So you’ve successfully made Char Siu Pork for your guests, but there’s a chance (though not a big one!) that there are some leftover slices, still coated in that gorgeous glaze. What to do? There are so many options that you have for quick-to-cook yet stylish dinners for the rest of the week. For example, make the dim sum classic char siu bao, topping the sliced char siu on noodle soup, making creative dishes such as my scallion biscuits & char siu gravy, or cooking this char siu chow mein. With just a couple extra pantry ingredients you’ll have a feast on the dinner table in no time: noodles, aromatics, baby bok choy, and a super-quick stir-fry sauce.
Cooking notes
1. Best chow mein noodles
Since moving to New York, I have better access to Chinatown and more options when sourcing ingredients. Recently I discovered a type of noodle that makes perfect fried noodles and I’ve been obsessed with it ever since. It is called “Pan Fried Noodles (Hong Kong Style)”. The special thing about this brand is, it is a type of steamed noodle that is semi-dried. Since the noodles are already cooked, you don’t need to boil them before using. You can simply pour some oil into the pan, add the noodles, and add some water to quickly rehydrate them. Not only can you skip the boiling, but the noodles also have a nice chewy texture that creates that heavenly crispy noodle texture just like a Chinese restaurant. Do grab a pack if you see them in the Asian market the next time! And of course, you can use regular chow mein noodles for this recipe and the result will still be tasty.
2. How to prepare baby bok choy for stir fry
The key to any good stir fry is to cut all the ingredients into consistent pieces so they cook evenly. For baby bok choy, here is the way I prepare it for stir fry:
Remove the tough end on the bottom of each head. Remove the outer layer of leaves (they are usually big and thick), until it exposes the center that just has a few pieces of young and thin leaves. During this process, I also run tap water to rinse the bok choy, because sometimes there’s dirt between the leaves near the root. For the outer leaves, I chop off the white part. For extra large heads of baby bok choy, I might even chop the white part further into bite-size pieces. I cook everything together in this recipe, because my baby bok choy is fresh and quite young. If you’re using larger heads, you can cook the white part first, for 1 minute or so, before adding the rest. So the result will be more consistent without the leaves being overcooked.
3. How to prep efficiently
The key to prepping for fried noodles is to get everything ready near your stove. I found the easiest way is to group the ingredients in bowls according to the recipe. So you have a less cluttered countertop, plus it’ll be easier to add the ingredients during the cooking process. For this recipe, you should have four things on the table before stir frying:
Noodles (Pan-Fried Noodles, or boiled dried noodles) Sliced char siu Mixed sauce Aromatics (garlic and green onion)
That’s it! It’s such a quick and delicious way to use your leftover char siu pork. I hope you enjoy!
More fried noodle recipes
Real-Deal Beef Chow Fun Hokkien Noodles (Hokkien Mee) Easy Fried Udon (Yaki Udon) 15-Minute Chicken Chow Fun (Chicken Fried Rice Noodles) Easy Singapore Noodles Chinese Beef Chow Mein
If you give this recipe a try, let us know! Leave a comment, rate it (once you’ve tried it), and take a picture and tag it @omnivorescookbook on Instagram! I’d love to see what you come up with. The recipe was originally published on Jan 27, 2016 and updated by Oct.19, 2019.
