Spicy Pork Knife Cut Noodles (Squiggly Noodles Recipe)
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Perfectly cooked knife cut noodles, ground pork, blistered cherry tomatoes and fragrant aromatics get stir-fried in a tantalizing savory-sweet sauce in this Spicy Pork Knife Cut Noodles dish! Ready in under 30 minutes, this one is a keeper for busy weeknights and SO delicious!
Looking for more high protein easy stir-fried noodles recipes? Try my Spicy Udon Noodles with Chicken, this Chicken Yaki Udon (Japanese Stir-fried Noodles), Hoisin Chicken Noodles, or Teriyaki Chicken Noodles Stir-fry next!
About This Recipe
If you’re a fan of easy and quick stir-fried noodles dishes, you are absolutely going to fall head over heels for these Spicy Pork Knife Cut Noodles!
We have lean ground pork starring as the protein, blistered cherry tomatoes, fragrant aromatics like fresh garlic, ginger, spring onion, spicy fresh red chilies to bring on the heat, tingly ground Sichuan peppercorn, fiery Thai chili powder, perfectly cooked knife cut noodles, and a tantalizing savory-sweet sauce that will make your taste buds sing!
This dish is great for weeknights when you want to do minimal cooking and spend just a little time in the kitchen – both pre-cooking with preparing ingredients and the actual cooking. It’s ready in just 25 minutes and mind-blowingly tasty, tingly and spicy! Simply put, it is SOOO GOOD!
You can use Trader Joe’s squiggly noodles for this recipe and save their sauce packet for another use (or discard it – up to you). But if there’s a Chinese or Asian supermarket near you, you’ll likely find dried knife cut noodles there.
Word of advice: Stock. Up.
You’re going to love all the delicious flavors and textures in this quick and easy noodles dish and will be making it over and over again! Just like I have.
Even if you don’t find or have knife cut noodles, use any noodles you’ve got on hand! Udon noodles with their slippery and chewy texture, rice noodles, ramen – everything works in this glorious, saucy and flavor-packed noodle dish!
Make it. Love it. Thank me later. ❤️
Table of contents
Why This Recipe Works
- Quick and easy! This simple meal comes together in just 25 minutes!
- High protein. Lean ground pork paired with filling wheat-based knife cut noodles makes this a high protein and satisfying meal. Each serving has 31.9 grams of protein!
- Customizable. It’s customizable with your favorite ground meat such as chicken, beef or turkey and also gluten-free and vegetarian/vegan adaptable!
- DELICIOUS! It’s spicy, tingly, garlicky and full of toasted sesame aromas and the chewy and texture of the knife cut noodles coated in the irresistible sauce will tantalize your taste buds and sing in your mouth!
Ingredient Notes and Substitutes
Fresh & Pantry Ingredients
- Lean Ground Pork (pork mince): Anywhere from 5% to 16% fat works.
- Dried Knife Cut Noodles: Also known as Taiwan knife-sliced noodles, knife-shaved noodles, squiggly noodles (Trader Joe’s version), and dāoxiāomiàn in Chinese. They are a type of Chinese wheat noodles from the Shanxi province. They are wide noodles with ruffled edges, a result of them being hand-sliced from a large piece of dough straight into a pot of boiling water. I’ve used the dried version, which you can find in packages at Asian and Chinese supermarkets.
- Cherry Tomatoes: Halved.
- Aromatics: Fresh garlic, ginger, red chilies and spring onion (scallion/green onions). I used Thai Bird’s Eye red chilies but any variety will work. Omit for milder dish.
- Ground Sichuan Red Peppercorns: This has a numbing citrusy flavor. While not spicy hot, it does make your tongue buzz and tingle a little. Most mainstream supermarkets will have it in the spice section. You can also find it at an Asian supermarket, Chinese market, or order them online. I buy whole Sichuan peppercorns and toast them in a dry pan or wok before grinding them in my mortar and pestle. You can also use a spice grinder to grind them into a fine powder. Then I just transfer to a container and store in a cool dry area for a few weeks.
