Seafood Crispy Noodles (Sheng Mian)

sheng mian

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Mixed Seafood on Crispy Noodles (海鲜生面) is a Hong Kong/Cantonese-style dish which I really love, and it is my favourite zi char one-dish noodles meal.

See Also: Easy One Dish Meals

In Singapore, we call it Sheng Mian (生面) which literally translates as “raw noodles”. It comprises of assorted food (usually seafood, vegetables and/or sliced meat) cooked in a savoury gravy which is then drizzled over a nest of crispy noodles.

Ready-made "Ee Mee" noodles

Ready-made “Ee Mee” noodles

You can make your own crispy noodle nest by deep-frying them, or you can, like me, take the short-cut of using ready-made crispy noodles. If you are doing the short-cut way, ensure that the noodles will be cooked (they are usually a little harder than the freshly deep-fried ones) by ladling generous amounts of freshly cooked hot gravy over the crispy noodles. Within seconds, the noodles will cook and soften slightly, while absorbing all the delicious flavours from the sauce.

Easy Chinese Crispy Noodles Recipe

You will hear the crunch of the noodles as you are eating it at the beginning, and as you eat, the noodles will soften gradually. If you like your noodles softer, just mix it in more with the sauce. I personally prefer my noodles crisp!

This basic recipe serves 1, but feel free to increase the quantity accordingly to your serving requirement.

Ingredients:

  • 1 serving of ready-made crispy noodles
  • 1 tbsp cooking oil
  • 2 cloves garlic minced
  • 100 grams assorted seafood (such as peeled prawns, clam meat and sliced squid rings)
  • 6 slices carrots sliced thinly to flower shapes
  • 1 tbsp Shaoxing wine
  • 300 ml chicken stock (or use instant chicken stock)
  • 2-3 slices ginger
  • a handful Chinese greens such as bok choy cut to 5 cm lengths
  • cornstarch solution 2 tbsp cornstarch dissolved in 4 tbsp water
  • pickled green chilli condiment

Directions:

  1. Place crispy noodles on a wide and slightly deep serving plate. Heat oil in wok. Add garlic and stir fry for about 30 seconds. Add seafood and carrots. Stir-fry briefly, until you see the prawns starting to turn opaque. Drizzle Chinese wine along the sides of the wok.
  2. Add chicken stock and ginger slices. When the broth comes to a boil, lower to a simmer and add the greens. Thicken the gravy to desired consistency with cornstarch solution.
  3. Ladle hot gravy over the crispy noodles with pickled green chilli at the side. Serve immediately.

Noob Cook Tips

  1. Make your own crispy noodles nest by first blanching egg noodles in hot water, draining and then deep frying the noodles briefly (like a few seconds; one portion at a time) in a wok of hot oil. Drain oil and arrange crispy noodles on a serving plate.
  2. Use your own mix of ingredients (e.g. sliced meat, fish cake and mushrooms). Add them in order of the time taken to cook (e.g. sliced meat first, vegetables last).
  3. Chicken stock differs in flavour and richness so season the stock with light soy sauce and oyster sauce accordingly to taste. For instant chicken stock, use those packaged in tetra-pak as compared to stock cubes (richer in taste).