Chicken Chow Mein

I love Chicken Chow Mein and have found that each restaurant has it's own take on the recipe. Therefore, I have tried to compile my own favorite. This was originally from the Food Network Kitchens but it is now from Diane's Kitchen.;) Don't let the long laundry list frighten you, you have to get it all ready before hand and then it's a breeze! Most of the ingredients are seasonings and items you find in your pantry. Update: 05/04/2009 - sorry but I made this over the weekend again and I tweaked it even more - I used 3 scallions instead of 1, crushed red pepper flakes - it needed a bit of a zing - used 6 ounces of button mushrooms instead of 4. Of course we have to be careful with the dark soy sauce, I use low-sodium Tamari (the flavor is much smoother) also, it is not as salty as the other - at least I think so!!
- Ready In:
- 35mins
- Serves:
- Units:
ingredients
- 3 ounces dried soba noodles (fresh or produce dept) or 3 ounces other chinese noodles (fresh or produce dept)
- 1⁄4 cup peanut oil
- 2 tablespoons peanut oil
- kosher salt, to taste
- 1⁄2 cup chicken broth, homemade or 1/2 cup canned low sodium chicken broth
- 3 tablespoons oyster sauce
- 1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
- dark soy sauce, to serve
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into thin 1-inch pieces
- 1 teaspoon dark sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon minced peeled fresh ginger
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 ounces fresh snow peas, trimmed
- 1 scallion, white & green, minced
- freshly ground coarse black pepper, to taste
- 1⁄2 medium yellow onion, thinly sliced
- 1 stalk celery, thinly sliced on diagonal
- 4 ounces mushrooms, thinly sliced
- 1⁄3 cup thinly sliced canned water chestnut
- 8 -10 ounces bean sprouts
- 3⁄4 cup cashews, sliced
- 3 cups cooked white rice
directions
- Boil the noodles according to package instructions.
- Drain in colander in the sink and rinse under cold tunning water.
- Shake the colander to drain off excess water and pat noodles dry with a towel.
- Heat 1/4 cup peanut oil in large seasoned wok or non-stick skillet over high heat.
- Add the noodles, spreading them out to evenly cover the skillet, and fry, turning once, until golden brown and crispy, about 8 minutes. (Break the noodles up, by stirring, near the end of cooking).
- Transfer noodles to a paper towel-lined plate and season with salt to taste.
- Set aside.
- Discard any excess oil and wipe out the pan.
- OR.
- Can use bought chow mein noodles (much easier).
- Whisk together the chicken broth, oyster sauce, soy sauce or tamari, cornstarch and sugar in a small bowl; set aside.
- Season the chicken with the dark sesame oil, salt, blk pepper crushed red pepper flakes & set aside.
- Heat the skillet over high heat.
- Heat the remaining 2 Tablespoons peanut oil until very hot.
- Add the ginger, garlic, scallion, & red pepper flakes, stir-fry until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
- Add the chicken and stir-fry, until lightly browned, about 1-1/2 minutes.
- Add the onion, celery and mushrooms, and stir-fry, until crisp-tender, about 2 minutes.
- Add the water chestnuts.
- Spread the ingredients to the outside of the pan to form a well in the center.
- Pour the chicken broth mixture into the well, bring to a boil, and stir to coat the chow mein mixture.
- Stir in the bean sprouts and snow peas.
- Sprinkle with cashew pieces.
- Season generously.
- Serve over white rice and serve the chow mein noodles on the side.
- Enjoy!
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This is a delicious recipe! I subtituted sirloin strips for the chicken and beef broth for the chicken broth. I followed the recipe otherwise and it was quite good!!!! We devoured it and tomorrow will eat the leftovers for lunch!! I made this for the Farm Cooking with Andi of Longmeadow Farm event! Thank you!1Reply
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I can't find much difference between the food network version and this one, but I've been making it for a while with all sorts of variations in the veggies depending what I have. It's not the bland type of chicken chow mein; the sauce has flavor and it's very good! In a pinch, I've even used ramen noodles or just served it over rice. Thanks for posting! Glad to find it to put it into my cookbook here!Reply
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I love Chicken Chow Mein and have found that each restaurant has it's own take on the recipe. Therefore, I have tried to compile my own favorite. This was originally from the Food Network Kitchens but it is now from Diane's Kitchen.;) Don't let the long laundry list frighten you, you have to get it all ready before hand and then it's a breeze! Most of the ingredients are seasonings and items you find in your pantry. Update: 05/04/2009 - sorry but I made this over the weekend again and I tweaked it even more - I used 3 scallions instead of 1, crushed red pepper flakes - it needed a bit of a zing - used 6 ounces of button mushrooms instead of 4. Of course we have to be careful with the dark soy sauce, I use low-sodium Tamari (the flavor is much smoother) also, it is not as salty as the other - at least I think so!!