What’s up everyone? Today we’re making “sih yàuh wòhng cháau mihn”! Soy Sauce Chow Mein. My name is Randy And I’m a second generation Chinese American, On a mission to share and preserve My parents’ recipes and stories, one meal at a time. My dad has been a Chinese chef for over 50 years, And by my estimates, he’s made this dish well Over 10000 times during his career. Today, you’ll get to learn all of his secrets for making The perfect Soy Sauce Chow Mein right at home. Hello friends. Hope everyone is doing well! I'm very happy to see you all again! Our family wants to deeply thank all of you for your support. Today we're making soy sauce chow mein. sih yàuh wòhng cháau mihn is a classic Cantonese dish That translates roughly to supreme soy sauce pan fried noodles. During Meal Time, my parents explain That this is traditionally more of A breakfast or lunch kind of dish, And especially popular for dim sum. Personally, I also found it really interesting that Soy sauce chow mein is also typically served without meat. If you’re interested in learning the traditional reasoning behind this, Stay tuned for Meal Time! There are two kinds of fresh noodles - steamed and unsteamed. These are fresh noodles. These are steamed noodles. The difference is the steamed noodles are already cooked. Most Chinese grocery stores will sell this kind of steamed noodles. For unsteamed noodles, you'll need to steam them before pan frying. These noodles are cooked, so you don't need to steam them again. To prepare them, just put them in boiling water for 2 minutes. Look at the back of the package. There should be directions to cook these noodles. It's very simple. Today we're using fresh noodles. For these noodles, we'll have to do one extra step. For this dish, we’ll be using about 12 ounces of Chinese egg noodles, Of which there are many, many different types, Varieties, and brands that offer them. For simplicity’s sake, here are 3 of the Most common Chinese egg noodles: Wonton Mein, Lo Mein, and Chow Mein. We’ll want to use Chow Mein, Also known as Hong Kong Style Pan Fried Noodles. Chow Mein is the ideal type of noodle For the traditional flavor and texture profile we’re going for. They’re thinner than Lo Mein And have less egg content than Wonton Mein. Now, we're going to steam these noodles. We'll use a metal rack to steam. If you don't have a metal rack you can also use a plate. Put the noodles on here. When the water boils, we'll set it inside. Steam it for about 10 minutes. Now we'll set it inside Turn on the high heat and steam for 10 minutes While we wait, what's next? The ingredients are very simple. These are green onions. This is a white onion. These are beansprouts. We'll use about 4 oz. Green onion, about 4-5 pieces. We have a bunch of these growing in our backyard. Feel free to put more green onions if you want. That's totally fine. If you're looking for a written version of this recipe Check out our blog post at madewithlau.com Where you'll find an adjustable list of ingredients And step-by-step videos to guide you As you make the recipe at home When we cut the green onions. We'll cut about 1 - 1.5 inch pieces Separate the white and green parts of the onion. Since we'll cook the white part of the green onion first. And add the green part last. We'll use 1/2 of a white onion. Julienne the onion We'll cook the white part of the green onion And the slices of white onion first. Next we'll prepare the sauce for our soy sauce chow mein. For our sauce, we’ll be mixing 1 tbsp dark soy sauce 1 tbsp light soy sauce 1 tbsp oyster sauce 2 tsp sugar 1 tbsp water Mix until the sugar dissolves. What's the purpose of using dark soy sauce? Dark soy sauce makes the dish look darker. Does it taste the same (as light soy sauce)? Dark soy sauce tastes slightly more sweet and less salty. Now, let's taste it. See if it's right and if we need to add or subtract anything. Okay Okay Please remember to not add salt. Because the sauce already has dark and light soy sauce And also oyster sauce. No salt, just like this. As we wait for our noodles to steam, Here’s the backstory on our other key ingredient... Soy sauce Soy sauce dates back to around 2200 years ago During the Han Dynasty in China. Much like congee and rice, Soy sauce was originally developed to stretch salt Which used to be a very expensive commodity. It has since become one of the most common And important ingredients in all of Asian cuisine. In Cantonese, soy sauce is called “sih yàuh 豉油”, And there are a ton of different names And variations for soy sauce all across Asia. Traditionally, Chinese soy sauce is produced By fermenting soybeans and grains, Brewing with some sort of salt, purifying and pasteurizing, And then it’s either stored for further aging Or bottled immediately for distribution. It’s primarily during this final step Where dark soy sauce differs from light soy sauce. In Cantonese, dark soy sauce is known as “lóuh