Egg Fried Noodles

Wet noodles are the usual cause. After boiling, rinse them under cold water, shake off the moisture and toss with a few drops of oil in the colander; wet noodles steam in the wok instead of frying. The second cause is a wok that is not hot enough, so heat it for 2 minutes until it smokes lightly before the oil goes in. For 200 g of dried noodles one wok is enough; for a double batch cook in two rounds, because crowding cools the wok. The same rule of dry ingredients and a very hot pan works for fried rice.

Yes, if the pan is wide and has a thick base. Heat a steel or cast-iron pan on maximum for 2 to 3 minutes before adding the oil and do not overload it: a flat pan cools faster when the noodles go in, so fry 100 g of dried noodles at a time. Do not heat a non-stick pan empty on maximum: put the oil in first and work on medium-high; it gives less char. This recipe is written for a wok on the hob, because its high sides hold the heat where the sauce caramelizes.

Wheat egg noodles are the right choice: thin and quick to fry. Fresh ones from the chilled section go into the wok with almost no prep, dried ones need 3 to 4 minutes of boiling to al dente first. Udon also works; it is thicker and chewier, so boil it as the pack says and rinse it. Soba goes soft easily, and rice noodles give a different dish with a different texture. For the same noodles in a wetter, saucier dish, try lo mein.

The base is soy sauce, oyster sauce, a little dark soy sauce for colour and white pepper, with sesame oil added at the very end. Use only 1 teaspoon of dark soy sauce: it is there for colour, and more makes the noodles too dark and slightly bitter. The salt comes from the regular soy sauce and the oyster sauce. Half a teaspoon of rice vinegar at the end lifts the flavour. Good extra vegetables are 100 g of bok choy or white cabbage: put the firm parts in with the carrot and the leaves in for the last 30 seconds. For a vegetarian version replace the oyster sauce with a mushroom-based stir-fry sauce in the same amount.

Beat it first and pour it into the space you cleared in the wok. Push the vegetables to the side, pour in the eggs and wait 20 to 30 seconds until the base sets, then break it into large pieces with a spatula, keep turning until no liquid egg is left and toss with the vegetables. The other way is to fry the eggs separately as a thin omelette, tear it up and return it to the wok at the end. In both cases do not stir the egg straight away, or you get a wet scrambled coating instead of distinct pieces.