The Best Chinese Noodles

Chinese Noodles

If you want to know how I gauge a Chinese-American restaurant, it’s all about the bowl of crunchy, crispy noodles they place in front of me alongside some duck sauce and hot mustard for dipping. They’re basically the Chinese equivalent of Mexican tortilla chips where we pop and crunch them into our mouths as soon as we sit down at the table. If they’re those tiny ones that taste baked and pre-packaged, I know they cheaped out and I will pout. But if they’re those golden-brown thick ones that have the perfect crunch with a slight taste of oil seeped in, it will set the stage for a great meal to come! I am thrilled to share with you it only takes two ingredients to make these incredible, authentic Chinese noodles right at home where they’ll be on your table (and in your belly) in minutes.

Watch The Video!

The Best Chinese Noodles
Man holding bowl of Chinese noodles
See this? Looks like the best of crunchy noodles you’d get at a legit Chinese-American restaurant, right? Well you’re about to make them in your own kitchen.

Prepare the Noodles

Package of egg roll wrappers
Get a package of egg roll wrappers from your local Asian market or supermarket (some good and large ones carry them).
Opened package of egg roll wrappers
They’re usually found in the frozen section so make sure they’re thawed.
Slicing egg roll wrapper into four strips with a pizza cutter
Now we’ll slice these egg roll wrapper sheets into an old-school Chinese noodle formation! Grab a pizza cutter and cut four even strips.
Slicing the 4 strips in half so we have 8 strips.
Then, slice the strips in the middle so they’re halved, leaving you with 8 strips per egg roll wrapper sheet.
Egg roll wrapper strips on a tray
I use 4 egg roll wrapper sheets, which will gives me 32 generously-sized strips which will become 32 generously-sized golden-brown, crunchy Chinese noodles. But you can make as many or as little as you’d like!

Fry The Noodles

Carefully placing each egg roll strip into hot oil in deep fryer
Fill a deep fryer or Dutch oven halfway with canola or vegetable oil and heat to 375°. Once heated, carefully lay each strip into the hot oil.
Egg roll wrappers beginning to crunch up and become golden-brown in color while frying
Allow the strips to fry for just a minute or two and begin to transform into noodles!
Tongs flipping the wrappers so each side gets fried evenly
Once they’re golden brown on one side, use tongs to flip so the other side also fried into a golden-brown color.
Tong holding perfectly fried noodle
When they look like this, they’re done!

Cool the Noodles

Placing fried noodles on a paper towel-lined wire rack to cool and rest.
Transfer those beautiful, broad, crunchy noodles to a paper towel-lined wire rack under a baking sheet (or a large paper towel-lined platter) and let cool and rest for 5 minutes.
Large bowl with the Chinese noodles in them and a ramekin of duck sauce beside it
Place the noodles in a large serving bowl and enjoy by dipping in duck sauce, hot mustard, or toss into your favorite Chinese soups, such as Wonton, Egg Drop, Wonton/Egg Drop Mix, or Hot & Sour!

Eat The Noodles

Man holding bowl of noodles and duck sauce
Okay. This is where we show off what we just did. By the way, there’s zero reason to tell anyone how easy this was to make. Let them praise you for the genius you are.
Man dipping the noodle in duck sauce
Dip.
Man eating the dipped noodle
Crunch.
Man looking very content.
Munch! These Chinese noodles are the REAL DEAL!
Yield: 6

The Best Chinese Noodles

The Best Chinese Noodles

If you want to know how I gauge a Chinese-American restaurant, it's all about the bowl of crunchy, crispy noodles they place in front of me alongside some duck sauce and hot mustard for dipping. If they're those tiny ones that taste baked and pre-packaged, I know they cheaped out and I will pout. But if they're those golden-brown thick ones that have the perfect crunch with a slight taste of oil seeped in, it will set the stage for a great meal to come! I am thrilled to share with you it only takes two ingredients to make these incredible, authentic Chinese noodles right at home where they'll be on your table (and in your belly) in minutes.

Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 15 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 package egg roll wrappers, thawed (they're usually found in the frozen section of most Asian markets and some supermarkets with a diverse international section). I use 4 sheets and cut into 8 slices each (see Step 2), making 32 generously sized noodles, but you can make as many or as little as you'd like!
  • Canola or vegetable oil, for frying

Instructions

  1. Bring out a deep fryer or deep dutch oven, fill halfway with canola or vegetable oil and heat to 375° (this should take about 20 minutes).
  2. As the oil's heating, lay a thawed egg roll wrapper on a cutting board and, using a pizza cutter, slice into 4 even strips and then slice halfway across the strips so you have 8 strips per egg roll wrapper (NOTE: see the step-by-step photos above for a visual and Jeff's Tips for different size options).
  3. In 2-3 batches, carefully lay each egg roll strip into the hot oil and let fry until golden brown, about 60-90 seconds. Using tongs, flip and do the same for the other side.
  4. Remove the golden-brown noodles to a paper-towel lined wire rack with a baking sheet under it (or a large paper towel-lined platter) and let rest for 5 minutes. Place the noodles in a large serving bowl and enjoy by dipping in duck sauce, hot mustard or toss into your favorite Chinese soups, like Wonton, Egg Drop, Wonton/Egg Drop Mix, or Hot & Sour!

Jeffrey's Tips

I happen to like these noodles exactly as I prepare them in the recipe; thick like ribbons. But if you want them thinner and/or longer, simply slice them thinner to your liking in Step 2.

Reader Interactions

Comments

    • Jeffrey

      Nope! These have to be fully deep fried with the oil to seep in to order to give them that classic Chinese noodle flavor, look and texture.

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