World Food and Wine
what people eat and drink worldwide

Chicken chow mein

Chow mein is a dish of stir fried noodles to which other ingredients can be added.

Ingredients

1 package noodles (Chinese egg noodles)
1 tablespoon sesame oil (dark sesame oil)
3⁄4 cup bean sprout (mungo bean sprouts, soy sprouts or soya sprouts)
3⁄4 cup onion (thinly sliced)
3⁄4 cup bell pepper (green, thinly sliced)
3⁄4 pound chicken (boneless meat, cut into even strips or small pieces)
1⁄4 cup soy sauce
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 tablespoon water
1⁄4 cup broth (chicken broth, low sodium broth if from the store)
2 tablespoons oyster sauce
1⁄2 teaspoon sugar
3 tablespoons peanut oil

Instructions

  1. Combine chicken broth, oyster sauce, and sugar in a small bowl. Reserve for later.
  2. Mix soy sauce, cornstarch, and water in a medium sized bowl. Add the chicken and stir until well coated in this batter.
  3. Cook noodles in boiling water until they are done but still firm, about 2 minutes, drain the water and toss with the sesame oil. Set aside.
  4. Heat 1 Tbs (15 ml) of peanut oil. Stir-fry the chicken pieces for about 5 minutes until cooked through. Remove from the wok and keep warm.
  5. Again, heat 1 Tbs (15 ml) of peanut oil on medium-high heat in the wok. Add the onion, peppers and mung bean sprouts. Stir fry for 3 minutes, until the onion becomes slightly translucent. Add to the chicken and toss.
  6. For the third time, heat 1 Tbs (15 ml) of peanut oil in the wok. Add the cooked noodles and stir-fry until they are heated.
  7. Now, stir in again the vegetables and chicken. Add the sweetened oyster sauce and broth, cover, and cook for 2 minutes.
  8. Return to the bowl and serve straight away.
Yield
4 servings
Preparation time 15 minutes
Cooking time 15 minutes
Total time
30 minutes

Notes

To cook the noodles, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Carefully add the noodles to the boiling water. Use a wooden spoon to stir and separate them. Cook for about 2 minutes, stirring a few times to prevent the noodles from sticking.

To cook in the wok, use a medium-high or heat.

Substitute the vegetables in this recipe for others of your choice. For instance, pak choi, carrots and mung bean sprouts is a good mix, as well, or just use the vegetables at hand.

You can easily prepare shrimp chow mein or beef chow mein in the same way.

Source

American Chinese fusion.

Stir-frying is a very popular method to cook food in China. Stir-frying is usually done in a wok, a Chinese pan with deep, curved sides. Stir-frying requires cooking food cut into small pieces, over high heat in a small amount of oil while stirring constantly.

The food cooks very fast, usually in about 5 minutes, and moving it constantly around in the pan ensures that it cooks evenly. The rounded sides help to place the food naturally where it is the hottest, the bottom of the wok.

moderate, stir-fry, pasta
poultry, main meal
Chinese food recipes
Food in Asia


See also the recipe for vegetable chow mein.

Calling all foodies and wine lovers!

Are you ready to spice up your culinary adventures? Subscribe to Fabulous Food and Wine World, the newsletter that brings the delicious delights of the world straight to your inbox.

Subscribe

* indicates required

Please select all the ways you would like to hear from World Food and Wine:

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. For information about our privacy practices, please visit our website.

We use a marketing platform. By clicking below to subscribe, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to this platform for processing.