chāu 老抽”, Which roughly translates to “old extract”, A reference to a longer aging process than its younger brother, Light soy sauce, or “sāang chāu 生抽”. Dark soy sauce is also commonly mixed with Mushrooms, caramel coloring, and molasses. If you don’t have dark soy sauce, you can skip it And substitute it with light soy sauce which is generally easier to buy. You can also check our blog post and description For links to buy dark soy sauce online. I also wanted to make a special shoutout to thank all of our Wonderful Patreon supporters to help bring this video to life. If you enjoy our videos and are interested in supporting us directly, Head on over to patreon.com/madewithlau to learn more! Now I have to tell everyone: Why we need to steam the noodles instead of boiling them? When you steam the noodle it will make them firm And more chewy when you pan frying them. If you boil the noodles then it will become too soft. When it's too soft to pan fry, the noodles won't be as flavorful. This is a very important point... If you boil the noodles then they will become too soft and soggy. Since they're not submerged in water The steamed noodles will be firm. When you pan fry the noodles, You want the noodles to be firm and chewy. When you chew it will have more crunch. Okay, almost there. When they're done steaming you can see the noodles sinking down. Earlier, the noodles were very full. The noodles are cooked. If you break the noodle and see that it's white, it's not ready. Right now it's okay. It's fully done cooking. Now, after it's done steaming we'll put all of the noodles in the water. Dunk them in the water. Quickly put them in. Dunk them in. One minute is enough. Okay it's done now. Pour it in. Good. Wow Separate them. Cool them off. Steamed noodles will be more crunchy If you boil them, the noodles will become too soft. If it's too soft, it won't taste good. Understand? Mmm See? Lift the noodles like this to release the steam. Let the noodles cool down for about 2 minutes. When you touch the noodles, they shouldn't be sticky. Very pretty. Next, we’ll heat our wok to around 350-400F, Which should take a few minutes. Then, we’ll add about 1 tbsp corn oil and Let that heat up until it’s shimmering, or forming ripples. First, we’ll sauté the white part of the green onion And the regular white onion first. After you sauté this on high heat, it'll become more aromatic. Sauté these first. We'll use the green part of the onion last. We’ll cook these for a little under a minute, And then set them aside on a plate for later. Now, we'll add more oil. About 1 tbsp of oil. Get the oil really hot How many degrees now? 350°F About like this... Now let's put it inside. Put the noodles in. Woo! Smells great! See that?! Separate the noodles. Don't flip the noodle. Slowly continue to pan fry them. No need to hurry. Very simple. We'll pan fry until it is crispy and aromatic. Then add the bean sprouts and the sauce. First, pan fry until the bottom becomes crispy. Then flip over to pan fry the top of the noodles. Then all the noodles will be crispy. So if the noodles are boiled, the noodles won't be crispy. And they'll all stick together. For Soy Sauce Chow Mein and pan-fried noodle dishes You have to use steamed noodles. What if you don't have the rack? If you don't have one, use a plate. If you have this rack. The steam will come up through the bottom holes. And the steaming will happen faster. If you don't have this rack, then use this (with a plate) The steam can't access bottom of the plate as easily. So it will take a little longer. It will take 2-3 more minutes. The steam is only able to heat from the top-down. That's the difference. Now the bottom side is ready and we're ready to flip it over. You hear that sizzle? Watch me flip this over. Whoa See? It's become crispy. It's becoming really tasty and flavorful after stir frying, right? See? Turn it over and add more oil. You need to add more oil to the noodles to make it more aromatic. The bottom half already has oil. When you flip it over, you need oil on the other side too. Do you hear the sound? If you have oil, you'll hear this sound. This sound indicates that the noodles are perfect. If you don't hear the sound, it's no good. Now, when you pan fry the steam will come out. Now loosen the noodles. When your soy sauce chow mein is cooked and plated The noodles will taste good when they look dry and crispy. If the noodles are all stuck together, it won't taste good. Daddy, if someone doesn't have this kind of non-stick wok, What would you say are the requirements for another wok? This dish won't stick on the wok. Even if you use another wok, it won't stick. Because these noodles are steamed, they'll be more firm If you boil the noodles, they'll will stick on the wok. Steamed noodles won't stick on the wok. The first point is to heat up the wok very hot and then add oil. If you do it this way, it won't stick. If you add