If you want an authentic Chinese food dinner, you can make it at home chow man Ready to eat within 30 minutes of cooking. Chow mein is a quick and easy side dish, and you’ll find that it takes about the same time to make chow mein at home as it does to order Panda Express chow mein.
Gathering all the ingredients for this chow mein recipe takes more time than cooking. Make sure to make plenty so you have leftovers for the next day. You can make chow mein to celebrate Chinese New Year or as an everyday meal on busy weeknights. Ready to learn how to make chow mein? Let’s dive in.
What is chow mein?
Chow mein is one of the most popular Chinese noodle dishes and you can have the noodles crispy or soft. It’s very common to toss in tasty vegetables like carrots, cabbage, and bean sprouts. To make it a full meal, you can cook chicken chow mein with chicken breast or chicken thigh, beef chow mein, tofu chow mein, or pork chow mein. The sauce is made with oyster sauce and dark soy sauce.
Choosing your noodles
To make chow mein easily, we recommend using Chinese egg noodles for a crispy noodle dish. If you go to an Asian market or a supermarket with a good selection of Asian foods, you’ll find plenty of dry or fresh noodle options. Egg in egg noodles gives a beautiful yellow color and rich taste. Some brands make noodles with water, flour, and turmeric for color. You can get dry chow mein noodles at large grocery stores. If you can find fresh chow mein noodles, they will be labeled Hong Kong noodles or pan-fried noodles.
How to cook dry egg noodles
If you’re using dried Chinese egg noodles (fried noodles), you’ll need to boil them until they start to soften. They need to hold their shape when you fry them. You can cook them for a minute less than the instructions on the package. Check the texture of the noodles and cook a little longer if needed. Once they are cooked, immediately drain them under cold water to stop the cooking process. Drain them in a colander.
How to cook fresh noodles
To make chow mein with cooked fresh noodles, break up the fresh egg noodles with your fingers and add them to the wok. If you use raw fresh noodles, you need to boil them for a few minutes, then rinse them. If you find your noodles are more sticky than you like you can toss them with a little more oil.
Selecting a pan
The best pan for making chow mein is a wok. A wok is very useful to have in the kitchen and you can use it for a lot of food. The shape of a wok is circular, which allows for better heat circulation on the sides and bottom. If you don’t have a wok, you can use a large stainless steel skillet or a nonstick skillet. As long as it has slanted sides it will work fine. You want angled sides so you can toss the ingredients.
Chow mein is a quick-cooking noodle dish. First, the spices are briefly roasted in hot sesame oil, so that the fragrant aroma is released. After that, carrots and cabbage are cooked until soft. Finally, the sauce and noodles are added.
Making the chow mein sauce
The secret to delicious chow mein is an incredible sauce. The sauce brings out the flavor of the noodles. You need three ingredients for the perfect chow mein sauce: soy sauce, oyster sauce, and sesame oil. Oyster sauce has a unique flavor and is made from oyster juice, salty spices, and sugar, giving it a salty and sweet flavor combination. The vegetable broth dilutes the sauce a bit so it’s not too salty.
Fry the vegetables and spices
Ginger and garlic are classic ingredients in Chinese cuisine, adding savory notes with plenty of aromatic flavors to complement the oil. Fry for about 20 seconds as you don’t want them to burn. Chopped carrots are cooked first, then shredded cabbage or bok choy. If you are adding pepper, add it at this stage.
Cook the stir fry sauce and noodles
Once your vegetables are cooked, it’s time to add your chow mein noodles to the wok. You add the sauce at the same time so that the cooked noodles infuse the flavor of the sauce. It only takes a minute for the cornstarch to thicken the liquid and it really helps the flavor come out.
Once you’ve added your noodles, it’s time to stir in the green onions and mung bean sprouts. These vegetables separate easily with this cooking method, so it’s important to add them last.
What is the difference between lo mein and chow mein?
The main difference Served between a lo mein dish and noodles called vegetable chow mein. Chow mein noodles can be soft or crispy noodles, chow mein dish is called Hong Kong style. Lo mein noodles are thick, soft noodles lightly coated in lo mein sauce.
What to Serve with Chow Mein
Chow mein is great with any of these:
Frequently Asked Questions
What type of noodles can you use to make chow mein?
