Last week I made the Shrimp Topping for Crispy Chow Mein recipe from J. Kenji Lopez-Alt’s The Wok cookbook. This is another topping for the Crispy Chow Mein recipe.

Second attempt at the Crispy Chow Mein Noodle Cake

Last time, I found the noodle cake cooked faster than Kenji’s expected times in the recipe. This time around I started over medium heat as directed in the recipe, then reduced to low. I think it came out better. The cake certainly was chewier in the middle, and my son enjoyed the noodles this time whereas he did not last time.

Shrimp Topping

For the shrimp topping, Kenji first calls for brining the shrimp in ice water with salt and baking soda. While that’s happening, he directs to make a shrimp stock with the shrimp shells, ginger, scallion, and stock.

With that done, the stir-fry is straightforward. The drained-and-dried shrimp are stir-fried with scallions. Then the stock, sugar, Shaoxing wine, and soy sauce are added. A cornstarch slurry is added and the whole thing is simmered until thickened.

Finally, the topping is seasoned with salt and white pepper and served on top of the noodle cake.

The topping tasted fine. I have two issues with it, though. First, Kenji says this is a 5-minute recipe. Perhaps the stir-fry is five minutes, but brining the shrimp is at least 15 minutes. Along with the noodle cake, it was probably an hour-long endeavor for me. Second, the sauce never thickened up for me. If I make it again, I’ll try doubling the cornstarch slurry.

I doubt I’ll make this or the Shiitake and Bok Choy version again. It’s a fair amount of time and my family weren’t all that into it.

I am cooking my way through J. Kenji Lopez-Alt’s The Wok cookbook. Read more about it.