oil when the wok isn't hot enough, Then the noodles will definitely stick to the wok. Now, we'll add the beansprouts next to side of the noodles Cook the beansprouts on the side for a little bit. You don't mix it up yet? Cook a little bit first. Put the beansprouts underneath the noodles. Lift the noodles on top of the sprouts. The noodles are on top, cooking the beansprouts underneath. Like this is good. Do you hear the sound from the sprouts? Let the bean sprouts cook underneath the noodles for about 30 to 45 seconds. Now we'll add in the green onion shoots Add the previously cooked onions to the wok We’ll mix this around and separate the noodles for about 1-2 minutes. Pour the sauce in After pouring the sauce, we’ll mix it around for another minute. See? Almost there. We'll continue cooking until the chow mein is more dry. Are you cooking at high heat this whole time? Yes, you have to keep it on a high heat. For additional flavor, we’ll add about 1 tsp sesame oil. From here, we’ll continue mixing and fluffing the noodles For about 2 more minutes, And then we’ll be just about done. Try it. Is it salty enough? Mmm So flavorful! Now if you feel that the color isn't dark enough. For this dish, you can add 1/2 tbsp dark soy sauce to make it darker. The color will become darker. Adding dark soy sauce won't make the dish too salty Unlike light soy sauce. Now the color is darker. Wait until the chow mein is done cooking. Then, if you feel the color is not dark enough, Add a little more dark soy sauce. Okay it's all done! Good! Are you hungry son? Yes! Did you eat lunch? No Were you saving your stomach for this? Uh huh :) All done. Ask them to come to eat. What a full plate! 12 oz of noodles makes a huge dish! Good! Our "Soy Sauce Pan Fried Noodles" are done! Beautiful? Yeahhhhh Can you see? Ready to eat! “sih yàuh wòhng cháau mihn (Soy Sauce Pan Fried Noodles)! Okay, Hong Doy, let's eat noodles! Okay, okay! Oh yes! Ohhh! 1-2-3! Okay eat with mommy! Wahoo! Let's eat! Cheers Let's eat, let's eat! Grandma eat! I'm okay, grandma will feed herself. Is it good? I can put this whole piece in my mouth. Daddy says that he's made this thousands and thousands of times. So many times I can't count. He's worked at so many restaurants... Dim sum restaurants, fast food restaurants Local neighborhood restaurants, and our own restaurant. All those years, he's made it so many times. It's popular wherever you go. Yes! A lot of people wanted to know, how do you get the right texture? The noodles need to be steamed, not boiled. When you pan fry them, don't move them around too much. When I did it, I fried one side first. Wait until it's crispy, then flip. At the market, you can buy wet/fresh noodles. One is cooked, one is uncooked. The cooked one is called "steamed noodles" The uncooked one is called "sāang mihn" Yes they're both fresh, but they're also both wet. Okay, they're not dry? Yes, not dry. But they're sold in a package. For chow mein, are wet noodles better? Will the texture be better if you buy wet noodles? Wet noodles are better than dried ones. If you aren't able to get the wet noodles you can buy the dry noodles. The dry ones are still okay. How do you get the perfect texture if you start with dry noodles? When the water is boiling, add oil. The oil helps to keep the boiled noodles from sticking together. It also helps to keep them loose. After you loosen the noodles, don't cook them too long. 1-2 minutes is enough before pouring them out. Use the colander to drain them so they'll be dry. If you use the noodles that need to be boiled, Is it best to use it right away? No matter what you need to wait until the noodles are cool. You can make this dish using instant ramen noodles. Instant noodles? Yes Really? But thick noodles are no good. Is it okay to use chow fun noodles? That won't be as good. Use the thin noodles. Instant noodles are okay because they aren't that thick. How about lo mein noodles? Lo mein noodles aren't the best for this dish because they're too thick. Thin noodles are easy to better absorb the soy sauce flavor. The lo mein noodles have a different flavor and will be too soft. These noodles are firmer. If someone has clumped noodles, how can they fix it? If your noodles are soft and sticking together, it's too late to fix. First, before you pan fry the noodles, don't let them stick together. If the noodles are sticking together before, it's too hard to pan fry. You have to make them all loose before you pan fry. A few people asked, what is your favorite soy sauce brand? Hmmm. It is hard to pick. Everyone has a different preference. Since I'm from Guangzhou I'm using soy sauce made in Guangzhou. Pearl River Bridge brand Pearl River Bridge? Yes. Pearl River Bridge. Pearl River Bridge is made in Guangzhou. It's a Cantonese one. Represent! Yeah! Mmmmm You like that Cam? Oh how come this dish doesn't come with meat? This is from a Patreon supporter! The