Delicious and Easy Chicken Noodle Stir Fry

Stir fry is the perfect quick fix mid week dinner! Here I give you all the tips and tricks you need to create the most mouthwateringly delicious, and most importantly EASY Chicken Noodle Stir Fry!

I know right, you’ve been stir frying your dinners your whole life, what the heck could I possible teach you!? I mean it’s a valid question, but one I do hope to answer by the end of this post. A stir fry comes in many different shapes and sizes but for me, I’ve only got eyes for chicken noodle stir fry.

A delicious chicken noodle stir fry for me, is the meaning of life.

Okay, dramatic. But you know what I mean. Quick, easy and most importantly it’s the perfect opportunity to use up some leftover veg knocking about in the fridge. Plus – chicken and noodles is just the perfect combo.

Meaning of life? Maybe not. Meaning of the most convenient dinner ever. Absolutely.

And like I said, there’s a million and one ways to make a stir fry, but here I’ll give you some general tips that will really make a difference next time you knock one up for dinner!

So let’s tuck in shall we?

The most versatile part of a chicken noodle stir fry is the veg. Come to think of it, I don’t think I’ve ever eaten a stir fry with exactly the same veg in it twice. Besides opening the fridge and picking whatever veg looks like it’s on it’s last legs, here’s my tips for what to include.

Best Veg for a Stir Fry

1. Aromatics – Aromatics are ingredients that when heated in oil or fat, release aroma and inject a gorgeous base flavour to whatever you’re cooking. For a chicken noodle stir fry I would definitely include aromatics. My 3 must haves are chilli, garlic and ginger.
2. Variety – Whatever veg you settle with, make sure you include a range of different textures and tastes! After all, variety is the spice of life and all that.
3. Colour – Not as important, but you really do eat with your eyes. Nothing worse than seeing a beige chicken noodle stir fry!

Now we’ve got the veg, let’s crack on to the sauce.

Basic Stir Fry Sauce

I’ve been guilty in the past of just chucking in some soy sauce or sweet chilli sauce and calling it a day. Not that that tastes bad, but it can be a whole lot tastier.

For me, the perfect chicken noodle stir fry sauce has to be a balance of sweet, sour, spice and salt.

The oyster sauce and dark soy sauce will give you the base flavour for the stir fry and add a good amount of salt. To balance out and sweeten that powerful salty taste, I add brown sugar. Just 1/2 a tsp, but it’s enough to balance things out. From there I add fresh lime juice to add the sour component. Lastly I add in white pepper. White pepper is spicier than regular black pepper and goes perfectly in a stir fry.

Many recipes also thicken stir fry sauces with cornstarch/cornflour. I tend to find that dark soy sauce and oyster sauce are thick enough already, but if you feel like it needs thickening then add in cornstarch/cornflour.

Chicken Noodle Stir Fry

Of course, what’s a chicken noodle stir fry without the chicken? Well, a noodle stir fry I guess.. But that’s not what we’re here for today!

Typically I use chicken breast because it’s usually what I’ve got on hand, but chicken thigh works perfectly too.

My tips are to firstly make sure it’s thinly sliced and roughly the same size. You want the chicken to cook quickly and most importantly, at an even rate. Secondly, ensure you don’t chuck it in straight from the fridge. I find that frying cold chicken produces too much moisture, which in turn prevents it from browning. Bring your chicken just to room temperature then chop and chuck it in.

Lastly don’t cook it completely. You want it about 80-90% cooked, then take it out and pop back in right at the end to finish heating it through. If you left it in the wok the whole time it’s going to overcook and become tough.

Best type of Noodle for a Stir Fry

When it comes to the noodles, I tend to stick to egg noodles just out of preference.

I also tend to get medium thickness. I find that if they’re too thin they kind of just get lost, especially if there’s tonnes of veg.

What I do recommend is whatever noodles you choose, after you’ve cooked and drained them, toss a little sesame oil through them.

This will not only ensure they don’t stick together, but will also inject a gorgeous sesame flavour into your noodles.

Chicken Noodle Stir Fry Garnish

I try not to think of garnish as just a pretty face, but more of an opportunity to add some more texture and flavour to the dish.

One of my favourite things to do is grab some peanuts, lightly toasted them, crush them up and sprinkle them over top.

So much yumminess it’s insane.

Adding some sesame seeds will also enhance that sesame oil you tossed the noodles through as well.

Ya know, just for even more yum.

How to make an Easy Chicken Noodle Stir Fry – Top Tips

1. Wok – Using a wok, or at least a large pan, is essential in making a stir fry for two reasons. Firstly, because you want room to fit all the ingredients and more specifically, you want room to shake, flip and stir all the ingredients. Secondly, the depth of a wok helps keep everything piping hot by circulating heat.
2. Heat – Keeping everything piping hot for the entire cooking process is essential for a light and crisp chicken noodle stir fry. There’s nothing worse than soggy veg, so keep it quick and crank the heat up high.
3. Order – Always start with your chicken, brown on each side, then take it out the pan to finish later. I always add the aromatics in once I’ve flipped the chicken, just long enough for them to release their flavours, but not long enough they burn. In between, just evaluate which veg is gonna take the longest to cook. I put things such as carrots, broccoli and peppers in at the beginning, and thinner less ‘dense’ veg such as green onion and beans sprouts towards the end. Always place the noodles with the sauce in right at the very end.

Righto, that’s certainly enough from me. Let’s tuck in shall we?

