If you love dumplings, these dumpling inspired stir fried noodles will be right up your street. They’re PERFECT for when those dumpling cravings hit, but you want something fast. Ready in 20 minutes, high-protein, comforting – perfect for busy weeknights.
Dumpling Noodles, at a Glance
- ⏰ Time: 20 minutes.
- 🍽️ Makes: 4 servings.
- 🛒 Key Ingredients: Ground chicken (or pork, turkey, tofu), garlic, ginger, light soy sauce, sesame oil, noodles.
- 🥟 Why it Works: All the flavors of the best juicy dumpling filling, tossed through chewy noodles instead of folded into wrappers.
- 🥡 Perfect For: Quick weeknight dinners, easy entertaining, meal prep, and satisfying any and all dumpling cravings.
Why You’ll Love These Dumpling Inspired Noodles
- They genuinely taste like dumplings, with zero faff. While I love a dedicated dumpling making afternoon, they’re not exactly weeknight friendly. These noodles satisfy those dumpling cravings by using the same flavors in a faster, saucier way.
- It takes just 20 minutes. Everything cooks in one pan (apart from boiling the noodles), and it’s as simple as saute, toss, and serve.
- Totally flexible and fridge-friendly. Play around with your protein (ground pork, turkey, shredded tofu, even mushrooms work), bulk things out with different veggies (even mixed frozen veg is great!) Use instant ramen, udon, egg noodles, or rice noodles. Even spaghetti.
- High-protein and still comforting. This is one of those brilliant quick recipes that actually leaves you satisfied – so there’s no searching for snacks half an hour later.
And if I’m totally honest, this recipe happened by accident. I’d picked up some ground chicken with grand plans of making proper dumplings (similar to my chicken and mushroom potstickers), but when the time came…I just couldn’t be bothered.
So, I threw all the dumpling ingredients into a pan, then tossed in noodles, and it was an instant winner.
Now they’re on heavy rotation in my house, and I’ve got a feeling they might be in yours too.
If you’re after a slightly different take on dumplings in a similar speedy way, try my viral smash dumpling tacos or mini crispy dumpling cups next.
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Ground chicken. You could easily swap this for ground pork, turkey, beef, or a plant-based alternative. Or, shredded tofu or finely chopped mushrooms are great veggie options.
- Noodles. I like using fresh or dried egg noodles, or instant ramen bricks, but you can use whatever you have on hand. Udon is great, as are rice noodles. You can even use regular spaghetti!
- Aromatics. Fresh garlic and ginger are key here, but you can use jarred or pastes if that’s all you have. I like adding a little Chinese five spice too, for extra flavor.
- Sauces. Most of these should be cupboard staples, but the Shaoxing rice wine and black vinegar might be trickier to find. Both of these give you that lovely, authentic dumpling flavor, so I like to include them if possible. You should be able to find them in the ‘Asian’ or ‘International’ section of the grocery store, or at an Asian grocer. If you can’t see them, swap black vinegar for regular rice wine vinegar, or white wine vinegar, and leave out the Shaoxing wine.
Step-by-Step: How to Make Dumpling-Inspired Noodles
This is a step-by-step photo overview of how to make the noodles – the full recipe with ingredient quantities and detailed instructions is at the bottom of the page for you.
- Add your chicken to a pan or skillet with a little neutral oil.
- Once lightly browned, add the sauces, garlic, ginger, and scallions.
- Mix through the ground chicken and cook until nice and sticky.
- Add in the sliced bok choi and half of the cilantro. Toss well.
- Add your cooked noodles into the pan, and toss them through the ground chicken and greens.
- Divide the dumpling noodles between plates, then drizzle with chili crisp and scatter with the remaining cilantro.
Dumpling Noodles FAQs
My favorites are fresh or dried egg noodles or instant ramen bricks. Udon noodles are great too, as are rice noodles. You can even use regular spaghetti if you like.
Yes! It’s a super flexible recipe, so feel free to play around here. My go-to is ground chicken, but ground pork is a fab substitute, or you could use ground turkey, beef, shrimp, finely chopped mushrooms, or even shredded tofu.
This can happen when the noodles are overcooked, or left to sit too long in a colander after cooking, or added too early into the pan with the stir fry.
To ensure this doesn’t happen – cook your noodles until just al dente, then rinse in cold water to wash off any excess starch. If you like, toss them with a little neutral oil too. This will stop them from sticking together when you add them to the pan.
I also recommend using tongs rather than a spatula or spoon to toss them through the noodles – this helps to distribute them evenly.
You can – they reheat really well. They’ll keep for up to 4 days in an airtight container in the fridge. Add a little water (roughly 1 tablespoon) when you reheat them (the microwave is the easiest). This will keep them from drying out.
