The Best Chow Mein Noodles | An Easy, Authentic Recipe | Foodess (2024)

Gather What You Need

• Chicken breasts: Quick-cooking and lean, perfect for stir-fry.
• Soy sauce: The foundation for that familiar, savory taste. Using half light soy sauce and half dark soy sauce will give you more color if you stock both.
• Cornstarch: Not just a thickener—it tenderizes the chicken.
• Chow mein noodles: Special wheat and egg noodles with a unique texture, found at your local Asian market or regular grocery store.
• Vegetable oil: Ideal for high-heat cooking like stir-frying.
• Onion, cabbage, and carrots: A vegetable medley for crunch and color.
• Garlic: A quick sauté brings out its fragrant flavor.
• Chicken broth: Deepens the sauce while helping the veggies cook. We aren’t adding salt to the dish, so don’t use low sodium.
• Green onions: AKA spring onions, this adds a finishing touch for color and freshness.

• Protein: Substitute chicken with shrimp, beef, pork or tofu.
• Gluten-free: Use gluten-free chow mein noodles and tamari instead of soy sauce.
• Veggies: Feel free to add or substitute veggies like celery, water chestnuts, snow peas, bok choy, bell peppers, mushrooms, or fresh bean sprouts.
• Spice it up: Saute in some minced fresh ginger along with the garlic, and/or add some white pepper or red pepper flakes for extra heat.
• Flavor Boost: If you have them on hand, asplash of Chinese cooking wineand/or adrizzle of toasted sesame oil in the sauce elevatethe dish. Sesame seeds sprinkled on top are also nice.

1. Marinate: Toss chicken, soy sauce, and cornstarch; set aside.
2. Cook Noodles: Boil briefly, rinse in cold water, drain.
3. Chicken: Stir fry in hot oil; set aside.

1. Vegetables: Same wok, stir-fry until tender-crisp.
2. Chow Mein sauce: Add chicken broth, oyster sauce, and reserved marinade.
3. Combine: Mix in noodles and chicken; heat through.
4. Garnish: Add chopped green onions for a burst of color.

• Refrigerate: Chow Mein stores well in the fridge for up to 2-3 days.
• Freeze: Freeze individual portions in airtight containers. Reheat in the microwave or in a wok.
• Meal Prep: Prepare the chicken marinade and chop the veggies ahead of time for quicker cooking.

1. Overcooking the Noodles: One of the most common mistakes is overcooking the chow mein noodles, leaving them mushy rather than al dente. The key is to cook them until they’re still quite firm, as they’ll continue cooking when you add them to the stir-fry.
2. Using the Wrong Oil: The type of oil you use can greatly affect the outcome. It’s essential to use oils with a high smoke point, like vegetable or peanut oil, to withstand the high heat required for stir-frying.
3. Overcrowding the Pan: Adding too many ingredients at once can lower the pan’s temperature, resulting in steamed rather than stir-fried ingredients. Work in batches if necessary to maintain that high heat.
4. Ignoring the Marinade: Some people skip marinating the meat but marinating even for 10 minutes helps flavor the meat, making for a tastier dish. Cornstarch in the marinade forms a protective barrier around the meat, trapping juices inside and preventing them from evaporating during cooking. This leads to juicier, more flavorful meat.
5. Chopping as you Go: Stir-frying is a quick process, and once you start, there’s no time to chop vegetables or measure sauces. A stir fry is one dish where a mise-en-place is super important. Failing to prepare all your ingredients in advance can result in a soggy chow mein.

• High heat: Cooking on high heat ensures crispy, not soggy, vegetables.
• Do not overcrowd: Stir-fry in batches to maintain the heat of the wok.
• Fresh noodles: If you can find them, fresh chow mein noodles take this dish to the next level. They’re often found in the grocery store with the vegetables.
• The cornstarch trick: Cornstarch forms a protective barrier around the meat, reducing the amount of moisture that is lost when the meat is exposed to heat. This shield essentially ‘traps’ juices inside the meat, preventing them from evaporating during cooking.
• To make crispy noodles: You just need to par-boil them and then fry them separately until crisp rather than boiling them and adding them directly to the stir fry. Here’s what to do. Details are in the note section of the recipe card below.

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Last Updated on September 11, 2023 by Jennifer Pallian BSc, RD