Dry Char Siu Noodles is the first item of my Charsiu series, mostly inspired by my trip to Thailand last year.
Thailand ? But Char Siu Pork is typically Chinese, right ?
Yep, but then history and migrations came into play. In Thailand, dishes like Char Siu noodles, Char Siu noodle soup, and Char Siu over rice are extremely popular and widely considered part of everyday Thai food culture.
Thailand has a large and influential Thai-Chinese population, particularly from southern China (like the Teochew and Hokkien communities). Over generations, Chinese immigrants brought dishes like char siu, wonton noodles, and rice dishes — and adapted them to local tastes.
I’m very thankful for these population shifts, that gave birth to the best of what Thai street-food has to offer ; proof again, if needs be, that through diversity we emerge stronger.
I have a strong Dry Char Siu memory, which dates back from the very first evening of our trip. After walking across Bangkok, by and large, we simply wanted to sit and grab noodles. I had a great hole-in-the-wall place in mind, and we were struggling to find it.
Finally, we spotted it into a tiny alley ; an unassuming street-food stall, with noodles, broth, Char Siu, crab meat, and a few toppings. That’s all. When me smelled the smells, though, and watched the beauty of these simple bowls, we immediately ordered, super excited.
This was bliss. I remember eating it and thinking I could easily order two in a row. I tried to recreate it just the way it was, minus the crab meat ; it was close -but not as perfect as this beautiful bowl you see.
Bonus : If your Char Siu is ready, this really is a 15 minutes recipe.
Dry Char Siu Noodles – Recipe
Ingredients – Advice & key points
- Char Siu Pork
- If feeling lazy, simply buy it premade from your nearest Chinese market, if it offers some ;
- I advise you to make it yourself : here is my Char Siu recipe, easy and providing you with enough leftovers for lots of different meals !
- Tip : Keep some in your freezer for whenever you fancy.
- As a replacement for Char Siu, you can definitely use canned crab meat.
- Noodles & Wontons
- I recommend using fresh, thin, yellow egg noodles (Ba Mee), similar to Cantonese-style wonton noodles.
- If not available, use any type of dry noodles (quite thin, idelly) you have on hand !
- Wontons are fully optional here.
- Tip : To avoid sticky noodles, was them with cold watern then with warm water right before serving.
- Toppings
- My non-negociables here would only be scallions.
- Besides this, feel free to add any type of greens you like, pickled chili peppers, fried garlic/shallots…. These are your noods !
Let’s get saucy!
Dry Char Siu Noodles (Ba Mee Haeng Moo Daeng)
Description
Thin bouncy noodles, light seasonings, flavourful Char Siu : that's a premium 15mn lunch.
Ingredients
Toppings
Instructions
Prep your ingredients
Mince your scallions.
Mix together the main ingredients (except noodles & wontons) in a bowl.
Cook these noods
Bring a medium pot of water to a boil.
Cook your wontons, 6mn. Add to a plate.
Cook your bok choi, 30 sec. Remove with tongs. Add to a plate.
Cook your noods 1mn. Remove with a strainer. Wash with cold water, then warm water, while tossing them around slightly.
Assemble
Add your noods to your sauce. Mix well with chopsticks, & split into 2 bowls.
Add pork slices, wontons & bok choy if using.
Add your toppings.
Et voilà !! You're done !