How to make an Easy Chicken Noodle Stir Fry (Full Recipe & Video)

5 from 14 votes

Delicious and Easy Chicken Noodle Stir Fry

By: Chris Collins

Stir fry is the perfect quick fix mid week dinner! Here I give you all the tips and tricks you need to create the most mouthwateringly delicious, and most importantly EASY Chicken Noodle Stir Fry!

Prep: 15 minutes mins

Cook: 10 minutes mins

Total: 25 minutes mins

Servings: 3

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Equipment

• Sharp Knife & Chopping Board
• Bowls (for storing prepped ingredients)
• Small Pot, Tongs & Colander (for cooking noodles)
• Large Wok & Wooden Spoon

Ingredients 

1x2x3x

Chicken

• ▢ 250g / 9oz Chicken Breast, sliced into thin strips
• ▢ Salt, as needed
• ▢ 1-2 tbsp Vegetable Oil
• ▢ 1 Red Chilli, deseeded & finely diced (see notes)
• ▢ 1 tsp finely diced/grated Ginger
• ▢ 1 tsp finely diced Garlic (approx 1 large clove)

Sauce

• ▢ 2 tbsp Dark Soy Sauce
• ▢ 1 tbsp Oyster Sauce
• ▢ 1/2 Fresh Lime, juice only
• ▢ 1 tsp Brown Sugar
• ▢ 1/8 - 1/4 tsp White Pepper

Veg & Noodles

• ▢ 150g / 5oz Dried Noodles (see notes)
• ▢ drizzle of Toasted Sesame Oil (approx 1 tbsp)
• ▢ 2 small or 1 large Carrots, sliced into thin matchsticks
• ▢ 1 Red Pepper, sliced into strips (Bell Pepper in US, Capsicum in AUS)
• ▢ 3-4 Spring Onions, sliced into 1" pieces then divided into green part & firm/white part
• ▢ 4-6 Chestnut Mushrooms, sliced
• ▢ 75g / 2.6oz Mangetout

Garnish

• ▢ Crushed Toasted Peanuts
• ▢ Sesame Seeds

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Instructions 

• Combine the sauce ingredients in a small bowl and place to one side.
• Prep all the veg and have it ready to add to the pan. I like to pair them in order of cooking order: carrot and red pepper, mushrooms and white part of the spring onion, then mangetout and the green part of the onions.
• Cook the noodles in boiling water as per the packet instructions. Drain in a colander then toss in a good drizzle of toasted sesame oil. Leave to one side.
• In a large wok (or other suitable pan) add 1 tbsp oil over high heat. Season the sliced chicken all over with salt (1/4 tsp or so) and when the oil is hot, add the chicken to the wok. Fry until sealed on the outside and almost cooked through the centre, then add the chilli, garlic and ginger. Fry for another 30 seconds or so until the chicken is just about cooked through and the aromatics begin to take on colour (careful they don't burn). Take the wok off the heat and transfer the chicken and aromatics to a bowl to one side.
• Add the wok back to high heat and top up with oil if needed. Once hot again, add the carrot and red pepper and fry for a couple of minutes until they start to lightly colour and soften very slightly. Add the mushrooms and white part of the onion and fry for another 1-2 minutes, then add the mangetout and green parts and fry for another minute, or until they soften slightly.
• Add the noodles and the chicken and aromatics, then pour in the sauce. Give everything a good toss until the sauce soaks up and everything is evenly distributed. The noodles might be a little sticky at the start, but the sauce will loosen them up as you toss.
• Serve with extra garnish and enjoy!

Video

Notes

a) Red Chilli - I typically use a medium red chilli, the ones you get in packets at the supermarket by the fresh herbs. Even after deseeding it, using the whole thing will result in a good kick of spice. If you're at all wary just use 1 tsp of the chilli (or work to spice preference). You can always add more spice at the end if needed.

b) Noodles - I recommend using dried medium egg noodles if you can. If you need to, you should be able to gently pull apart a nest of noodles if you need to in order to get the exact weight (150g/5oz). 

c) Heat - it's essential to make sure your heat is high from start to finish. You want your veg light and crispy, not limp and soggy. Keep everything moving throughout to make sure they don't burn.

d) Chicken - allow the chicken to just come to room temperature, don't fry straight from the fridge. I find that frying cold meat produces too much moisture and prevents it from browning. Also, don't panic if your chicken isn't 100% cooked through after initially frying it. The carryover heat will continue to cook the chicken whilst it's resting. It will also finish off cooking when you return it to the wok. In all cases, I recommend slicing the chicken quite thinly so it cooks quickly and incorporates well with all the other ingredients.

e) Overpacking - whilst it's great to pack as much veg in the wok as possible, you don't want to overdo it. If there's too much in the wok at once everything is just going to steam instead of fry. This will not only inevitably increase the time it takes for everything to cook, but will also cause everything to steam instead of fry. The recipe measurements I've provided will offer 3 modest portions.

f) Updated - Recipe updated on 15/01/25 just to tidy up the recipe and streamline the method.

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Nutrition

Calories: 253kcal | Carbohydrates: 16.9g | Protein: 15.9g | Fat: 13.7g | Saturated Fat: 6.3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2.3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4.1g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 40mg | Sodium: 390mg | Potassium: 281mg | Fiber: 0.8g | Sugar: 3.9g | Vitamin A: 2050IU | Vitamin C: 54.5mg | Calcium: 20mg | Iron: 1.1mg

Looking for more?

You’ll find plenty more delicious comfort food like this in my Debut Cookbook ‘Comfy’

If you’re after another delicious stir fry recipe check out my Pork & Pineapple Stir Fry!

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