Chicken Chow Mein Recipe - Cooking Classy (2024)

FAQs

What makes chow mein taste like chow mein? ›

Simple sauce: While chow mein sauce is unbelievably easy to make, it still brings a complexity of flavors to the dish. The careful combination of ingredients like soy sauce, sesame oil, oyster sauce and sugar results in a chow mein sauce that has hints of both savory and sweet notes.

The BEST Chow Mein Sauce:

Combine soy sauce, light sesame oil, oyster sauce, granulated sugar, cornstarch, and chicken broth to make the signature sweet and savory sauce that makes chow mein taste authentic.

If the vegetable you are asking is white I'd say water chestnuts. They are small, round and very crunchy. All vegetables in asian cooking are only cooked until crisp-tender though.

They can be used to make: soft noodles (this recipe) – soaked in boiling water until soft then tossed with a sauce, vegetables and meat; or. Crispy Chow Mein – fried until crisp then served with a saucy stir fry on top – this is the traditional Chinese/Hong Kong way of serving Chow Mein noodles.

Largely this is a matter of personal taste since both dishes can be made to your preference. If you prefer lightly sauced noodles with some crunch and vegetables with some snap, chow mein might be the way to go. If you like a more comforting noodle with richly flavored sauce, lo mein may be the better option.

In the American market, two types of chow mein include crispy chow mein and steamed chow mein. The steamed chow mein has a softer texture, while the former is crisper and drier. Crispy chow mein uses fried, flat noodles, while soft chow mein uses long, rounded noodles.

The main difference is that noodles labeled "Hong Kong" or "pan-fried noodles" are par-cooked in boiling water, which makes them ready to stir-fry. Use this variety for dry stir-fried noodle dishes, like this stir-fried chow mein with four vegetables and whenever you want the noodles to be slightly (or very) crispy.

Preparing the Noodles

Prepare your noodles so that they are al dente and still have some bite. For most noodles, this means cooking them for a few minutes in boiling water, but thinner noodles, like cellophane rice noodles, usually just need to be soaked.

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.

Sprinkle a little oil in the water and use chopsticks to separate the noodles during boiling. Wet noodles stick together, therefore drain thoroughly. You don't want any excess water. Oil noodles a bit with your fav oil, and use chopsticks to mix as well as to separate them.

How do you keep chow mein moist? ›

The additional water will also help keep the noodles and meat separated, making the stir-frying process more convenient. Not using enough water will result in dry chow mein. If you'd rather eat dry or crispy chow mein, simply refrain from adding more water and boil the noodles until they're nice and tender.

The biggest difference between chow mein and lo mein lies in the translations of their names: chow mein is fried, and lo mein is tossed. The experience is somewhat different between the two. Lo mein tends to be saucier and more toothsome, with a texture some describe as “slippery” because of the noodles' softness.

Here are a few common reasons: Lack of seasoning: Proper seasoning is crucial to bring out the flavors in lo mein noodles. If you don't add enough soy sauce, spices, or other seasonings, the dish may end up tasting bland. Inadequate sauce: The sauce is what ties all the ingredients together in lo mein noodles.

As for the pan, you can also use a regular one to make chow mein, but a wok is ideal for stir-frying since it heats up quickly and has enough space for you to toss the noodles. Carbon steel woks are known to impart a smoky, caramelized taste, but any wok works fine as long as the frying technique is right.

Chow mein is a dish of stir-fried Chinese-style noodles that can be served with proteins, vegetables or gravy. Chow mein is the English derivative of the word chau meing and comes from the Taishan dialect of Chinese. Chau means stir-fried and meing means noodles.