Caramelized Soy Sauce Noodles Recipe - The Woks of Life (2024)

Home Recipes Caramelized Soy Sauce Noodles with Sweet Potato & Mushrooms

Caramelized Soy Sauce Noodles Recipe - The Woks of Life (1)

by: Sarah

39 Comments

Jump to Recipe

Caramelized Soy Sauce Noodles Recipe - The Woks of Life (2)

Ever since we started The Woks of Life, we’re always looking for new and creative ideas to experiment with onthe blog. As such, I’ve started looking at every visit to a new restaurant as “research.” (As you can imagine––especially when the four of us are together––this can lead to major cases of over-ordering. Because apparently it’s ok to order enough food for 8 when you’re doing it in the name of academic inquiry).

On a recent (work-related) trip to Las Vegas, I ate at a restaurant called China Poblano––a restaurant whose concept is,somewhat inexplicably, a mixture ofboth Chinese and Mexican cuisine. It’s not fusion food or anything. They weren’t trying to put Char Siu on a taco. They just had both Chinese dishes and Mexican dishes side-by-side on the same menu. So basically, you could order chips and guacamole as an appetizer, eatnoodles, siu mai, and more noodlesfor amain course, and wash it all down with a margarita.

It was weird, but it kind of worked.

One itemon the menu that stood out to me(not sure if it’s still there) was a soy sauce noodles dish with sweet potatoes and shiitake mushrooms. It was kind of a brilliant combination.I rarely think to do carb on carb kind of dishes, i.e. putting ingredients like noodles and potatoes together. But the earthiness of the mushrooms and the natural sweetness of the sweet potato were both amazing when combined with the caramelized soy sauce noodles and the toasty wok hei flavor from the stir-frying process. I decided to replicate it at home, and came up with this recipe.

Give it a try, let me know what you think, and don’t be afraid to get quirky and serveit with some tortilla chips and guac on the side. (Kind of a joke, but also kinda not.)

Caramelized Soy Sauce Noodles Recipe - The Woks of Life (3)

Recipe Instructions

Caramelized Soy Sauce Noodles Recipe - The Woks of Life (4)

In a medium bowl, mix together the light or regular soy sauce, dark soy sauce, Shaoxing wine, sesame oil, brown sugar, and water.

Heat 3 tablespoons oil in a wok over medium high heat, and add the julienned sweet potatoes.

Caramelized Soy Sauce Noodles Recipe - The Woks of Life (5)

Stir-fry for about 5 minutes, allowing the sweet potatoes to brown. Remove from the wok and set aside.

Caramelized Soy Sauce Noodles Recipe - The Woks of Life (6)

Add another 3tablespoons of oil to the wok (still over medium high heat), and add the shiitake mushrooms.

Caramelized Soy Sauce Noodles Recipe - The Woks of Life (7)

Stir-fry until the mushrooms are softened and slightly browned, splashing in a little more oil if it’s too dry.

Caramelized Soy Sauce Noodles Recipe - The Woks of Life (8)

Crank up the heat to high, and add in the fresh yakisoba, udon, or lo mein noodles, cooked sweet potato, and sauce mixture.

Caramelized Soy Sauce Noodles Recipe - The Woks of Life (9)

Caramelized Soy Sauce Noodles Recipe - The Woks of Life (10)

Stir-fry and quickly toss everything together. Serve, sprinkled with chopped cilantro and scallion (if using).

Caramelized Soy Sauce Noodles Recipe - The Woks of Life (11)

Serve your Caramelized Soy Sauce Noodles with Sweet Potato & Mushrooms!

Caramelized Soy Sauce Noodles Recipe - The Woks of Life (12)

Caramelized Soy Sauce Noodles Recipe - The Woks of Life (13)

Caramelized Soy Sauce Noodles Recipe - The Woks of Life (14)

Caramelized Soy Sauce Noodles Recipe - The Woks of Life (15)

Looking for more authentic recipes? Subscribe to our email list and be sure to follow us on Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram, and Youtube!

