Lamb Dough Sliced Noodles (小羊炒刀削麵, Siu2 Joeng4 Caau2 Dou1 Soek3 Min6)

This recipe was updated on 03 May 2015. A new recipe, Cabbage Lamb Dough Sliced Noodles (青椰菜羊肉刀削麵, Ceng¹ Je⁴ Coi³ Joeng⁴ Juk⁶ Dou¹ Soek³ Min⁶), was introduced and is now the way I prepare this dish.

 

I got introduced to this dish at the local Chinese Muslim restaurant. For some reason, I omitted the scrambled eggs that are usually part of this dish, but the recipe includes the eggs. You also usually eat this dish with green onion bread or pancakes, which you can find in the freezer section of your local Asian market. Dough sliced noodles are aptly named since the thick noodles are sliced from a block of dough. The noodles have a chewy doughy texture, unlike normal chow mein noodles. The dough sliced noodles can also be found in the freezer section at your local Asian market.

Enjoy!

Ingredients

¾ lb.	375 g.	Lamb leg meat (羊肉, joeng4  juk6), cut into thin 2-inch (5 cm.) pieces
1 tsp.	5 ml.	Baking soda (蘇打粉, sou1 daa2 fan2)
½ in.	15 mm.	Knob of ginger (薑, goeng1), crushed in a garlic press
2 cloves	2 cloves	Garlic (蒜, syun3), crushed in a garlic press
1 Tbs.	15 ml.	Corn starch (粟粉, suk1 fan2)
2 Tbs.	30 ml.	Soy sauce (豉油, si6 jau4)
1 Tbs.	15 ml.	Hoisin sauce (海鮮醬, hoi2 sin1 zoeng3)
2 Tbs.	30 ml.	Shaoxing rice wine (紹興酒, siu6 hing1 zau2) or dry sherry
½ tsp.	2.5 ml.	Ground white pepper (白胡椒, baak6 wu4 ziu1)
1 tsp.	5 ml.	Sesame oil (麻油, maa4 jau4)
3-4	3-4	Eggs (雞蛋, gai1 daan6)
3 stalks	3 stalks	Green onions (葱, cung1), cut into 2-inch (5 cm.) pieces
½ in.	15 mm.	Knob of ginger (薑, goeng1), crushed in a garlic press
2 cloves	2 cloves	Garlic (蒜, syun3), crushed in a garlic press
1.3 lb.	600 g.	3 packages frozen dough sliced noodles (刀削麵, dou1 soek3 min6)
		Oil for cooking

Sauce Ingredients

2 Tbs.	30 ml.	Dark soy sauce (老抽, lou5 cau1)
2 Tbs.	30 ml.	Soy sauce (豉油, si6 jau4)
1 Tbs.	15 ml.	Hoisin sauce (海鮮醬, hoi2 sin1 zoeng3)
2 Tbs.	30 ml.	Shaoxing rice wine (紹興酒, siu6 hing1 zau2) or dry sherry
½ tsp.	2.5 ml.	Ground white pepper (白胡椒, baak6 wu4 ziu1)
1 tsp.	5 ml.	Sesame oil (麻油, maa4 jau4)

 

Equipment

		Garlic press
14 in.	35.5 cm.	Wok or pan

Preparation Instructions

1. Thaw three packages of the frozen dough sliced noodles overnight in the refrigerator (even though the package says you don’t have to).
2. Prepare the lamb leg meat by removing any bones, silver skin, and excess fat, and cut into thin 2-inch (5 cm.) pieces. Wet with water and add baking soda to the lamb, allow to tenderize for 15 minutes, and then wash the baking soda from the meat. The baking soda can be omitted but results in the tender meat experienced in restaurant dishes.
3. Marinate the lamb for at least one hour or overnight in the refrigerator with the ginger and garlic crushed in a garlic press, corn starch, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, Shaoxing rice wine or dry sherry, ground white pepper, and sesame oil. If marinating the lamb overnight, take it out of the refrigerator at least one hour before cooking.
4. Break and scramble the eggs in a small bowl.
5. Crush the ginger and garlic in a garlic press and put into a small bowl.
6. Wash and cut the green onions into 2-inch (5 cm.) pieces.
7. Prepare and mix the sauce in a small bowl: add the dark soy sauce, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, Shaoxing rice wine or dry sherry, ground white pepper, and sesame oil.

Cooking Instructions

1. Heat a wok or pan over high heat and add oil and then the bowl with the eggs while the wok is heating up. Scramble the eggs and transfer the scrambled eggs to a bowl.
2. Reheat the wok over high heat before adding oil and then the bowl with the ginger and garlic. Quickly stir fry the ginger and garlic until fragrant before adding more oil and then the lamb pieces to the wok in a single layer on the bottom and brown the outside. You may have to cook the lamb in batches, so be sure to reheat the wok over high heat before adding more oil. Set the lamb aside in the bowl with the eggs.
3. Reheat the wok over high heat before adding more oil and then the noodles. The wok should be very hot before adding the oil and then the noodles. Noodles cooked in a restaurant wok (over much higher heat than that available in your kitchen) are served slightly burned, which gives the noodles an extra added flavor.  To try to emulate slightly burned noodles, try to put the noodles in one layer in the hot wok and add some liquid (water, stock, or Shaoxing wine; but not too much liquid otherwise you’ll steam the noodles) to facilitate the heat transfer from the wok to the noodles, and leave the noodles alone. You want the noodles to get burned before adding more oil to the noodles and turning them over, repeating the process.
4. Add the green onions and the contents of the bowl with the lamb back into the wok and stir fry all the ingredients together. Add the sauce ingredients to the wok and stir fry the ingredients together. Put the cooked ingredients into a serving dish.

Notes                                                                  

1. Dough slice noodles are available in the freezer section of your Asian market. The package contains 5 packs of noodles each weighing 200 grams (for a total of 1 kilogram). While the package says that you don’t have to thaw the noodles before cooking, I defrost my noodles overnight before use. Once I forgot to defrost the noodles, and I put the noodles in boiling water briefly to defrost them. The noodles definitely get defrosted, but the texture is not as chewy after being boiled. If you do forget to thaw the dough sliced noodles, put the noodles in a microwave on high heat to defrost. If you can’t find dough sliced noodles, you can substitute another flat noodle.