Delicious And Easy Chicken Noodle Stir Fry

I know right, you’ve been stir frying your dinners your whole life, what the heck could I possible teach you!? I mean it’s a valid question, but one I do hope to answer by the end of this post. A stir fry comes in many different shapes and sizes but for me, I’ve only got eyes for chicken noodle stir fry.

A delicious chicken noodle stir fry for me, is the meaning of life. Okay, dramatic. But you know what I mean. Quick, easy and most importantly it’s the perfect opportunity to use up some leftover veg knocking about in the fridge. Plus – chicken and noodles is just the perfect combo. Meaning of life? Maybe not. Meaning of the most convenient dinner ever. Absolutely. And like I said, there’s a million and one ways to make a stir fry, but here I’ll give you some general tips that will really make a difference next time you knock one up for dinner! So let’s tuck in shall we?

The most versatile part of a chicken noodle stir fry is the veg. Come to think of it, I don’t think I’ve ever eaten a stir fry with exactly the same veg in it twice. Besides opening the fridge and picking whatever veg looks like it’s on it’s last legs, here’s my tips for what to include.

Best Veg for a Stir Fry

Now we’ve got the veg, let’s crack on to the sauce.

Basic Stir Fry Sauce

I’ve been guilty in the past of just chucking in some soy sauce or sweet chilli sauce and calling it a day. Not that that tastes bad, but it can be a whole lot tastier. For me, the perfect chicken noodle stir fry sauce has to be a balance of sweet, sour, spice and salt. The oyster sauce and dark soy sauce will give you the base flavour for the stir fry and add a good amount of salt. To balance out and sweeten that powerful salty taste, I add brown sugar. Just 1/2 a tsp, but it’s enough to balance things out. From there I add fresh lime juice to add the sour component. Lastly I add in white pepper. White pepper is spicier than regular black pepper and goes perfectly in a stir fry. Many recipes also thicken stir fry sauces with cornstarch/cornflour. I tend to find that dark soy sauce and oyster sauce are thick enough already, but if you feel like it needs thickening then add in cornstarch/cornflour.

Chicken Noodle Stir Fry

Of course, what’s a chicken noodle stir fry without the chicken? Well, a noodle stir fry I guess.. But that’s not what we’re here for today! Typically I use chicken breast because it’s usually what I’ve got on hand, but chicken thigh works perfectly too. My tips are to firstly make sure it’s thinly sliced and roughly the same size. You want the chicken to cook quickly and most importantly, at an even rate. Secondly, ensure you don’t chuck it in straight from the fridge. I find that frying cold chicken produces too much moisture, which in turn prevents it from browning. Bring your chicken just to room temperature then chop and chuck it in. Lastly don’t cook it completely. You want it about 80-90% cooked, then take it out and pop back in right at the end to finish heating it through. If you left it in the wok the whole time it’s going to overcook and become tough.

Best type of Noodle for a Stir Fry

When it comes to the noodles, I tend to stick to egg noodles just out of preference. I also tend to get medium thickness. I find that if they’re too thin they kind of just get lost, especially if there’s tonnes of veg. What I do recommend is whatever noodles you choose, after you’ve cooked and drained them, toss a little sesame oil through them. This will not only ensure they don’t stick together, but will also inject a gorgeous sesame flavour into your noodles.

Chicken Noodle Stir Fry Garnish

I try not to think of garnish as just a pretty face, but more of an opportunity to add some more texture and flavour to the dish. One of my favourite things to do is grab some peanuts, lightly toasted them, crush them up and sprinkle them over top. So much yumminess it’s insane. Adding some sesame seeds will also enhance that sesame oil you tossed the noodles through as well. Ya know, just for even more yum.