Like this recipe? Try these easy weeknight ideas next
If you make this recipe, I’d love to hear from you! You can leave a recipe rating and a comment below. And remember to tag @DishedByKate on Instagram, Facebook and TikTok if you’ve made one of my recipes. Seeing your recreations really makes my day 😊.
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20 Minute Dumpling-Inspired Stir-Fried Noodles
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Diet: Low Calorie
Description
If you love dumplings, these dumpling inspired stir fried noodles will be right up your street. They’re PERFECT for when those dumpling cravings hit, but you want something fast. Ready in 20 minutes, high-protein, comforting – perfect for busy weeknights.
Ingredients
For the noodles –
- 1 tablespoon neutral oil
- 1 lb (500g) ground chicken
- 1 teaspoon Chinese five spice
- 1 tablespoon sweet chili jam (or sweet chili sauce, or honey)
- 2 tablespoons light soy sauce
- 1.5 tablespoons black vinegar
- 1 tablespoon Shaoxing rice wine
- 2 teaspoons fish sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- Black pepper
- 4 garlic cloves, crushed
- 1-inch piece of ginger, grated
- 5 scallions, finely sliced, green and white parts separated
- A handful of cilantro (coriander), chopped
- 3 heads of bok choy, finely sliced
- 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
- 9 oz (250g) dried noodles (egg, udon, instant ramen, rice noodles – you choose!)
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
To serve –
- Chili crisp oil
- 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
- A handful of fresh cilantro (coriander)
- Crispy fried onions
Instructions
- Cook the ground chicken. Set a large, high-sided skillet or wok over medium-high heat. Add 1 tablespoon of neutral oil, then the ground chicken. Cook, stirring and using your spoon or spatula to break up the ground meat, for about five minutes or until the chicken looks mostly white.
- Add the aromatics and sauces. At this point, add 1 teaspoon of Chinese five spice, 1 tablespoon of sweet chili jam, 2 tablespoons of light soy sauce, 1 1/2 tablespoons of black vinegar, 1 tablespoon of Shaoxing rice wine, 2 teaspoons of fish sauce, the white parts of the scallions, crushed garlic, fresh ginger, and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Mix everything through the ground chicken. Cook, stirring, for a couple of minutes, until nice and sticky.
- Add the bok choy. At this point, scatter the sliced bok choy into the ground chicken mixture, along with the cilantro, 1 tablespoon of sesame seeds, and the green parts of the scallions. Toss well.
- Cook the noodles. Use the instructions on your packet to cook your chosen noodles, then reserve 1/4 cup of the cooking water before draining the noodles.
- Add the noodles. Once drained, add the noodles to the ground chicken, along with the reserved cooking water (this helps to create a nice, glossy sauce that coats the noodles well), and 1 tablespoon of sesame oil. Toss very well to combine. I find tongs are easiest here – they help the noodles mix properly through the other ingredients.
- Garnish and serve. Divide the noodles between bowls, then add your chosen garnishes. I love a good drizzle of chili crisp, extra sesame seeds, fresh cilantro, and crispy fried onions.
Notes
INGREDIENT NOTES: If you can’t find Shaoxing rice wine or black vinegar, leave out the rice wine and use rice wine vinegar or white wine vinegar in place of the black vinegar. Both these ingredients help with that proper dumpling-inspired flavor, but can be trickier to find. While fresh garlic and ginger are best, jarred or paste will work too.
SUBSTITUTIONS: Swap the ground chicken for ground pork, turkey, beef, or a plant-based alternative. Or, use shrimp, shredded tofu, or finely chopped mushrooms. Play around with the veggies – you could swap the bok choi for spinach, or even frozen mixed vegetables.
PREP AHEAD: The noodles will keep for up to 4 days in an airtight container in the fridge. Add a little water (roughly 1 tablespoon) when you reheat them (the microwave is easiest). This will keep them from drying out.
HOW TO STOP YOUR NOODLES FROM CLUMPING UP IN YOUR PAN: This can happen when the noodles are overcooked, or left to sit too long in a colander after cooking, or added too early into the pan with the stir fry. To ensure this doesn’t happen – cook your noodles until just al dente, then rinse in cold water to wash off any excess starch. If you like, toss them with a little neutral oil too. This will stop them from sticking together when you add them to the pan. I also recommend using tongs rather than a spatula or spoon to toss them through the noodles – this helps to distribute them evenly.
- Prep Time: 5
- Cook Time: 15
- Category: better than takeout
- Method: stove top
- Cuisine: asian
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 200g
- Calories: 526
- Sugar: 5.3g
- Sodium: 780mg
- Fat: 22.3g
- Saturated Fat: 4.9g
- Unsaturated Fat: 17.4g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 53g
- Fiber: 3.3g
- Protein: 32.5g
- Cholesterol: 115mg
