Lort Cha Noodles (Cambodian Pin Noodle Stir-Fry)
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If you are looking to expand your horizons for dinner but you need something quick and full of flavour, then this Lort Cha recipe is excellent for you! Rice pin noodles prepared with juicy chicken thighs in an Asian-style marinade, paired with a spicy sauce and a fried egg! This Lort Cha recipe is a staple in Cambodian cooking and will certainly become a staple in your kitchen!
Have you ever tried Cambodian cuisine? I have to admit that out of all of the Asian cooking I’ve done, Cambodian is certainly one cuisine that I’ve never tried until making this Lort Cha Noodles recipe!
If you’re like me and want to explore a new destination unseen, then you must try Lort Cha Noodles as part of your Live to Cook one month challenge! You can get started on your cooking journey for free today by signing up to my newsletter!
This Lort Cha recipe was an excellent way to introduce me to Cambodian cooking! I loved all the flavours in our chicken and noodles, and it was super fast to make this recipe! I certainly would have it again any time, and I highly recommend you make this recipe if you’re looking for a completely new dining experience but still want a quick dinner on the table!
To watch how we make this super flavourful Cambodian Lort Cha noodle recipe from start to finish (including the process of making our own rice pin noodles!), be sure to watch the video at the bottom of this post! If you haven’t already, it would mean a lot to me if you could please subscribe, and don’t forget to hit the bell button so you receive the notifications when the recipe videos go live! Let’s get cooking!
Tips to Guarantee The Most Delicious Cambodian Stir Fry
The wok to cook your Lort Cha should be well seasoned with oil to ensure ingredients don’t stick and also to prevent the need to use extra oil while cooking.
Make sure to use the best quality rice pin noodles, veggies and bean sprouts for a fresh, vibrant array of flavours.
While the chicken does not need much time to marinate to absorb the flavours, at least 10-15 minutes is important to have an impact in the overall flavour of your Cambodian stir fry!
Don’t be nervous about browning the garlic, it will only add to the flavours and will be worth the extra couple seconds of cooking time.
Ingredients for Lort Cha
Scroll to the bottom of this post for the FULL PRINTABLE recipe card, with all ingredients and their quantities. You can save this recipe for later and the recipe card will also allow you to scale the entire recipe based on how many portions you want to make. All the ingredient quantities will be automatically adjusted, so you don’t have to figure this out!
For the marinade
Chicken: I’m using chicken thighs because in my opinion they just make for better stir fries! Chicken thighs tend to be juicier because of their higher fat content. However, if you do want to use chicken breast, then that’s completely fine.
Soy sauce: The preference here would be dark soy sauce, but if you don’t have it, then that’s no problem at all! As I describe in my free motivational guide to explore your potential, Make Cooking Fun!, if there’s a suitable substitute you can use, then don’t stress about not being able to find a niche ingredient! My hack to get a similar colour to what dark soy sauce produces is to combine regular soy sauce with oyster sauce.
Fish sauce: A little really goes a long way, adding an umami flavour profile to the dish.
Tapioca starch: Used to thicken the sauce.
Granulated sugar: Used to balance flavours by adding sweetness.
For the Sauce
Sambal oelek: If you didn’t know, this is an Indonesian chilli paste. You can use this or chilli garlic sauce. The sambal oelek I used actually has garlic added to it!
Soy sauce: Again, dark soy sauce is preferred, but if you don’t have it, then use a combination of regular soy sauce and oyster sauce.
Fish sauce: Known for it’s umami flavour profile, adding a sweet or meaty taste to the dish.
Granulated sugar: Some sweetness to balance out the saltiness of our other ingredients.
For the Lort Cha
Rice pin noodles: Also known as Silver Pin Noodles or Rats’ Tail Noodles. I honestly could not find them anywhere near me or even on Amazon, so I made them myself! You’ll need to allocate the extra time to do this, but don’t worry, it’s a really quick and easy process! Check out my recipe on how to make Rice Pin Noodles from scratch here.
Bean sprouts
Eggs: A fried egg for topping.
Butter: To fry your egg. Of course, you can use olive oil or whatever oil you want to cook your egg.
Canola oil: Used for stir frying all of our ingredients together. You can use whatever neutral oil you have, such as vegetable oil or even peanut oil if you want some nuttiness.
Garlic: Freshly chopped garlic cloves.
Seasoning: Salt is always essential!
Green onion: You’ll want to separate the white part from the green.
