Easy, Spicy, Chinese Noodles (No Frying, Vegetarian)

I’ve always loved Chinese egg noodles (who doesn’t?) but I REALLY came to appreciate spicy noodle dishes when I lived in southern China. I would eat it for breakfast or lunch in the school cafeteria where I worked. Thankfully, one of my students graciously taught me how to whip up a batch for myself at home! Nine years later, and I’m still making these spicy Chinese egg noodles on the regular. They’re SO good and SO easy. They’re not fried, so it’s a little healthier, and they’re naturally vegetarian! And now I’m passing on the recipe to you!

Homemade, Authentic, Southern Chinese Noodles

I’m calling this dish spicy Chinese egg noodles because there’s really no official name for it. It’s not like “chow mein” or “beef noodle soup” where you can go to different restaurants and order a pretty similar dish. These noodles were just considered basic home cooking where I was living. What that also means is that there’s huge flexibility when it comes to cooking it. You can adjust or substitute for…

• the type of vegetable
• protein
• seasonings
• noodles

…which is basically the whole recipe.

Ingredients for Dry, Spicy Noodles

At the very least, grab some thin egg noodles and the basic sauce seasonings: black vinegar, soy sauce, and chili oil. You don’t have to use the exact noodles I have; I just really like them. The one thing I would NOT substitute is the Chinese black vinegar. It has a really distinct, deep vinegar flavor. You can find it at any Chinese market. But there’s always Amazon (affiliate link).

How to Cook Dry, Spicy, Chinese Noodles – No Frying!

Bring a pot of water to boil. Cook everything in that pot. Throw in your veggies, noodles, optional protein, whatever. Just fish out each ingredient as they are done cooking so they don’t overcook. If you use fried tofu like me, you don’t even have to boil it, since it’s already cooked. In the end, you’ll dump everything into your noodle bowl. All the flavor comes from mixing your sauce!

Add black vinegar, soy sauce, and chili oil to taste. If you’re not adding a ton of chili oil, you’ll want some other oil as well to carry the flavor – I used sesame oil here. Now here’s the caveat… I DO NOT MEASURE. I just pour in a splash here and a splash there. If it’s your first time making this, you’ll have to start small and taste as you go along. Eventually, you’ll figure out what you like. Stir, stir, stir, then mix back in the rest of your ingredients. Top with a fried egg, if you like (okay, I know this breaks the no-frying rule, but it’s worth it)! And you’re done!

The whole thing takes probably 5-10 minutes. It’s easy, flavorful, and bonus: it’s also vegetarian if you keep your protein to tofu and eggs! Give it a try and let me know what you think!