Name: Julie Goodwin’s char siu pork noodle stir-fry
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 35 min
Yield: 4
Ingredients: ¼ cup (60ml) light soy sauce; 2 teaspoons sesame oil; 600g pork fillet, sliced thinly; 2 tablespoons cornflour; 440g shelf-fresh Singapore noodles; 2 tablespoons peanut oil; 2 cloves garlic, chopped finely; 3cm piece fresh ginger, peeled, cut into thin matchsticks; 3 fresh long red chillies, sliced thinly on the diagonal; 1 bunch broccolini, cut into 3cm lengths; ½ cup (125ml) char siu sauce; ¼ cup (60ml) rice vinegar (or white vinegar); 2 tablespoons fried garlic; 4 green onions, sliced thinly on the diagonal

With Julie Goodwin’s char siu pork noodle stir-fry recipe, dinner’s ready in just 35 minutes. It’s sweet, savoury and spicy, with tender pork fillet, Singapore noodles and vibrant broccolini.

Ingredients

¼ cup (60ml) light soy sauce

2 teaspoons sesame oil

600g pork fillet, sliced thinly

2 tablespoons cornflour

440g shelf-fresh Singapore noodles

2 tablespoons peanut oil

2 cloves garlic, chopped finely

3cm piece fresh ginger, peeled, cut into thin matchsticks

3 fresh long red chillies, sliced thinly on the diagonal

1 bunch broccolini, cut into 3cm lengths

½ cup (125ml) char siu sauce

¼ cup (60ml) rice vinegar (or white vinegar)

2 tablespoons fried garlic

4 green onions, sliced thinly on the diagonal

Method

Combine 2 tablespoons of the soy sauce with sesame oil in a medium bowl; add pork, toss to coat. Sprinkle the cornflour over the pork; toss again.

Pour boiling water over noodles in a large bowl; loosen noodles with tongs. Stand for 3 minutes; drain.

Meanwhile, add half of the peanut oil to a very hot wok over high heat. Stir-fry half the pork until browned lightly and tender. Remove from the wok; repeat with the remaining pork.

Add the remaining oil to the wok; stir-fry the garlic, ginger and two-thirds of the chilli until fragrant. Add broccolini and 2 tablespoons water, then stir-fry until the broccolini is just tender and the water has evaporated.

Return the pork to the wok with noodles. Add remaining soy sauce, char siu sauce and rice wine vinegar; stir-fry until heated through.

Serve the stir-fry sprinkled with the fried garlic, green onion and the remaining chilli.

What is char siu sauce?

Char siu sauce, also called Chinese barbecue sauce, is dark red-brown in colour with a sharp sweet and spicy flavour. Made with fermented soy beans, honey and various spices, char siu can be diluted and used as a marinade. Char siu pork is a popular dish in Cantonese cuisine.

Can char siu pork be made in advance?

This quick and easy dinner is not suitable to freeze or microwave.

Test Kitchen tips for stir-fry success

The key to a successful stir-fry is in the preparation: have all the required ingredients chopped, diced, measured and immediately at hand.
Heat the wok until it is very hot before adding the oil, then heat the oil until it just starts to smoke before adding any food.
Keep the heat high throughout the cooking.
Stir-frying works better on gas burners than an electric stove top because the gas flames surround the wok with the intense heat needed. For cooking on gas, choose a wok made from carbon steel. For an electric stove top, use a cast-iron wok because it holds the heat better than carbon steel.

This recipe ran in The Australian Women’s Weekly in 2016 and was published online in 2025.