Noodles East · Chinese home cooking
Stir Fried Cabbage with Vermicelli and Egg
Shredded cabbage is stir-fried until sweet and just tender, then tossed with soaked vermicelli and soft egg folds for a cheap, fast supper with a mix of silky noodles and still-crisp leaves.
About this dish
Cabbage is the most forgiving vegetable in the wok: it can take high heat, it sweetens as it softens, and it holds its shape. The trick is to stop while a few shreds still have snap, so the finished pan is not a uniform mush. Vermicelli goes in soaked but not wet, which lets it toast against the hot metal instead of steaming. Scramble the egg first, then fold it back at the end. You get a dry hiss, the smell of browned garlic, and three textures in one forkful.
Before you start
Equipment: Wok. Tap the ingredient checkboxes as you go.
Method
7 steps · tick each one off as you finish it.
Soak and cut the vermicelli
Cover 90 g vermicelli with warm water for 5 minutes, then drain very well and snip the mass into shorter lengths. Ready once fully limp and translucent, with no dry core and no water pooling in the bowl.
Scramble the egg
Heat 1 tbsp oil in a wok over medium-high heat for 60 seconds, pour in 110 g beaten egg and let it set for 20 seconds. Push it into broad folds and tip it out while still glossy and slightly underdone.
Aromatics
Add the remaining 2 tbsp oil to the wok over high heat and scatter in 20 g sliced garlic. Stir for 30 seconds until the edges turn pale gold and the smell turns nutty; do not let it darken.
Fry the cabbage
Tip in 350 g shredded cabbage and 1/2 tsp salt, and toss over high heat for 3 minutes. Move on when the volume has dropped by about a third, the edges are lightly bronzed, and a few shreds still crunch.
Add the noodles
Push the cabbage aside and add the drained vermicelli with 2 tbsp soy sauce, 1/2 tsp sugar and 1/4 tsp white pepper. Toss for 90 seconds over medium-high heat until the strands are evenly tawny and no white patches remain.
Return the egg
Slide the egg back in with 40 g scallions and break the folds gently into the noodles. Toss for 30 seconds off the heat; the pan is ready when the egg is heated through but still shows soft yellow, not browned, edges.
Finish
Drizzle over 1 tsp sesame oil, toss twice and taste; the balance should lean savoury with a faint sweetness from the cabbage. Serve straight from the wok while the strands still give off a light, dry steam.
Tips that matter
- Drain the soaked vermicelli thoroughly; wet noodles will braise in the wok and turn gluey instead of toasting.
- Pull the egg early and let residual heat finish it, so the folds stay tender when they go back into the hot pan.
Easy variations
- Add 100 g thinly sliced pork belly with the garlic and render it for 2 minutes before the cabbage goes in.
- Stir 1 tsp chilli bean paste into the soy sauce for a deeper, ruddy heat that clings to the noodles.
Questions that come up
Why did everything stick to the wok?
The pan was not hot enough or the noodles were wet. Preheat until a drop of water skitters, use the full 3 tbsp oil, and dry the vermicelli well.
Can I make this ahead?
It is best fresh, but you can shred and soak everything up to 4 hours ahead, keep them separately chilled, and stir-fry in 5 minutes when ready.
Nutrition, roughly
| Energy | 360 kcal |
|---|---|
| Protein | 12 g |
| Carbohydrate | 48 g |
| Fat | 14 g |
Estimated per serving from standard ingredients, rounded. Treat it as a guide, not clinical data.
Boiling Noodles and Pasta Well
Salt, water volume, the two-minute window and the starchy cooking liquid that most home cooks pour down the sink.
