim sum, I always order a plate of supreme soy sauce chow mein, or Hong Kong style 豉油皇炒面.
Supreme soy sauce chow mein is one of my favorite versions of chow mein. It is basically plain fried egg noodles seasoned with soy sauce.
The greasy, glistening, brown-colored fried noodle dish is the epitome of Cantonese cooking: the simplest ingredients, perfect breadth of wok or wok hei, and the timing of wok cooking.
A great supreme Hong Kong style soy sauce chow mein can be very addictive and utterly scrumptious, no less than the flavorful and delicate dim sum.
How To Make Hong Kong Chow Mein
Since the ingredients are really simple, I decided to attempt it at home.
I fired up my well-seasoned cast iron wok, prepared all the ingredients and had them right beside the wok.
Using a pair of long wooden chopsticks, I successfully created my favorite dish at home, and the smoke alarm didn’t go off while I wok hei’ed the noodles!
Cooking Tips
Having the ingredients right by the wok is essential to the success of this recipe because the high heat cooking process is so short that you have no time to turn around and find your ingredients. Just a matter of a few seconds can render your noodles overcooked and unsuccessful.
For this supreme soy sauce chow mein recipe, it’s important to use a pair of long chopsticks to “stir fry” the noodles as they are more versatile than spatula; the motion of tossing the noodles with the chopsticks will loosen up the noodles so they don’t clump together.
As a result, your noodles will be perfectly blended with the soy sauce seasonings, every strand of the noodle lustrously coated with the oil, and the bean sprouts and yellow chives will be perfectly cooked and remain fresh and crunchy.
So there you have it, the secret technique of making it Chinese restaurant worthy.
Last but not least, don’t be afraid to use oil.
In fact, use oil generously in this chow mein recipe, because without the glistening and greasy sheen on the noodles, it isn’t the classic and iconic Cantonese supreme soy sauce chow mein that we all love so much.
Frequently Asked Questions
This recipe is only 501 calories per serving.
What To Serve With Hong Kong Chow Mein
For a wholesome meal and easy weeknight dinner, I recommend the following recipes.
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Hong Kong Chow Mein
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 – 3 tablespoons cooking oil
- 8 oz. chow mein , or fresh egg noodles
- 4 oz. bean sprouts, roots removed
- 1 oz. yellow chives, cut into 2-inch (5 cm) lengths
- white sesame seeds
Seasonings:
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 3/4 teaspoon oyster sauce
- 1/2 tablespoon sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1/8 teaspoon dark soy sauce, for coloring purpose (optional)
- 1/2 teaspoon Shaoxing wine, optional
- 3 dashes white pepper
Instructions
- Rinse and soak the noodles in water according to the package instructions. Drain and set aside. In a small bowl, mix all the Seasoning ingredients and stir to combine well.
- Heat a wok over high heat. Once the wok is fully heated, add the oil and wait for it to heat up.
- Loosen the noodles and add them to the wok. Use a pair of long chopsticks to stir and toss the noodles. Add the seasoning mixture to the wok and use the chopsticks to combine it well with the noodles. Continue tossing and loosening the noodles with the chopsticks.
- Add the bean sprouts and yellow chives to the wok and stir to combine well. Once the bean sprouts and chives are cooked but still crunchy, turn off the heat. Dish out the noodles and top with white sesame seeds. Serve immediately.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Cannot find yellow chives can I use green which I grow and have plenty of .
Yes they work.
Thank you for sharing this recipe. I have follow each time I want to cook soya king noodle.
AMAZING! This is going to be a staple meal for our house. A MUST try.
This is how my Mom and Grandmother made Chow mein in the 50’s. They used spaghetti cooked and drained, then rolled in cornstarch and deep fried for crunchy noodles. In a large deep pot add sliced onion, sliced cabbage and water. cook til wilted. To this pot add some meat, like browned ground beef and salt. To thicken the juice mix in a bowl cornstarch and soy sauce and add to the pot and cook till thickened. Bean sprouts were added if they were available. Serve over crunchy noodles. I call this OKIE CHOW MEiN because that is where they were from We have a place here that makes chow mein only with bean sprouts in a thickened sauce.
What brand of wok do you use? Any particular brands you would recommend for authentic Singaporean and Malaysian cooking?
I don’t know the brand it’s just a regular wok from Asian stores.
HI, THIS SOUNDS & LOOKS GREAT, BUT IN MY AREA (SOUTH CENTRAL NEW ENGLAND) THIS WOULD BE CONSIDERED LO MEIN (PORK,BEEF, VEGE, CHICKEN, HOUSE SPECIAL ETC.)THE COOKED SPAGHETTI STYLE, THIN SOFT NOODLES, PICTURED ABOVE(LO MEIN)MADE W/FEW DIFFERENT KINDS (VEGES, PORK,ETC.)LITTLE BIT OF ONIONS, WATER CHESTNUTS, NOODLES & ALL ARE COATED W/DARK-LOOKING SAUCE AS IS SHOWN HERE. THE CHOW- MEIN. (I’M STARVING) THEY MAKE AROUND HERE IS MADE W/LONGISH SLICED LIGHT WHITE,GREEN VEGES (CABBAGE ONIONS, & THIS LIGHT /WHITE. ISH GRAVY-LIKE SAUCE & YOU SPOON THIS ON TOP OF THESE HARD THIN CRUNCHY NOODLISH THINGS(CALLED CHOW MEIN NOODLES. YOU GET THESE ON THE SIDE. (WHICH SOFTEN UP WHEN COVERED WITH HOT (AS IN STEAMING-HOT) VEGETABLES(CHOW MEIN. THERE IS ALSO CHOP SUEY (NOT MY FAVORITE, BUT IS MORE OF SOUPY KINDA SAUCE,W/ THE WHITISH, LIGHT GREEN VEGES. (NOT SURE WHAT KIND). CAN YOU HELP ME TO DISTINGUISH THE DIFFERENCE & WHAT EXACTLY IS IN EACH DISH. THANK YOU SO MUCH !! SANDY
I made this recipe day before yesterday. Yellow chives and bean sprouts are hard to find in my area. I used a little celery, onion and cabbage instead. Also my fresh noodles were shaped more like linguine than spaghetti. At any rate, your treatment is delicious! That was the first time I ever used dark soy sauce. Wow what a difference that makes. My noodles not only tasted awesome, they looked nice too. Thanks so much for the great post and delicious recipe. :)