Chicken Chow Mein is probably already one of your favourite Chinese takeout dishes. This one-pan dinner is so satisfying with chicken, vegetables, classic Chow Mein noodles, and the best homemade Chow Mein sauce. Also, it’s way healthier than take out!
Ingredients
For the sauce:
- Thumb-size piece fresh root ginger
- 2 garlic cloves
- 3 tbsp. tomato ketchup
- 2 tbsp. oyster sauce
- 2 tbsp. reduced-salt soy sauce
For the noodles:
- 1 large red pepper
- 5 spring onions
- Half a 400g bag beansprouts
- 1 large or 2 small chicken breasts
- 3 nests medium egg noodles
- 1 tbsp. sunflower oil
Method
- Use a potato peeler to remove the skin from the ginger. Discard skin, then carefully grate 1 tablespoon from the root. Put in a bowl, crush in the garlic, and add the ketchup, oyster sauce, soy sauce and 3 tablespoons of water and stir.
- Use a sharp knife to cut the pepper into quarters on a board. Remove the seeds and stalk, then slice diagonally into strips. Cut the ends from the spring onions, and cut the green and white of the onion lengthways. Open the bag of beansprouts. Cut the chicken into bite-size pieces.
- Boil a large pan of water on the hob. When the water is boiling, drop in the noodles, turn off the heat and set the timer to 4 minutes. When the time is up, drain in a colander or a large sieve in the sink.
- With everything prepared, you can now start cooking. Heat the wok – it’s hot enough when it starts to smoke. Add the oil and chicken. Use a wooden spoon to keep moving the chicken around the wok until it is half white, half pink. Add the pepper and stir-fry for a further 1 minute.
- Pour the sauce into the wok and stir well until bubbling.
- Add the noodles, beansprouts and spring onions a handful at a time, then toss into the sauce until it is well-coated, stirring constantly until the beansprouts wilt. Serve in bowls – an easy way is to use tongs.
Ingredients for Chow Mein:
- Chow Mein Noodles: Chow Mein noodles are made with wheat and egg. They are very similar to Italian pasta noodles and have a wonderful bite to them. Most grocery stores carry dry Chow Mein noodles in the Asian aisle. But, if you are lucky, you will find pre-cooked Chow Mein noodles in the refrigerated section that can be thrown straight into your pan.
- Vegetables: Carrots, cabbage, green onions, and bean sprouts are the perfect combination of veggies to use for Chow Mein. However, they can easily be replaced with other veggies like bok choy, celery, broccoli, spinach, kale or baby corn. Feel free to get creative and use what you like, or whatever you have hanging around in your fridge!
- Meats: Great quality chicken breasts are your best bet for slicing into Chow Mein-ready strips. If you like, feel free to swap chicken out for beef, shrimp or pork.
- Hot tip: Hosting vegetarians? Use vegetable broth and set some of your noodles aside to toss them with cubes of baked tofu.
Recipe by Shikaar Yadh.