- Thai Chili Powder (optional): For more heat! Thai chili powder is made of chili flakes, seeds, and chili powder. Substitute with crushed red pepper chili flakes. Omit for a milder dish.
- Peanut Oil: Or use any neutral cooking oil with a high smoke point for cooking.
Stir-fry Sauce Ingredients
- Oyster Sauce: An Asian pantry staple that is thick and sticky in texture and has a savory-sweet flavor profile. It’s full of umami!
- Low Sodium Light Soy Sauce: I like to use low sodium soy sauce so that I can control the salt level better. If substituting with regular light soy sauce, use a little less than indicated and substitute the rest of the amount with water.
- Dark Soy Sauce: Adds color and is less salty but is thicker than light soy sauce. Substitute with more low sodium light soy sauce if unavailable.
- Chinkiang Vinegar: A type of Chinese black vinegar. Substitute with half balsamic vinegar and white vinegar if unavailable.
- Sesame Oil: Adds toasted sesame aromas!
- White Sugar: Balances out the heat in the stir-fried noodles. Brown sugar works too.
Full ingredient list and amounts are in the recipe card below.
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How to Make Spicy Pork Knife Cut Noodles
Below is a step-by-step overview on how to make this recipe. Keep scrolling down to get to the recipe card below with the full recipe and detailed instructions!
10. Serve! Divide evenly into bowls or on plates. Sprinkle with the reserved spring onion and serve immediately!
Serving Suggestions
- Fresh vegetables: A simple side of boiled, stir-fried or steamed Asian dark leafy greens such as bok choy, choy sum, Chinese broccoli, etc. would make it a complete meal and pair well with these spicy pork noodles. Roasted veggies like broccoli and red bell peppers sprinkled with seasonings would also be yummy.
- Dumplings: You could also serve with some steamed veggie dumplings or pan-fried gyozas.
- Egg: Top with a fried egg for more protein.
Storing and Reheating Leftovers
- Storing: Although these noodles taste best when eaten hot once cooked, you can store leftovers in a sealed airtight container in the fridge for 2-3 days.
- Reheating: Reheat on high in the microwave for 1-2 minutes, stirring once in between, until hot throughout. Note that the texture will not be the same as when first cooked the next day. The noodles may be drier as they will have absorbed the sauce over time in the fridge. Adding a small splash of water before reheating could help but too much can make the noodles soggy and gluggy. Be careful not to add too much water.
Cook’s Tips
- Don’t overcook the noodles. Cook until tender but not too soft as they will break when you stir fry to combine with the spicy pork sauce.
- Mise en place. This is a speedy stir-fried noodles dish. You’ll want to have all your ingredients prepped and ready to go and by the side of your wok before you turn on the heat.
- Adjust spice level to taste. Use less fresh red chilies and Thai chili powder if you prefer a milder dish. While the ground Sichuan peppercorns add a little heat, they have a more numbing and tingly effect than a hot and spicy flavor. Use less if you prefer to but it’s really the chilies and chili powder that bring the fire to this dish! If you prefer your noodles to be extra spicy, add more chilies and chili powder.
Variations
Dietary Modifications
- Vegetarian/Vegan. Use a plant-based ground meat substitute instead of pork. Or use crispy pan-fried tofu cubes, tempeh, or seitan instead. Also, use a vegetarian mushroom flavored oyster sauce.
- Gluten-free. Use a gluten-free soy sauce (or tamari or coconut aminos), gluten-free oyster sauce, and gluten-free noodles such as rice noodles or brown rice udon noodles instead of wheat-based knife cut noodles.
Flavor/Preference Customizations
- Use a different protein. Lean ground chicken, turkey, or beef would all taste great! You could also use shrimp/prawns instead.
