Chicken Mei Fun: This one-pan dinner is so filling with chicken, vegetables, and classic mei fun noodles with a flavorful sauce. Also, it's way healthier than ordering takeout.
Jump to:
- What is Mei Fun
- About Chicken Mei Fun
- How to prepare Mei Fun
- How do you keep the mei fun noodles from sticking together
- How to prevent mei fun noodles from sticking to the pan or wok
- What you need for Chicken Mei Fun
- How to make Chicken Mei Fun
- Helpful Tips
- Variations
- Serving Suggestions
- How to store leftovers
- FAQs
- Recipe
- Comments
What is Mei Fun
Mei fun is the Chinese name for thin, dried rice vermicelli noodles. Also known as 'rice sticks', these noodles are a staple in China and Southeast Asia.
Mei fun also refers to dishes made with these noodles.
In the Cantonese dialect, 'chow mei fun' is pronounced as 'mai fun' or 'mi fen', which means stir-fried rice vermicelli noodles.
In the West, you will usually have fried rice vermicelli by way of 'Singapore Noodles', which have a curry flavor.
Rice vermicelli are mainly made with ground rice and water. Sometimes tapioca or cornstarch is also added to improve the texture.
Usually, these noodles are sold in bundles, wrapped in plastics; you can find these in most Asian grocery stores or supermarkets Asian aisles.
About Chicken Mei Fun
Chicken mei fun is a popular Chinese dish consisting of soft, chewy rice vermicelli noodles stir-fried with tender chicken, crunchy vegetables, and garlic. The dish is pan-fried then seasoned with a yummy sauce. It has a variety of textures and flavors that are truly pleasing to the tastebuds.
Making chicken mei fun at home is easy and can be done in under 30 minutes in one pan. It's perfect for busy weeknights or when you're looking for something light but satisfying. It is a great noodle dish that the whole family can enjoy! It also works well as leftovers.
A versatile noodle dish that you can swap the protein and vegetables to your own preference.
This homemade mei fun recipe is hearty, flavorful, economical, and so satisfying; this is sure to become a part of your weeknight dinner rotation.
How to prepare Mei Fun
Mei fun noodles are so fine that parboiling is not necessary. The most common way is to immerse them in hot water, occasionally stirring until they reach the desired tenderness. Usually, it takes about 5-8 minutes to soften. When soft, rinse and drain.
How do you keep the mei fun noodles from sticking together
If you are concerned about that, add a few drops of oil to the hot water before soaking the noodles and gently stir. It will help the noodles not to stick together.
How to prevent mei fun noodles from sticking to the pan or wok
Frying dishes made with rice noodles or rice can be pretty messy and challenging if they start sticking to the bottom. But it's totally avoidable. Here are a few tips that you can follow in order to prevent this problem.
First, ensure the noodles are not overly cooked but slightly undercooked before frying.
Additionally, the pan (and oil) must be fully heated before adding anything.
After adding oil, swirl the oil around to coat it all over the pan.
Keep the stir-frying process as short as possible.
What you need for Chicken Mei Fun
Here are a few important notes about the ingredients. For measurements see the recipe card below.
Mei fun noodles: thin dried rice vermicelli noodles
Chicken: I used lean chicken breast, but you can also use chicken thighs.
Vegetables: I used cabbage, carrot, and celery. Make sure to cut them into thin strips.
Onion and garlic: the essential aromatics.
Salt and pepper: salt and ground white pepper for seasoning
Oil: I use vegetable oil, but any neutral-flavoured cooking oil such as peanut, canola, soybean, or sunflower oil will work.
Soy sauce: You'll need light soy sauce for this recipe.
Oyster sauce: It is one of the main ingredients that give the characteristic flavor to the mei fun recipe. Please go for a quality oyster sauce like Lee kum kee or Kikkoman.
Toasted sesame oil: adds an irresistible nutty flavor to the dish.
Chicken powder (optional): I love the extra flavor it gives. However, it is totally optional.
How to make Chicken Mei Fun
- Prepare the chicken, onion, garlic, carrot, cabbage, celery, and scallions. Have everything ready to go before you turn on the stove.
- Soak the thin dried rice noodles in hot water (not boiling hot) for about 5-8 minutes. To test whether the noodle is soaked enough, you can take and chew on one noodle.
- When softened, rinse in cold water to stop cooking. Drain and set aside. You can use a colander.
- Make the stir-fry sauce by mixing soy sauce, oyster sauce, toasted sesame oil, and chicken powder in a bowl until well combined.
- Take chicken in a bowl, add ground white paper, salt, water, cornstarch and vegetable oil. Mix well and let it marinate for 10-15 minutes.
- Crack the egg and beat it.
- Heat a large pan or wok over a medium-high flame. Once the pan is hot, add 1 tablespoon of oil and swirl the pan to spread oil all over.
- Add the beaten egg and once they start to become solid, break them into pieces and immediately take them out. Make sure not to overcook the eggs.
- Heat your pan or wok over high heat until smoking hot. Then add 1 tablespoon of oil. Add the marinated chicken and stir fry over medium-high flame until the chicken is cooked through. When done, take them out and set aside.
- Heat 1.5 tablespoons of oil in the same pan. Once the oil is hot enough, add onion and minced garlic, and stir fry for 30 seconds.
