Chicken chow mein is probably one of the best weeknight dinner recipes. Because: Along with other takeout style dishes such as Beef Chow Fun, Seafood Chow Mein, Vegetable Lo Mein, and Soy Sauce Pan Fried Noodles, you should definitely put Chicken chow mein on your dinner rotation. Because once you gather the basic pantry ingredients, you can cook Chinese dishes that taste even better than takeout.
Ingredients for chicken chow mein
What type of noodles to use
To get the best tasting chicken chow mein, you should always use chow mein noodles. The noodles are thin and have a yellow color. The main ingredients are wheat flour and eggs. If you live close to an Asian market, the best chow mein noodles are the fresh type. They are usually labeled as chow mein noodles or chow mein pan fried noodles. You can find them in either the refrigerated or freezer section. You can also find them on online Asian grocery store Weee!. Other great alternatives include Japanese noodles for yakisoba or spaghetti. Both will yield a different texture for the final product but will be tasty nonetheless.
Sauce ingredients
The key sauce ingredients of chicken chow mein include Shaoxing wine, oyster sauce, and a good soy sauce. Check out my essential pantry guide to read more about the ingredients.
Vegetables and the alternative
I used cabbage, carrot and pepper in my chicken chow mein, just like how it is usually served in a Chinese restaurant. QUICK TIP: You can use 5 cups of pre-cut coleslaw blend to replace the cabbage and carrot. It will save you some prep time! Some other delicious vegetables for chicken chow mein include:
Bean sprouts (add them at the end) Napa cabbage Baby bok choy Chinese broccoli Snow peas
Mise en place
It’s very important to have all the ingredients prepped right before the stir fry. Your countertop should have:
Mixed sauce Marinated chicken Sliced cabbage and carrot Minced ginger and garlic Chopped pepper and green onion Chow mein noodles, cooked to al dente and drained
I like to group the ingredients together if I plan to add them at the same time during the stir fry, to make the process and the cleanup easier.
How to cook chicken chow mein
To cook chicken chow mein:
Final thoughts
Once you try cooking your own chicken chow mein at home, you won’t want to order takeout again because the homemade one tastes so much better! And you don’t even need a wok. Just a simple nonstick skillet will work wonders as long as you get the basic ingredients and follow this recipe.
Other easy noodle recipes
Wonton Char Siu Noodle Soup (叉烧云吞面) Chinese Chicken Noodle Salad (鸡丝凉面) Chicken Pad Thai (Takeout-Style) Stir Fried Vermicelli with Pork (Ma Yi Shang Shu, 蚂蚁上树) Bacon Kimchi Fried Udon