4.86 from 7 votes

Caramelized Soy Sauce Noodles with Sweet Potato & Mushrooms

This dish of caramelized soy sauce noodles with sweet potatoes and shiitakes is an amazing combination of flavors, and it's super easy to make at home!

by: Sarah

Course:Noodles and Pasta

Cuisine:Chinese

Caramelized Soy Sauce Noodles Recipe - The Woks of Life (16)

serves: 4 servings

Prep: 20 minutes minutes

Cook: 15 minutes minutes

Total: 35 minutes minutes

Print

Rate

Ingredients

  • 1 ½ tablespoons light or regular soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine (or dry sherry)
  • ½ teaspoon sesame oil
  • 1 tablespoon brown sugar
  • 3 tablespoons water
  • 6 tablespoons vegetable oil (divided)
  • 1 medium sweet potato (peeled and julienned)
  • 8 oz. shiitake mushrooms (225g, thinly sliced)
  • 1 pound yakisoba (450g, udon, or lo mein noodles also work)
  • 2 tablespoons each finely chopped cilantro and scallion (optional)

Instructions

  • In a medium bowl, mix together the soy sauce, dark soy sauce, wine, sesame oil, brown sugar, and water.

  • Heat 3 tablespoons oil in a wok over medium high heat, and add the julienned sweet potatoes. Stir-fry for about 5 minutes, allowing the sweet potatoes to brown. Remove from the wok and set aside.

  • Add another 3 tablespoons of oil to the wok (still over medium high heat), and add the mushrooms. Stir-fry until the mushrooms are softened and slightly browned, splashing in a little more oil if it’s too dry.

  • Crank up the heat to high, and add in the noodles, cooked sweet potato, and sauce mixture. Stir-fry and quickly toss everything together. Serve, sprinkled with cilantro and scallion (if using).

nutrition facts

Calories: 416kcal (21%) Carbohydrates: 45g (15%) Protein: 10g (20%) Fat: 23g (35%) Saturated Fat: 17g (85%) Sodium: 1211mg (50%) Potassium: 306mg (9%) Fiber: 5g (20%) Sugar: 10g (11%) Vitamin A: 4625IU (93%) Vitamin C: 0.7mg (1%) Calcium: 10mg (1%) Iron: 0.7mg (4%)

nutritional info disclaimer

TheWoksofLife.com is written and produced for informational purposes only. While we do our best to provide nutritional information as a general guideline to our readers, we are not certified nutritionists, and the values provided should be considered estimates. Factors such as brands purchased, natural variations in fresh ingredients, etc. will change the nutritional information in any recipe. Various online calculators also provide different results, depending on their sources. To obtain accurate nutritional information for a recipe, use your preferred nutrition calculator to determine nutritional information with the actual ingredients and quantities used.

Did You Make This?Tag us on Instagram @thewoksoflife, subscribe to our email list, and be sure to follow us on social for more recipes!

@thewoksoflife

You may also like…

  • Gluten-Free Soy Sauce

  • Soy Sauce Braised Wild Mushroom Noodles

  • Japanese Soy Sauce

  • Cantonese Soy Sauce Pan-Fried Noodles

Caramelized Soy Sauce Noodles Recipe - The Woks of Life (21)

About Sarah

Sarah is the older daughter/sister in The Woks of Life family. Creator of quick and easy recipes for harried home cooks and official Woks of Life photographer, she grew up on episodes of Ready Set Cook and Good Eats. She loves the outdoors (and of course, *cooking* outside), and her obsession with food continues to this day.

Previous PostHunan Pork and Tofu Stir-Fry

Subscribe

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

39 Comments

Newest

OldestMost Voted

Inline Feedbacks

View all comments

Caramelized Soy Sauce Noodles Recipe - The Woks of Life (2024)

FAQs

What is Canton noodles? ›

Canton is a type of pancit noodle made using wheat flour and eggs. They're pretty similar to spaghetti noodles, just a little bit more flimsy. You can use them for all kinds of pancit dishes as they hold up very well when stir-fried.

What's the difference between pan fried noodles and lo mein? ›

Making chow mein noodles involves using a small amount of oil in a very hot wok to lightly fry the ingredients while stirring briskly. For lo mein, the noodles are already cooked and are simply mixed and tossed with the rest of the ingredients instead of fried.

Do you add stir fry sauce before or after noodles? ›

Next add crunchy veg like carrots and peppers. Then add your protein. Next into the wok are soft veggies and your choice of noodles or rice. Finally, add your favourite Blue Dragon Stir Fry Sauce.

How long to soak noodles for stir fry? ›

Soak the dried rice noodles in cool or lukewarm water for 30 minutes, or until they're limp but still firm to the touch; later cooking in the wok will soften them more. Drain the noodles thoroughly in a colander and set aside while preparing the other ingredients.

