How to make chow mein with pork belly, dried shrimp and vegetables - the classic stir-fried noodle dish
- This classic dish uses oily noodles, thin slices of pork belly, dried shrimp, crisp vegetables and slices of omelette
- A one-pot dish, everything ends up cooking in the wok, lightly coated in the sauce
There are many types of chow mein. It is not just the cooking method that varies – the noodles (which can be thick or thin) can be stir-fried, deep-fried or pan-fried, and, of course, there are endless combinations of ingredients to go with them. The style found in most restaurants is where all the ingredients are stir-fried together in the wok.
Chow mein with pork belly, dried shrimp and vegetables
For this dish, I like to use oil noodles (also called oily noodles), where, as the name suggests, the noodles are coated in oil. This means you can use less oil when stir-frying, because they are less likely to stick to the wok.
If you can’t find oil noodles, which are about the thickness of bucatini (although without the hole), buy fresh Chinese noodles of the appropriate thickness then blanch them briefly, to remove the floury coating.
Drain them, then spread them on an oiled baking tray and drizzle with more oil. Toss the noodles to coat them with the oil, then proceed with the recipe. There is no need to boil oil noodles before stir-frying them.
The pork belly can be with or without the skin, as you prefer. The pork should be chilled before you slice it, which makes it easier to cut into thin pieces.
For the pork belly:
250 grams (9 oz) pork belly, chilled