What Ingredients do I Need for Chow Mein?
Fresh chow mein noodles – yakisoba or dry thin spaghetti are great subsitutes.
Vegetables – celery, cabbage, matchstick carrots, garlic, green onions, ginger.
Seasonings – low-sodium soy sauce, oyster sauce, sesame oil, sugar.
Chicken breasts – chicken thighs will work great too, just a cook a few minutes longer. You can omit chicken if you are just making it as a side dish.
Want to see how easy this Chow Mein Recipe is? Watch the video!
How do You Make Chinese Chow Mein?
Prepare noodles according to directions on package.
In a bowl whisk together soy sauce, oyster sauce, sugar and sesame oil, set aside.
Heat oil in a wok or large and deep non-stick skillet over moderately high heat.
Add chicken (working to leave a little space between pieces so they’ll brown) and cook 3 – 4 minutes.
Turn and continue to cook until cooked through, about 2 – 3 minutes longer.
Transfer to a plate or sheet of foil.
Reduce heat slightly add remaining 1 Tbsp oil in skillet, add celery and saute 3 minutes.
Add cabbage and saute 2 minutes, then add carrots, green onions, garlic and ginger and saute 1 – 2 minutes longer, until veggies are all crisp tender.
Toss in noodles and chicken then pour soy sauce mixture over top and toss to coat. Serve warm.
What is the Best Type of Noodle to Use for Chow Mein?
Dry thin spaghetti is a good choice with it’s neutral flavor and it’s so easy to find.
Yakisoba is my go-to choice. They’re found in refrigerated packaged food in the produce section of some grocery stores (I buy Fortune brand at Kroger).
Fresh chow mein noodles (Hong Kong style noodles) are a good option but they are harder to find in the U.S. They are available at some Asian grocery stores. Honestly though I prefer the yakisoba better here since they don’t have a lightly sour flavor and they aren’t as greasy.
Dry spaghetti. I’ve used this and it works great here too. It has a neutral flavor and similar texture. Regular or thin will work.
Dry chow mein noodles (not the crispy crackers obviously) will work too. I haven’t tried this option yet so I couldn’t give my opinion but I’m guessing it’s similar to the spaghetti option (but made with wheat flour vs. semolina).
Can I Use Other Vegetables?
I like the classic vegetable blend here but you can definitely swap in some you might already have like bean sprouts, mushrooms, bell peppers, snow peas, or water chestnuts.
Do I Have to Use Oyster Sauce?
Don’t worry about the finished dish tasting like oysters from the sauce, it just gives it a nice depth of flavor.
When I don’t have any in my fridge I’ve have used hoisin sauce in it’s place, so if you insist on skipping it go with hoisin. They taste very different but either will add rich delicious flavor.