- Next, add the carrot, cabbage, and celery, stir-fry for another 30 seconds or so.
- Add the prepared rice noodles and toss the noodles until heated through.
- Next, add the cooked eggs, chicken, and ground white pepper. Toss the noodles for about 30 seconds more. Take care not to break the noodles.
- Finally, add the stir-fry sauce and scallion greens and toss for about a minute.
- Then turn off the flame and serve hot.
Helpful Tips
Keep all the ingredients ready before you start cooking.
Don't skip the quick chicken marinating process. It's essential for a tender, juicy, flavorful chicken, just like in Chinese restaurants.
Use sufficient hot water to soak the rice vermicelli. There must be enough room for the vermicelli to move around.
Don't overcook the noodles or they will become mushy while frying.
Always add the sauce ingredients at the end of the cooking process.
As soon as you turn off the flame, transfer the stir-fried mei fun to a serving dish to stop it from getting cooked in the residual heat.
Variations
Make it spicy: If you love spicy foods, you can add a dash of chili oil for some extra kick or any hot sauce like sriracha or chili sauce.
Add other proteins: Feel free to throw in your choice of meat, seafood, or any proteins you'd like. Shrimp, crab, and pork are popular additions.
Add more vegetables: Chinese cabbage, colored bell peppers, bok choy, sprouted beans, bamboo shoots, broccoli, snow peas, spinach, or mushrooms make a great addition. Feel free to use any stir-fried vegetable you have or like.
For a vegetarian or vegan option: You can replace chicken with tofu and oyster sauce with vegan oyster sauce. Omit egg and chicken powder.
Gluten-free: Use gluten-free soy sauce and oyster sauce.
Serving Suggestions
Chicken mei fun is a filling meal on its own. Serve it for your Chinese buffet, weeknight dinners, lunch, potlucks, game or movie nights, or even your festive brunch.
Looking for ideas to serve mei fun noodles? Try one of these recipes!
How to store leftovers
Leftover chicken mei fun should be kept refrigerated in an airtight container. It will keep well for 3 to 4 days. To reheat, you can sprinkle a few drops of water and microwave.
FAQs
Though both chow fun and mei fun are rice noodles made from rice grain and water, the main difference between these two is in thickness. Chow fun is a thick flat noodle, whereas mei fun is thin, like vermicelli.
Plain rice noodles, made with ground rice and water, are naturally gluten-free. So dishes made with mei fun noodles are generally safe if there are no other gluten containing ingredients added.
If you try the recipe, please take a moment to leave a comment and rating. I love hearing from you and it also helps other readers who are thinking of making the recipe.
Recipe
Chicken Mei Fun
Equipment
- Pan
Ingredients
- 150 gram 5.3 oz dried thin rice vermicelli noodles
- 1 large egg
- 3 ½ tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon garlic minced
- ½ medium size onion thinly sliced
- ½ medium size carrot thinly striped
- ¼ cup cabbage thinly striped
- ¼ cup celery thinly striped
- 2-3 scallion (spring onion) greens cut into 2-inch pieces
- ¼ teaspoon white pepper ground
For the chicken
- 150 gram 5.3 oz skinless chicken breast cut into strips
- salt
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon water
- ⅙ teaspoon white pepper ground
- ½ teaspoon vegetable oil
For the sauce
- ½ teaspoon light soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon oyster sauce
- ½ teaspoon toasted sesame oil
- ½ teaspoon chicken powder optional
Instructions
- Prepare the chicken, onion, garlic, carrot, cabbage, celery, and scallions. Have everything ready to go before you turn on the stove.
- Soak the thin dried rice noodles in hot water (not boiling hot) for about 5-8 minutes. To test whether the noodle is soaked enough, you can take and chew on one noodle.
- When softened, rinse in cold water to stop cooking. Drain and set aside. You can use a colander.
- Make the stir-fry sauce by mixing soy sauce, oyster sauce, toasted sesame oil, and chicken powder in a bowl until well combined.
- Take chicken in a bowl, add ground white paper, salt, water, cornstarch and vegetable oil. Mix well and let it marinate for 10-15 minutes.
- Crack the egg and beat it.
- Heat a large pan or wok over a medium-high flame. Once the pan is hot, add 1 tablespoon of oil and swirl the pan to spread oil all over.
- Add the beaten egg and once they start to become solid, break them into pieces and immediately take them out. Make sure not to overcook the eggs.
- Heat your pan or wok over high heat until smoking hot. Then add 1 tablespoon of oil. Add the marinated chicken and stir fry over medium-high flame until the chicken is cooked through. When done, take them out and set aside.
- Heat 1.5 tablespoons of oil in the same pan. Once the oil is hot enough, add onion and minced garlic, and stir fry for 30 seconds.
- Next, add the carrot, cabbage, and celery, stir-fry for another 30 seconds or so.
- Add the prepared rice noodles and toss the noodles until heated through.
- Next, add the cooked eggs, chicken, and ground white pepper. Toss the noodles for about 30 seconds more. Take care not to break the noodles.
- Finally, add the stir-fry sauce and scallion greens and toss for about a minute.
- Then turn off the flame and serve hot.
Gail
I cooked the noodles Mei Fun for dinner last night, they were absolutely delicious 😋. Thank you for your recipe. 🙂
Geetanjali
You are welcome! I'm glad to hear that the recipe turned out well for you.