Chow Mein, Chinese stir-fried noodle dish with vegetables, meat, and sauce.

This is a one pot dish that comes together in about 30 minutes. This is your ultimate guide to making chow mein at home.

MIS EN PLACE
I cannot stress enough how importance mis en place (French term for having all your ingredients measured, cut, peeled, sliced, grated, etc. before you start cooking) is for a chow mein recipe. Everything happens quick, over a high heat in a wok so prep the sauce, get the veggies and meat prepared, and cook the noodles ahead of time.

The recipe I am sharing makes enough for 4-6 servings. I like chow mein more on the stir-fry side but feel free to increase the amount of sauce if you’d like saucy chow mein. I am sharing a vegetarian chow mein recipe below but you can easily add protein of your choice to this recipe.

VEGETABLE CHOW MEIN

INGREDIENTS

For the chow mein sauce

• ¼ cup soy sauce (reduced sodium or regular)

• 2 teaspoon dark soy sauce

• 2 tablespoon oyster sauce or vegetarian oyster sauce

• 2 teaspoon sesame oil

• 2 tablespoon Chinese cooking wine

• 1 tablespoon cornstarch

• 1.25 cup water

• 2 teaspoon sugar, to taste

• 1/2 teaspoon grated ginger, 1 minced garlic, optional

For Chow Mein

• 1-12 oz chow mein noodles

• 3 tablespoon canola oil (or a neutral high heat cooking oil)

• 3 cloves garlic minced

• 3 cups shredded green veg like bok choy, cabbage

• 1/2 cup julienned carrot (or use shredded carrot for ease)

• handful of sweet peppers

• other veggie options: bean sprouts, broccoli, baby corn ▢3

• salt to taste

• chopped green onions, for garnish

• hot sauce/chili oil, for serving

DIRECTIONS

• Make the chow mein sauce: In a measuring cup or a medium size bowl, whisk together the sauce ingredients and set aside. Taste and adjust the seasonings to your liking.

• Cook the noodles: In a wok, bring water to a boil. Add noodles and cook according to the instructions on the back of the package. Drain and keep aside.

• Stir-fry veggies: In the same wok, add 1 tablespoon oil over medium/high heat and sautee garlic for 20-30 seconds, then add your veggies. Depending on the size of your wok and how much veggies, you are using – you may need to work in batches. You do not want to over crowd the wok. Cook until the veggies are slightly soft and wilted. Remove from the heat and keep aside. **if using meat/egg, I’d cook those before stir-frying the veggies and just keep them aside.

• Crisp the noodles: Add more oil to the wok if needed. Keep the heat to medium high and add noodles to cook until slightly crispy. Pour the stir-fried veggies back in the wok, mix everything using tongs. Slowly pour the sauce, tossing everything around.

• Cook for 3 to 5 minutes until everything is evenly coated and cooked through. Adjust the liquid/seasoning as needed then turn off the heat.

• Garnish with chopped green onions and hot sauce/chili oil as desired. Serve it warm.