Hong Kong Style Shredded Pork Pan-fried Noodles

crispy chow mein noodles smothered in a thick savoury gravy with tender cuts of pork and plentiful hearty vegetables

Prep Time 30

Cook Time 30

Total Time 1

Course Main Course

Cuisine Chinese

Servings 4 people

Prior to making the dish, it is recommended to soak the dried shiitake mushrooms in water either the night before or at least 2-3 hours prior to making the dish to rehydrate the mushrooms and make them soft again. Let the mushrooms soak in the water for at least one hour and then discard the water.
Refill the bowl with fresh water and let the mushrooms soak up the water again for at least another hour. Once done, remove the mushrooms from the water and squeeze out all of the liquid and set it aside for slicing.
Slice each piece of mushroom into strips. The size will depend on your personal preference but I like to slice mines about an inch wide.

Boil a large pot of water. Once the water is boiling, turn off the stove and then dump your pack of fresh chow mein noodles into the pot to blanch it. Loosen up the noodles so that they don’t stick together using chopsticks or tongs.
Let the noodles blanch for about a minute in the hot water before removing it from the pot and straining out all of the water.
Do not rinse the water under cold water while straining it!
Now add in a little bit of oil and then loosen up the noodles to prevent them from sticking together using chopsticks or some tongs.
Then, transfer the noodles to a tray, and line the noodles evenly on the tray to allow it to cool down and not clump together.
We’re going to air dry the noodles. This helps maintain the chewy and bouncy texture of the noodles as opposed to running it under cold water.

Julienne the pork shoulder and place it on a bowl. Make sure when slicing the pork that you are slicing it against the grain eg. in the opposite direction as the lines you see on the meat. If you were to cut it parallel to the grain then your pork will taste tough when eating it.
Next add in soy sauce, white granulated sugar, white ground pepper, Chinese cooking wine, and the corn starch into the bowl. Mix everything well together so that the pork is evenly coated with the marinade. Then add in your cooking oil and mix it in with the pork as well. Once done, set it aside or place it in the fridge if you aren't planning on making the dish immediately.

Grab your green onion stalks and cut them into 2-3 inch long pieces and set it aside.
Next grab half of a medium sized yellow onion and cut it into strips and set it aside.
Now mince 3-4 cloves of garlic and also set it aside.
Wash the beansprouts in cold water and then drain out all of the water and let it rest in a colander to dry.

In a small bowl, add in your oyster sauce, soy sauce, white granulated sugar, white pepper, and chicken powder. Mix everything well together and set it aside.

Once our noodles have fully cooled down, it's time to pan-fry it.
In a heated wok, add in about 2 Tbsp of cooking oil. Let the oil heat up and then add in your noodles. I recommend adding them in batches so as to not overcrowd the wok and allow the noodles to become crispy.
After you have added the noodles, shape it into a round circle using chopsticks and then don't touch the noodles. Allow the noodles to cook and crisp up over medium heat in the wok. After about 3-4 minutes check the bottom of the noodles and see if it has become crispy.
Once the bottom of the noodles has become crispy, flip the noodles over and cook the noodles for another 3-4 minutes. Add a little bit of cooking oil to the edge of the wok as well as your cooking the noodles in case there is not enough oil.
Once both sides of the noodles have become crispy, remove it from the wok and set it aside. Repeat the process for the second batch of the noodles.

Heat your wok back up to medium heat, add in about a Tbsp of oil then add in your marinated pork. Cook both sides of the pork strips to about 80% done then remove it from the wok. The pork should look mostly white with barely any pink visible. Don't worry we'll be adding it back in to our sauce later when we're making it.
Next add in about a tsp of oil to the wok, heat it up to medium heat and then dump your onions in. Cook the onions for about 1-1.5 minutes then add in the minced garlic followed by the white part of the green onions, stir-fry that for about 20 seconds, followed by adding in your mushrooms. Continue stir-frying this for about 1 minute.
Now add in your sauce mixture. Mix the sauce well and then add in your chicken stock to the wok and mix everything well together. Turn up the heat to about medium-high and once you start to see the sauce simmer, add in your cornstarch slurry, making sure to stir the wok with your spatula while you slowly pour in the cornstarch.
Once the sauce has become thickened, add back in your pork slices from earlier followed by the beansprouts. Mix everything well together for about 30 seconds. Turn off the heat, add in the green parts of the green onion you cut earlier. Mix everything together for another 30 seconds and transfer the sauce out of the wok.
Pour the sauce right on top of the crispy pan-fried noodles when you are ready to serve the dish.