You can use many chow mein noodle options to cook chow mein, including yakisoba noodles, lo mein, rice noodles, thin wonton noodles, la Choy noodles, soba noodles, or ramen noodles. If you are using fresh noodles, you don’t need to boil them before frying. However, dry noodles need to be boiled. You can use thin or regular spaghetti noodles to make chow mein.
What ingredients are needed for chow mein?
If you use thin Chinese egg noodles, you will get the perfect chew for this recipe. The delicious sauce is made with oyster sauce, soy sauce, vegetable broth, sesame oil, and cornstarch. Cornstarch helps thicken the sauce. Vegetables for this chow mein recipe include carrots, cabbage, green onions, and bean sprouts. To make it a main dish, you can add tofu, beef, shrimp, or chicken.
Can you use another pan beside a wok?
If you don’t have a wok for your fried noodles, you can use any large pan with slanted sides. The slope is important so you can toss the ingredients and noodles more easily. If you’re worried about sticking, use a non-stick pan. If you like a crispy texture, cook with stainless steel.
What can you use instead of oyster sauce?
If you don’t want to use Oyster sauce, you can use hoisin. It has a similar consistency to the oyster sauce and a delicious, intense flavor. The flavor comes from fermented soybeans and is slightly sweet. You can use Chinese cooking wine or sugary soy sauce. Add the sugar slowly until you reach the sweetness you are looking for. Fish sauce with white pepper will add a splash of seafood flavor. If you do this, you will need to increase the amount of cornstarch you use by 2 teaspoons. Another option is teriyaki sauce, but if you use that, you’ll end up with a sweet dish.
Chow mein recipe
Chow mein noodles with authentic Chinese sauce stir-fried with fresh vegetables. It is a great side dish or main dish.
- Wok
- 2-3 quart saucepan
- Colander
- 6 ounce Fresh or dry chow mein noodles See notes
- 8 Cups the water
- 1 teaspoon Soy sauce
- 3 teaspoon Oyster sauce
- 1/4 Cup Vegetable stock or broth
- 1 teaspoon Sesame oil
- 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon corn flour
- 1/2 teaspoon Fresh ginger chopped
- 1 teaspoon Garlic chopped
- 1/2 Cup Shredded carrots
- 1 Cup Thickly sliced green cabbage
- 1/3 Cup Green onions or spring onions Cut into 1.5-inch pieces
- 1/2 Cup Fresh bean sprouts
- Boil water in a large pot. Add dry noodles and cook according to package directions. Cook the noodles until they are chewy (al dente). If you are using fresh chow mein noodles, do not boil them.
- Drain the cooked noodles in a colander and rinse well under cold water. This is necessary to stop the cooking process. Drain the noodles and keep them aside.
- Whisk together soy sauce, oyster sauce, vegetable broth, sesame oil, and cornstarch in a small bowl. Keep this mixture aside.
- Heat a large nonstick skillet or wok on the stovetop over medium heat. When the wok is hot, add the cooking oil. When the oil starts to shimmer (before it starts to smoke), add chopped ginger and garlic. Chop the garlic and ginger and saute for about 20 seconds. Do not overcook or burn them.
- Add the carrots and cabbage to the wok and stir. This step only takes about 2 minutes.
- Add the sauce and noodles to the wok. Toss them well with the vegetables and mix well to combine everything. Cook all this until the sauce thickens and coats the noodles. This will take about 1 minute. If you are using fresh chow mein noodles, cook until the noodles are soft and tender, this may take a few minutes.
- Add green onions and bean sprouts. Stir for 1 minute more, until the coffee beans have sprouted. Serve the chow mein hot.
Substitution Noodles: Besides chow mein noodles, you can also use ramen noodles, yakisoba, regular or thin spaghetti, or thin wonton noodles.
Substitutes for the oyster sauce: Teriyaki sauce or hoisin sauce can be used instead of oyster sauce. Other options include soy sauce and sugar (1/4 cup soy sauce and sugar to taste). Fish sauce can also be used to give the chow mein a seafood flavor, but start with 1/4 tsp and add more if needed.
Substitutes for soy sauce: If you don’t want to use soy sauce, you can substitute tamarind or coconut aminos.
To store the cooked chow mein: Allow the chow mein to cool completely, then store it in an airtight container. It keeps well in the fridge for up to five days. To reheat, use the microwave, heating in 30-second intervals.
Noodles with more sauce: For saucier noodles, all you have to do is double the sauce ingredients.
Calories: 331kilocaloriesCarbohydrates: 31GFat: 22G