Pangs! That’s how this dish is - it comes without meat. You have to understand what the primary flavor is. The signature flavor of this dish is the supreme soy sauce! Ohhhh The taste doesn't come from the noodles. The primary taste comes from the soy sauce flavor. If you add meat, then the flavor is - Then the primary flavor is meat. You call it the flavor first I see You're calling it the flavor first. So if you add beef, then that's the main flavor. Ahhh! Very good! Interesting! You won't get the supreme soy sauce flavor. Of course if you want to add meat, go ahead! But then it won't be "soy sauce chow mein" Oh? If you add meat it won't be called that? Yes if you add beef it's called "beef chow mein" Oh, haha "sih yàuh wòhng" "sih yàuh" means soy sauce. "wòhng" means "king" King? Yes, king Oh yes, isn't it supposed to be "supreme?" Some of the translations are "Supreme Soy Sauce..." Oh I always thought it was yellow Light Soy Sauce King This "wòhng" means "king" Not the "wòhng" for "yellow" I learned something today. Did you both eat this a lot in China? I did. But I didn't cook it myself. I ate at dim sum restaurants. Let grandpa hold baby. In China, I always ate dried noodles. Not wet noodles. Not this. You would eat dried noodles? No Dried noodles? Why? Was dried noodle expensive? No. Dried noodles don't require a refrigerator. You can put dried noodles in the pantry for a month And they're still okay. But you need to put wet noodles in the refrigerator We didn't have a refrigerator before. You have to use it within a week right? You have to use within a couple of days. How do restaurants cook this dish differently? They make this much more quickly. At home we use the wok to slowly pan fry. They’d have cooked two dishes already Restaurants also steam all their noodles at once. But in a restaurant they use a lot of oil for this dish. They heat up the oil and then pan fry both sides. Pour it out, drain the oil. Then put the noodles back into a pot with hot water. Quickly dunk it in and out a few times. While it's draining you can start frying the onions. Add the noodles and then the sauce. Why do you need to dunk the noodles into the water? First, it helps to make the noodles more soft. Second, it helps to get rid of the extra oil. When you are making this at home, can you ever use too much oil? No, you won't use too much oil. But you'll use more oil than other dishes. Chow fun and chow mein both need to use more oil. If you don't use enough oil, it won't taste good. Cam you want another noodle? Yummy! Is it good? Which chow mein is better? Yours or a restaurant's? It is hard to say. Restaurants have their way & I have my way. I feel my way is more healthy. I feel restaurants use a lot of oil. The noodles are soaked with oil. But restaurants are able to get wok hei. Restaurants have better wok hei than at home. It's really hard to produce a lot of wok hei on our stove. Restaurants are not the same. You can see the flame rising up really quickly and high It will naturally produce a lot of intense wok hei and flavor. But at home, it's more healthy. Sometimes after you eat it, you feel like your throat is sore. Also too much oil. At home you don't have this problem. We've touched on this in some of our previous videos But Wok Hei is an important principle in Cantonese cooking The Cantonese word "hei" is more commonly known By its Mandarin counterpart, “qi” The vital life force that runs through our body Wok Hei has a lot of different meanings But I love how Grace Young explains it in her book, The Breath of a Wok And how the wok breathes its energy into the food To create an epic meal Kenji López-Alt, a popular science-based chef and author Recently posted a great write up on New York Times About the elements of Wok Hei Which centers around the reactions that occur Between sugars, oils, extreme heat, and rapid evaporation Achieving restaurant-quality Wok Hei at home Is generally harder due to the heat limitations Of our typical stoves Home cooked food still tastes great even without A high-powered heat source, but if you're curious I highly recommend checking out Kenji's video Where he shares his own version of Lo Mein noodles Made at home with a blow torch To get more of that smoky, fleeting Wok Hei essence Right now our goal is to make everything Easy & healthy. Dishes you are able to make for your lunch, breakfast & family! We just want to help our friends learn to make this at home. So that when you make it and taste it, you'll say, "I'm happy!" That will be good I think! Yay!! Hong Doy say "#1" How do you say clap? Is it "pai pai" like in Mandarin? Yes, how do you say clap? paak sáu Paak sáu! Paak paak! Let Grandma hold you Mom you just had him! Let Grandma hold you. I want you! Hello! Thank you for watching today's dish! sih yàuh wòhng cháau mihn! This dish is very delicious. I believe everyone will easily be able to learn and cook at home! Thank you again!
