This is yet another childhood favourite. You can have wanton noodles soupy or dry and this is the dry version. With this noodle dish, the important part is getting the sauce right. Char Siu Pork is easy to make. Check out my Char Siu Pork recipe if you haven’t already. Wanton Dumplings require a little practice but all doable to create a wondrous food adventure or a food memory.

You can use wanton noodles or egg noodles. In the UK, you can easily get egg noodles in the supermarkets locally. As for wanton noodles, you will probably have to head to Chinatown.

Ingredients (serves 4)

• 400g egg noodles
• 1 clove of garlic (finely chopped)
• Sesame Oil
• 3 tbsp Dark Soy Sauce
• 1 tbsp Light Soy Sauce
• Spring onions x 4 (sliced)
• Vegetables (Spinach, Chinese Leaves, Kai Lan, Choy Sum or Pak Choy)
• Dried shallots (you can buy them from chinatown ready made or make your own)
• Pickled Chillies (homemade or store bought)
• Pre-made wanton dumplings (recipe http://edityourlife.co.uk/2020/06/29/wanton-noodle-soup/)
• Pre-made Char Siu Pork (recipe http://edityourlife.co.uk/2020/06/02/char-siu-chinese-roast-pork/)

Methods

Prepare the Char Siu Pork and Wanton Dumpling first.

Next, depending on what type of egg noodles, they may need a few minutes in boiling water before it can go into the wok. Of course, there are some straight to the wok egg noodles. Be sure to read the packaging before use and prepare accordingly.

I used wanton noodles here. They need to be boiled for 30 seconds, then drained and run under the tap for a minute.

Heat up your wok and when it is hot enough, drizzle the sesame oil. Add in the finely chopped garlic. Fry until golden brown. Now, add the noodles. Swiftly, followed by the sauces (both light and dark soy sauce) and spring onions. If it is too dry add 30ml of water (preferably use the soup from wanton dumplings). You only need to fry this for 2-3 minutes for most egg noodles. If like me, you are using wanton noodles, it literally only needs 30 seconds in the wok. So prepare your sauces in a bowl in advance, as you need to be quick!

Stir-fry a vegetable of your choice. Again, the same, hot wok and oil, followed by chopped garlic. Add vegetable and about 50ml of water. Cover and simmer for 3-5 minutes depending on which vegetable you have chosen. Kai Lan (Chinese Broccoli) needs a little longer than Pak Choy, for example.

Now, assemble your dish. First, the noodles, followed by the wanton dumplings, the Char Siu pork. Sprinkle some fried shallots, garnish with spring onions, pickled chillies (not for the kids) and a drizzle of sesame oil. Don’t forget to prepare the chillies in soy sauce too for that extra kick. Get your chopsticks out and enjoy!