Longevity Noodles (Yi Mein)
This longevity noodle recipe (Chinese birthday noodles) features perfectly chewy noodles, with shiitake mushrooms, Chinese garlic chives and a delicious savory umami sauce.
Prep Time20 minutes mins
Cook Time5 minutes mins
Total Time25 minutes mins
Course: Main
Cuisine: Chinese
Servings: 4
Calories: 93kcal
Reconstitute Dried Shiitake Mushrooms
Preparation
Cut off the tough stem from each shiitake mushroom, and discard it. Slice them thinly.
Cut 1 cup Chinese yellow chives into 2-inch pieces, and set them aside.
Cut and remove the rooted tips from 2 stalks green onions and cut them into 2-inch pieces. Slice the thicker white parts of the green onion, and slice them again lengthwise to make them thinner.
In a bowl, mix together 3 tablespoons oyster sauce, 2 tablespoons soy sauce, 1 teaspoon sugar, 1 teaspoon sesame oil, 1 teaspoon dark soy sauce (or regular soy sauce), and 2 tablespoons oil.
Once the sauce has been mixed, stir in 1 cup water and set it aside for later.
Par-Boil the Noodles
Fill a large pot with water, and bring it up to a boil on high heat.
Add 200 grams yi mein to the boiling water, and press it down to submerge it into the water for a few seconds, then flip it.
Cook it for 30 seconds to 1 minute. Use a utensil and gently wiggle the noodles until everything has loosened.
Once they are cooked, drain the noodles and set them aside.
Stir Fry Everything Together
Rinse out the large pot you used to boil the noodles, set it over the stove, and set it to medium-high heat. Once it is hot, add a bit of oil.
Add the sliced shiitake mushrooms and stir fry them until they are golden brown and fragrant, approx. 2-3 minutes.
Add the Chinese chives and stir fry for a few seconds.
Add a bit more oil to the pan and add the parboiled yi mein noodles.
Pour the sauce over the noodles and toss everything together until the noodles are well coated with the sauce. Add the green onions in now as well.
Stir fry everything for 2-3 minutes. Keep the noodles moving in the pan to prevent them from sticking. Once all the sauce has been absorbed, the noodles are done.
Transfer the noodles to a serving dish. Enjoy!
- Choose the Right Noodles: Traditionally, Chinese birthday noodles are made with Yi Mein noodles, which are also known as "long life noodles" due to their long, uncut strands symbolizing longevity. You can find these at deep fried noodles at Asian grocery stores, and they almost always come in a dried round brick form. If you can't find Yi Mein, you can use other long noodles like spaghetti as a substitute.
- Soaking Dried Shiitake Mushrooms: Using boiling water to soak the mushrooms will speed up the process, but I find that using a dish to push the mushrooms down so that they are fully submerged in the water helps even more. It takes me about 15 minutes for thin medium sized mushrooms to fully get soft. It may take longer if you use thicker or larger dried shiitake mushrooms.
- Don't Overcook the Noodles: When boiling the noodles, be careful not to overcook them. For this recipe, boil the noodles for just 30 seconds to soften them slightly, as they will be stir-fried later and overcooking can make them mushy.
- Simple Saucy Variation: Instead of pouring the sauce into the noodles, and letting it absorb, you can cook and thicken the sauce in the pot with the mushrooms before you add in the noodles. This will make these noodles saucy and the thicker sauce will coat the noodles instead. To do this, double the amount of sauce in the recipe card, and mix in 2 tablespoons of cornstarch into the sauce. Make sure the cornstarch has fully dissolved into the sauce. To cook the sauce, pour it in after you finished stir frying the mushrooms, and keep stirring until it is thick. Once it is thick, then add in the noodles and stir everything together.
- Chinese Eggplant with Garlic Sauce Variation: Another type of sauce I love to use on yi mein is my sweet and savory Chinese eggplant with garlic sauce! To do this, omit the sauce in this recipe, and make the Chinese eggplant recipe and then pour it over the yi mein.
Calories: 93kcal | Carbohydrates: 5g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 0.03g | Sodium: 851mg | Potassium: 79mg | Fiber: 0.4g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 60IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 13mg | Iron: 0.3mg