Go Back
–+ servings
A futuristic Cyberpunk-style food photo. A bowl of Yi Mein noodle stir-fry with shiitake and Chinese chives is at the center, and a pair of red glowing chopsticks in the foreground.
Print Recipe

Yi Mein (Long Life Noodles)

It's a greasy, salty, carb-y stir-fry, but hey! New Year's is only once a year.
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time20 minutes
Shiitake soaking time25 minutes
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Chinese
Servings: 2 people

Ingredients

  • 200 g Yi Mein dry weight
  • 3 large shiitake mushrooms dried
  • 100 g Chinese chives aka garlic chives
  • 2 tbsp neutral oil

For the sauce

  • 1/8 tsp sugar
  • 1 tsp light soy sauce
  • 0.5 tsp dark soy sauce
  • 1 tbsp oyster sauce
  • 0.25 tsp sesame oil
  • 1/8 tsp ground white pepper
  • 0.5 tbsp water

Instructions

Prepare ingredients

  • If using dried shiitake, you need to reconstitute them first. Put them into a heat-proof bowl and bring enough water to a boil to fully cover them. Put a lid or plate on top so they stay submerged and the heat can't escape as fast. Let sit for 20 minutes.
  • While it's heating up, wash the garlic chives. Chop them into 5 cm long strips and separate the lighter stem from the darker leaves. Set aside.
  • Once the shiitake are done, squish them lightly to get the water out, then cut into thin strips and also set aside.

Prepare sauce & noodles

  • Put a large pot of water on the stove over high heat for the noodles. Do not add salt!
  • Once the water boils, cook the noodles according to package instructions, or rather a little shorter than that as they will continue to cook later in the wok. Drain and set aside.
  • Mix all the sauce ingredients together in a bowl.
    Note: If your Yi Mein come out of the package barely or not at all pre-salted, feel free to increase the amount of soy sauce and/or add some salt now or later while stir-frying. Do some taste tests to be sure.
  • Prepare a small pan or pot over medium heat and pour in the mixed sauce. Let it simmer for a bit and keep stirring until well-integrated. Take off the heat.

Stir-fry

  • Spread oil around a large wok over high heat and let it heat up for a minute or two.
  • Add the sliced shiitake and the lighter parts of the Chinese chives. Stir-fry for half a minute.
  • Add the noodles and stir-fry for another minute.
  • Spread the pre-mixed sauce around the wok evenly and keep stirring until everything is well-coated.
  • Add the light green parts of the Chinese chives and stir-fry for another 2-3 minutes.
  • Take off the heat. Enjoy!