How to Make Cambodian Lort Cha
Marinate the chicken
In a bowl, add the chicken thighs, dark soy sauce (or soy sauce + oyster sauce), fish sauce and baking powder. Mix well and marinate for 15-20 minutes.
Prepare the sauce
In another bowl, mix all the ingredients for the sauce and stir well. Set aside for now.
To Boil
Bring a pot of water to a boil and cook the bean sprouts for 1 minutes. Strain and set aside. Add the packaged or cooked rice pin noodles to the boiling water and cook for 1-2 minutes.
To Stir-fry
While the bean sprouts and noodles are cooking, heat a seasoned wok on medium to medium high heat. In the meanwhile, heat another non-stick pan to prepare the sunny side up eggs with 1 tsp or so of butter.
Once hot, add vegetable oil and then the finely chopped garlic. Sauté and stir until lightly browned.
Add the marinated chicken and spread in a single layer. Cook undisturbed for 45 seconds to a minute to brown the chicken and then sauté. Add the cooked pin noodles and the sauce and mix well. Cook until the sauce thickens slightly.
Add the bean sprouts.
Add the chives and sauté until fragrant and then add the green onions.
Mix well, and then serve fresh with one sunny side up egg per portion of Lort Cha.
Enjoy!
Can I Make Lort Cha In Advance?
No, I would not recommend that you do that! I tried this on myself, but once microwaved, the Lort Cha honestly tasted entirely different!
I had made two portions (but made a new fresh egg) and saved the second portion for the next morning. When stored in the fridge, the noodles tend to absorb excess moisture, which would not only cause the noodles to get stuck to each other, but they would also absorb a lot of the moisture from the sauce that made the dish delicious when freshly prepared! However, the dish became gummy and dry when reheated, which ruined the experience.
To be honest this dish is very fast to prepare! However, if you still want to save some time, you could make the noodles ahead of time, if you are making your own noodles. Be mindful that you should not make the noodles more than a day or two in advance, and you must store your noodles at room temperature to avoid them from sticking. If you really have to keep the plain noodles in the fridge, then they should last up to a week, but this is not recommended! Furthermore, you can marinate the chicken and prepare the sauce in advance.
More Incredible Stir Fry Recipes!
Watch How to Make Lort Cha Noodles (Cambodian Stir Fry) Here:
Let me know what you think of this recipe in the comments! If you’ve tried this recipe, be sure to post it on social media and tag it with #cookingwithanadi and mention me @cooking.with.anadi. Thank you!
Lort Cha Noodles (Cambodian Pin Noodles Stir Fry)
Ingredients
- 110g chicken thighs, thinly sliced
- 1 Tbsp dark soy sauce or 1/2 Tbsp soy sauce + 1 tsp oyster sauce
- 1/2 tsp tapioca starch
- 1/2 tsp fish sauce
- 1/4 tsp granulated sugar
- 1 Tbsp sambal oelek
- 1 1/2 Tbsp dark soy sauce or 1 Tbsp soy sauce + 1 tsp oyster sauce
- 3/4 tsp fish sauce
- 1 tsp granulated sugar
- 260 g rice pin noodles (store-bought or homemade)
- 1-2 Tbsp canola oil
- 1-2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 75 g bean sprouts
- 2-3 Tbsp chives, finely chopped
- 1-2 green onions, finely sliced (green and white parts separated)
- 1-2 eggs, cooked sunny side up
Instructions
- Marinate the chicken: In a bowl, add the chicken thighs, dark soy sauce (or soy sauce + oyster sauce), fish sauce and baking powder. Mix well and marinate for 15-20 minutes.
- Prepare the sauce: In another bowl, mix all the ingredients for the sauce and stir well. Set aside for now.
- To Boil: Bring a pot of water to a boil and cook the bean sprouts for 1 minutes. Strain and set aside. Add the packaged or cooked rice pin noodles to the boiling water and cook for 1-2 minutes.
- To Stir-fry: While the bean sprouts and noodles are cooking, heat a seasoned wok on medium to medium high heat. In the meanwhile, heat another non-stick pan to prepare the sunny side up eggs with 1 tsp or so of butter.
- Once hot, add vegetable oil and then the finely chopped garlic. Sauté and stir until lightly browned.
- Add the marinated chicken and spread in a single layer. Cook undisturbed for 45 seconds to a minute to brown the chicken and then sauté. Add the cooked pin noodles and the sauce and mix well. Cook until the sauce thickens slightly.
- Add the bean sprouts and chives, sauté until fragrant and then add the green onions. Mix well, and then serve fresh with one sunny side up egg per portion of Lort Cha.
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