- Add veggies. Add a handful of bean sprouts, Chinese cabbage (Napa cabbage), baby spinach, snap peas, snow peas, or some bok choy if you like. You may need to tweak the amounts for the ingredients in the sauce if doing so. A sprinkling of fresh herbs like coriander at the end would also be tasty!
- Add honey. A teaspoon in place of the white sugar would be compliment the flavors in this spicy pork knife cut noodles dish.
- Add peanut butter. Because creamy peanut butter just works with Asian noodle recipes with Sichuan peppercorns! Check out my Spicy Dan Dan Noodles if you love peanut butter noodles! You could also use almond butter instead if you have a peanut allergy or Chinese white sesame paste.
- Use different noodles. Egg noodles, ramen noodles, buckwheat noodles (soba noodles), any type of Chinese, Japanese or Korean wheat noodles. In a pinch, fettuccine, pappardelle, spaghetti or bucatini can be used and it’ll still taste great!
- Top with chili oil. Japanese La-Yu, chili crisp by Fly By Jing, Momofuku’s chili crunch, or your favorite chili oil – either with or without sediment (flakes and/or seeds). A small drizzle or spoonful will go a long way to add more heat and extra flavor!
- Sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds. Because they are such a pretty topping and taste good!
FAQs
A Chinese of Asian supermarket. You can also purchase Trader Joe’s Knife Cut Style Noodles and use it for this recipe. Discard the sauce packet it comes with or save it for another use.
Wheat flour, water and salt.
They are made from wheat and are not gluten-free.
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Spicy Pork Knife Cut Noodles
Perfectly cooked knife cut noodles, ground pork, blistered cherry tomatoes and fragrant aromatics get stir-fried in a tantalizing savory-sweet sauce in this Spicy Pork Knife Cut Noodles dish! Ready in under 30 minutes, this one is a keeper for busy weeknights and SO delicious!
- Prep Time: 5
- Cook Time: 10
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: 2 1x
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Stir-fry
- Cuisine: Chinese
Ingredients
Sauce:
- 2 tablespoon Oyster Sauce
- 2 tablespoon Low Sodium Light Soy Sauce
- 1 teaspoon Dark Soy Sauce (note 1)
- 1 tablespoon Chinkiang Vinegar
- ½ TSP Toasted Sesame Oil
- ½ TSP White Sugar
Spicy Pork Knife Cut Noodles:
- 3 ounces (6–7 pieces) / 90 grams Cherry Tomatoes – halved
- 4–5 cloves / 20 grams Garlic – roughly chopped
- 1 tablespoon / 6 grams minced Ginger – minced
- 2–6 pieces / 6-20 grams fresh Red Chilies (optional – I used Thai Bird’s Eye red chilies but any variety will work, omit for milder dish – note 2*), to taste – chopped
- 1 medium stalk / 10 grams Spring Onion (Scallion/Green Onions, dark green parts only) – chopped
- 1 tablespoon Peanut Oil, for cooking
- ½ teaspoon ground Sichuan Red Peppercorns (note 3)
- ½ teaspoon Thai Chili Powder (optional – substitute crushed red pepper chili flakes), to taste
- 7 ounces / 200 grams Lean Ground Pork (pork mince)
- 4.8 ounces (2 servings) / 136 grams dried Knife Cut Noodles (note 4)
- 2–4 tablespoons Reserved Noodle Cooking Water
- To Serve: Reserved chopped spring onion
Instructions
Prep:
- Make the sauce: Whisk together the oyster sauce, low sodium light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, chinkiang vinegar, sesame oil and white sugar in a small bowl or measuring cup (for easier pouring) until combined well.
- Prepare all the fresh ingredients: Prepare the cherry tomatoes, garlic, ginger, fresh red chilies (if using) and spring onion as indicated in the ‘ingredients’ section.
Spicy Pork Knife Cut Noodles
- Boil water: Fill a pot with water and put it to boil for the noodles.
