What is Mì Xào Giòn?
In Vietnamese, mì means wheat or egg noodle, xào means stir-fried, and giòn means crispy. In Vietnam you order mì xào in two forms: Mì Xào Mềm with soft, wok-fried noodles and Mì Xào Giòn with a deep-fried noodle nest. The dish comes from Chinese-Vietnamese cooking and resembles Cantonese crispy noodles. In Vietnam you often get it as Mì Xào Giòn Hải Sản with shrimp and squid, or with beef.
The right egg noodles
Use thin egg noodles, either fresh from the refrigerated section of an Asian grocery store or dried as nests. Mie noodles from the supermarket work just as well. Loosen fresh noodles and blanch them for one minute. Cook dried ones two minutes less than the package says. Types and storage are explained in the article Mie noodles. Wide noodles or udon are not suitable here, because they turn brown outside and stay tough inside.
How to make the noodles crispy
Dry into the oil
Spread the blanched noodles on a baking sheet and let them steam off for 10 minutes. Then pat them dry with paper towels. Wet noodles make the oil spatter and soak it up.
Fry as a flat nest
Heat about 2 cm of oil in a wok to 170 to 180 °C (340 to 355 °F). A wooden chopstick shows the temperature: if fine bubbles rise around it right away, the oil is hot enough. Lay one portion of noodles in as a flat cake, press it down with a spatula, and fry each side golden brown for 2 to 3 minutes. You can also use less oil: fry the noodles like a pancake in a pan with 4 tbsp of oil and flip once.
A glossy sauce
Stir the starch mixture before pouring it in, because the starch settles at the bottom. The sauce should be thick and glossy and run off the spoon. Pour it over the nest only at the table, and the edge stays crisp.
Common mistakes
- Oil too cold: The noodles soak up fat and turn limp.
- Too many noodles at once: The temperature drops. Fry in two or three batches.
- Thin sauce: Without enough starch, the sauce softens the nest before you sit down.
- Vegetables cooked too long: Broccoli and carrot should keep some bite. Add them to the wok only shortly before the broth.
Variations
For the seafood version, replace the chicken with squid rings and more shrimp. For beef, cut flank steak into thin strips and marinate it for 15 minutes with soy sauce and a little cornstarch. Bok choy, napa cabbage, snow peas, or baby corn also work as vegetables.
You can cook a vegetarian version with tofu, mushrooms, and vegetable broth. Instead of oyster sauce, use the vegetarian mushroom-based kind, and read more in Oyster sauce. Check the noodles too: egg noodles contain egg, so for a vegan version use wheat noodles without egg.
What to serve with it
At the table, set out a small dish of soy sauce with fresh chili slices for seasoning. As a starter, try Chả Giò, the fried spring rolls. The Chinese cousin with soft stir-fried noodles is stir-fried noodles with seafood.
If you are looking for more Vietnamese noodle dishes, try Mì Quảng from central Vietnam with a little strong broth, or Bún Chả from Hanoi with grilled pork and rice noodles.