What is the difference between chow mein and pancit canton noodles? ›

Pancit is not that different from chow mein. They only tweaks are the noodles used and the vinegar put in the sauce. Pancit will have an acidic bite that is not overwhelming and will not be greasy like chow mein. The noodles used are a lot thinner and are usually made of rice flour.

What is the difference between Canton and chow mein? ›

Chow mein noodles are egg noodles, whereas Pancit Canton noodles are wheat flour noodles, though depending on the brand of pancit canton noodles you purchase, some contain egg powder. I prefer the plain wheat flour noodles for its bite and texture. The other main difference is in the preparation.

Are lo mein noodles healthier than pasta? ›

Lo mein, meanwhile, is typically made with egg noodles, which are a better option than traditional white pasta thanks to an extra protein boost from the yolk. Its downside is the sky-high sodium from the soy sauce that the noodles are swimming in, but that's an easy problem to solve.

What are those crispy Chinese noodles called? ›

Mein gon (面干 miàn-gān), informally referred to as crunchy noodles or crunchy chow mein, are a type of noodle-shaped cracker (or dried biscuit) used in American Chinese cuisine.

What are the thick Chinese noodles called? ›

"thick noodles") are thick Chinese noodles made from wheat flour and water. Two types of Chinese noodles are called cumian. One is Shanghai style, thick in diameter, used in Shanghai fried noodles. The other type is Hong Kong style, flat and wide, sometimes yellow-alkaline.

When should you add soy sauce in stir fry? ›

Heat the oil in a large frying pan or wok, then fry the chilli and garlic for 1 min. Add the veg and toss to coat in the oil. Fry for 2-3 mins, then add the soy and chilli sauce, mixing well. Cook for 2-3 mins more until the veg are tender.

Can you fry in soy sauce? ›

Kikkoman soy sauce makes a brilliant glaze for roasted or pan-fried meat, fish and vegetables. It adds shine as well as a deep, savoury flavour.

Should you rinse noodles for stir fry? ›

Stir-fry: When using spaghetti or any kind of Asian-style noodles — like soba, udon, or rice noodles — for stir-fry, they should always be rinsed after cooking. The starchy film on the noodles would otherwise make them gummy and clump together when stir-fried.

How do you keep noodles from getting soggy in a stir fry? ›

For most noodles, this means cooking them for a few minutes in boiling water, but thinner noodles, like cellophane rice noodles, usually just need to be soaked. Young also notes that you'll get a better stir-fry if you shake the noodles after draining them in the colander until they're as dry as possible.

Why are my stir fry noodles mushy? ›

Cooking rice noodles is not actually hard, but most people misunderstand how they need to be treated.The #1 reason why your rice noodle stir fries are a soggy mess is that you're cooking them before cooking them.

What is the difference between Bihon and Canton noodles? ›

In the past, pancit canton was the more common of the two. The difference between the dishes is the type of noodle used. Pancit bihon includes a thin translucent rice noodle while pancit canton incorporates an egg noodle, similar in appearance to the familiar spaghetti noodle.

What is similar to pancit canton noodles? ›

Pancit Bato (Pancit Bicol)

Bearing a close resemblance to pancit canton, pancit Bato is a Bicolano dish from the municipality of Bato, Camarines Sur. It offers a smokier taste and thicker noodles, which are typically sundried. Prepare it by boiling noodles and stir-frying them in garlic and onions.

What does Cantonese noodles taste like? ›

Cantonese noodles are crispy on the edges and soft in the middle, which gives them a perfect texture and smoky flavor. Crispy noodles are then tossed with sweet, spicy, and tangy sauces and fresh, crunchy veggies.

What is a substitute for pancit canton noodles? ›

Bihon Noodles: Bihon noodles are thin noodles made of cornstarch and rice flour. They are very similar to thin rice noodles and vermicelli noodles which is why both make good substitutes.

Top Articles
Latest Posts
Article information

Author: Ray Christiansen

Last Updated:

Views: 6227

Rating: 4.9 / 5 (69 voted)

Reviews: 84% of readers found this page helpful

Author information

Name: Ray Christiansen

Birthday: 1998-05-04

Address: Apt. 814 34339 Sauer Islands, Hirtheville, GA 02446-8771

Phone: +337636892828

Job: Lead Hospitality Designer

Hobby: Urban exploration, Tai chi, Lockpicking, Fashion, Gunsmithing, Pottery, Geocaching

Introduction: My name is Ray Christiansen, I am a fair, good, cute, gentle, vast, glamorous, excited person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.