Do you miss those crispy noodles you used to place on top of chow mein? I am often asked for a recipe for these and usually refer everyone to the batter that Gluten Free Chef Rob uses for his crispy onion rings, minus a few seasonings. However, I thought it was time to publish an authentic-style recipe using homemade chow mein dough. I hope you enjoy these crispy, gluten free chow mein noodles. They go well with many of these Gluten Free Asian Recipes or many other gluten free recipes. We sure did!
Stay tuned in for the video on how to roll and cut the dough!
For an authentic-style crispy gluten free chow mein noodle recipe, either make white noodles or the spicy, golden version. Either way, they add crunch to your meals. Don't stop at Asian dishes. They're great on casseroles, green beans and more.
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup Carla's Gluten Free All-Purpose Flour Blend
- 1/2 cup cornstarch, plus more for dusting
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1-1/2 teaspoons paprika (optional for color and flavor)
- 1 large egg, beaten
- 3 - 4 tablespoons water
- 1 teaspoon neutral-flavored oil (up to 1/2 teaspoon red hot chili oil, if desired, for heat).
Instructions:
- Preheat a deep-fryer to 375ºF or a Dutch oven or deep pot over medium-high heat. Then lower the heat to medium or whatever temperature needed to keep the oil at 375ºF.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the flour blend, cornstarch, salt, and paprika, if using. (Without paprika, the noodles will turn out white, not golden.)
- Stir in the beaten egg, water, and oil.
- Turn dough out onto a non-stick surface dusted with cornstarch. Knead until smooth, 4 - 5 minutes.
- Break a piece of dough off and store the remaining in a ziplock bag and set aside.
- Roll out the dough on a cornstarch-dusted surface and slice into spaghetti strands. Cut the strands into 2-inch long strands.
- Working in small batches, fry noodles for 4 minutes or until crispy and deep golden brown.
- Repeat to finish the remaining dough or freeze. Allow frozen dough to defrost at room temperature.
- Serve with Asian dishes such as over Pineapple Chicken and rice. Or under pineapple chicken as a substitute for rice.
Hi Carla, these look wonderful! Would this dough also work for those crispy Asian pastries that you see at Chinese buffets. They look like rectangular shaped dough with a slit in the middle and the end of the dough is put through the slit to sort of look like a knot . Then they are fried and coated with something like honey. They are delicious and I’ve been looking for a recipe for them. Also do the noodles stay crisp for several days or do I have to make them the day I plan to use them?
Linda
Hi Linda,
I am so sorry for missing your comment. I just found it in the spam folder in my admin dashboard.
Meanwhile, these noodles stay crisp for at least a day. Just leave them in a brown paper bag. However, they become a little stale soon after that. They do not become soft, just a little chewy.
I’d like to remake this recipe using rice flour and gum only. They may make them crispier. Another fave is to use the batter that I use for gluten free egg rolls. I would place the batter in a squeeze bottle and drop some strips in until brown. Here’s the link to that recipe – https://glutenfreerecipebox.com/gluten-free-egg-rolls/
I haven’t been to a Chinese buffet is over a decade, maybe two. So, I can’t recall the triangular pastry you are referring to, but I recently saw someone of TV making some sort of dough exactly like that. I tried to search online to find the name of what you are referring to and didn’t find anything. I’ll try to search more. For now, I’m wondering if you would just prefer to make churros, which are delicious and coat them with honey instead of cinnamon sugar – https://glutenfreerecipebox.com/gluten-free-churros/.
Meanwhile, I bet this dough would work well in making a crisp deep-fried dough. I did a little research online but can’t find it. I remember seeing Carla Hall on the View TV show make a dough in that shape, or maybe it was someone else on a YouTube video??? So, I know exactly what you are describing. Let me know how it goes! Is the outside sticky with honey?
Let me know how things go! If I find the Chinese pastry online. I’ll let you know. Have you looked?
Carla
Thanks Carla,
There’s another pastry that to me is very similar to the Asian fried pastry I was describing (I think the Asian ones are called Ma Fah cookies). It’s a Hungarian fried pastry called Csoroge (or Angel Wings) which instead of being coated in honey like the Asian ones (the Asian ones are slightly sticky from the honey), they are coated in icing sugar. You can easily find a recipe for them online. We used to make them all the time when I was little and the taste and texture is very similar between them and the Asian ones except for the coating. Hope this helps.
Linda
Thanks, Linda. I’ll see what I can do eventually and if I can find a video of them showing the texture. If I forget and it gets buried under my long list of “to-make-soons” remind me.
Carla
Linda,
I found a recipe for ma fah cookies, but it does not mention anything about a honey coating. I know what I need to do to make it gluten free and stay crispier longer. I’ll start experimenting and post the recipe when ready.
Thanks,
Carla