Char Siu Pork Tenderloin marinade with some additional ingredients becomes a great sauce for the Chinese Barbecue Pork Noodle!

Breaking from traditional preparations to bring you this flavor packed sweet and spicy sauce served in the style of double pan fried noodles.

Check this out!

• Flavors of Char Siu
• Hoisin Sauce – What’s the Flavor?
• Barbecue and Noodles?
• Twist on Double Pan Fried
• Bringing it All Together
• Recipe

Flavors of Char Siu

Sweet and Savory flavors of the marinade – hoisin, oyster sauce, brown sugar, rice cooking wine, honey and five spice powder combine to pack traditional flavors into pork.

Learn more about Five Spice Powder in the Five Spice Marinated Lamb Chops with Six Spice Mongolian Sauce recipe. Another flavor packed Chinese sauce that is delicious.

Ingredients in Five Spice Powder

In this recipe I break from the traditional ingredient of red bean curd and/or red food coloring. I enjoy using red bean curd, it has a umami packed wine flavor that works well in braised meat dishes. Actually, this isn’t a total break from using bean curd, Hoisin sauce contains bean curd in the ingredients, see below.

The break from using it is mainly because picking up a jar of red bean curd is not something that most will use very often. As a result, leaving it sit in the far reaches of the refrigerator to die a slow death. Plus, not using red food coloring, I have never been a fan of food coloring, why add something when it doesn’t enhance flavor?

The end result of the marinade may not deliver the traditional red hue ring around the sliced pork but the flavors will not disappoint.

Hoisin Sauce – What’s the Flavor?

So what gives Hoisin that distinct, can’t put your finger on it, flavor? Lee Kum Kee describes Hoisin Sauce as –

“Irresistibly delicious sweet sauce made from selected spices, ground soybeans, and sweet potatoes. Excellent for marinating, stir-frying or dipping.”

The ingredients in Hoisin can vary from manufacturer to manufacturer as a result, flavors may be different. Lee Kum Kee list of ingredients include – sugar, fermented soybean paste, salt, sweet potato powder, sesame paste, cspices, dehydrated garlic and salted chili peppers.

Obviously, with this variety of ingredients it is easy to see how Hoisin gets its complex flavors.

Barbecue and Noodles?

Before you jump to conclusions, hear me out. Chinese Barbecue Pork Noodle is packed with flavor besides, there is a method to the madness. Many moons ago, working in a Chinese restaurant, we would have a rotation of “family meals” that the staff would eat before service.

One ingredient, due to an excess of end cuts of bbq pork that were not pretty enough to serve to the guests was occasionally used. These pork cuts were tossed into fried rice and would make its way into wok tossed noodles.

There was another dish that staff created that used Chinese egg noodles that were dried on a flat top grill this was a unique use. As a result these two ingredients made their way to “family meal” in one dish. That version was simpler and was often served out of hotel pan, not very glamorous.

This version is packed with more flavor than that noodle dish that was made to feed the masses before the storm of service started.

Twist on Double Pan Fried

If you are familiar with Double Pan Fried Noodles, you will appreciate this twist on the dish. Double Pan Fried Noodles are made by first cooking and cooling egg noodles. The noodles are then formed into a nest. They are placed into a wok with hot oil.

The noodles are fried for about a minutes or so. This changes the noodles slightly, giving them a slightly chewy texture. The noodles are then drained on a wok strainer to remove the excess oil.

Once the noodles have drained for a few minutes, the noodles are then “Pan Fried”. The noodles are placed into a wok over a medium heat. The wok is swirled to get the flattened fried noodle nest to toast, giving the noodles a crisp exterior and then flipped and repeated.

For plating, the Double Pan Fried Noodles are broken/pulled apart to provide a nest on the plate. A thickened sauce is then poured over the top of the noodles. Crispy and chewy noodles with the sauce dripping through the noodles, without a doubt, giving the dish a unique texture and eating experience.

Bringing it All Together

Because of my love of wok cooking techniques and the flavors of Asia, Chinese Barbecue Pork Noodle is a result. Dry the cooked and cooled Chinese noodles in as saute pan over a medium heat or on a griddle gives the noodles a chewy texture similar to a double pan fried dish. Be sure to keep an eye on them so they don’t burn.

Prepare the sauce and add to the sauteed veggies or prepare them separate and assemble them over the noodles. It’s up to you. Alternatively, prepare like a chow mein. Toss the noodles in the saute pan with the sauce and veggies, the noodles will soften more but the sauce will cover the noodles evenly.

Pouring the sauce over plated dried noodles gives a Double Pan Fried feel to the dish. Sweet and Spicy Sauce with the chewy crispy noodles served with Char Siu Pork Tenderloin.

Enjoy!