- Blister the cherry tomatoes: Heat 1 tablespoon of peanut oil in a large nonstick wok over medium-high heat. Once hot, carefully (there might be some splashing of oil) add the cherry tomatoes and stir-fry for 1-2 minutes, or until starting to char and blister.
- Stir-fry the aromatics: Add the add the garlic, ginger and red chilies and stir-fry for 30-40 seconds until fragrant.
- Add the spices: Add the ground Sichuan red peppercorns and Thai chili powder and stir-fry to combine until aromatic.
- Cook the pork: Add the ground pork and stir-fry for 2-3 minutes, breaking up the clumps, until just cooked.
- Add the sauce: Pour the sauce over everything and mix to combine. Lower the heat to medium-low and simmer for 1-2 minutes, or until the sauce thickens slightly. Switch off the heat while you cook the noodles.
- Cook the noodles: Add the knife cut noodles to the pot of boiling water and cook according to package instructions – usually 2-3 minutes. Use tongs to transfer the noodles directly into the wok with the stir-fried pork mixture. (Do not drain the noodle cooking water yet as you’ll need it to thin the sauce.)
- Toss to combine: Turn the heat back on under the wok with the pork and noodles and set to medium-high. Toss until the sauce is evenly coating everything. Add 2-4 tablespoons of the noodle cooking liquid to thin the sauce if it thickens too much.
- Toss through the spring onion: Toss through most of the spring onion dark green parts (reserve some for garnish). Switch off the heat.
- To Serve: Divide evenly in bowls or on plates. Garnish with the reserved spring onion and serve immediately!
Notes
- Dark Soy Sauce. Adds color and is less salty but thicker than light soy sauce. Substitute with more low sodium light soy sauce if unavailable.
- Fresh Red Chilies. They add a tasty kick of heat to this dish. Feel free to use any variety that are easily available to you. Use less or omit completely if you’re not a fan of spicy food.
- Ground Sichuan Red Peppercorns. This has a numbing citrusy flavor. While not spicy hot, it does make your tongue buzz and tingle a little. Most mainstream supermarkets will have it in the spice section. You can also find it at an Asian supermarket, Chinese market, or order them online. I buy whole Sichuan peppercorns and toast them in a dry pan or wok before grinding them in my mortar and pestle. You can also use a spice grinder to grind them into a fine powder. I transfer the ground Sichuan peppercorns to a container and store in a cool dry area for a few weeks.
- Dried Knife Cut Noodles. Also known as Taiwan knife-sliced noodles, knife-shaved noodles, squiggly noodles (Trader Joe’s version), and dāoxiāomiàn. They are a type of Chinese wheat noodles from the Shanxi province. They are wide noodles with ruffled edges, a result of them being hand-sliced from a large piece of dough straight into a pot of boiling water. I’ve used the dried version, which you can find in packages at Asian and Chinese supermarkets. Or you can purchase the Trader Joe’s version and discard the sauce packet that comes with it (or save for another use).
- Storing and reheating. Although these noodles taste best when eaten hot once cooked, you can store leftovers in a sealed airtight container in the fridge for 2-3 days. Reheat on high in the microwave for 1-2 minutes, stirring once in between, until hot throughout. Note that the texture will not be the same as when first cooked the next day and the noodles may be drier as they will have absorbed the sauce over time in the fridge. Adding a small splash of water before reheating could help but too much will make the noodles soggy and gluggy. Be careful not to add too much water.
- See the ‘Variations’ section for ideas on how to customize this knife cut noodles stir fry.
- Recipe adapted from Marion’s Kitchen.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/2 of recipe
- Calories: 560
- Sugar: 8.2g
- Sodium: 2249.2mg
- Fat: 19g
- Saturated Fat: 4.3g
- Unsaturated Fat: 14.6g
- Trans Fat: 0.1g
- Carbohydrates: 63.7g
- Fiber: 1.8g
- Protein: 31.9g
- Cholesterol: 67mg
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