Chow mein, or stir-fried noodles, may not feature on many menus in the People’s Republic of China, but, authentic or not, it remains a staple of Chinese restaurants from Kolkata to Kentucky. Slick with soy and crunchy with veg, chow mein is quick, easy and infinitely more delicious hot from the wok than from a tepid takeaway box.
Prep 10 min
Cook 30 min
Serves 2
100g boneless and skinless chicken thigh or breast
1 tsp beaten egg white
1 tsp cornflour
50g mangetout, shredded
1 head pak choi, sliced into strips
1 small carrot or ½ red pepper, julienned
1 tsp light soy sauce
1 tsp dark soy sauce
1 tsp sugar
1 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tsp mirin
200g fresh egg noodles (or 150g dried egg noodles)
1 tsp sesame oil
2 spring onions
1 Prepare the meat
Cut the chicken into strips about 0.75cm wide – I prefer thigh, because it has more flavour, but breast will be more tender, so the choice is yours. That said, you could also use steak, pork fillet, prawns, firm tofu or seitan (no need to marinate those last two before cooking), chopped cooked meat or, indeed, a shredded omelette, if the mood takes you.
2 Coat the chicken
Coating the meat and half-cooking it in boiling water before stir-frying will keep it moist without the faff and waste of the usual deep-frying process used in “velveting” meat – toss the chicken, or any other meat, in the egg white (beating makes it easier to measure) and cornflour, then leave to sit at room temperature while you prepare the other ingredients.
3 Prepare the veg
Chow mein is primarily a noodle dish, so you don’t need vast amounts of meat or veg, however, feel free to increase the quantities as you like. Although most recipes call for crunchy beansprouts and Chinese broccoli, chow mein is a great vehicle for leftovers, and almost any veg that can be stir-fried in a couple of minutes will work. Coarsely shred or chop whatever you’re using to speed up the cooking time.
4 Make the sauce
Mix together both soy sauces (do try to find both varieties: they’re quite different, with dark soy being thicker and slightly sweeter, and light being thinner and saltier), then stir in the sugar, until it’s completely dissolved. Add the oyster sauce and mirin, and set aside near the hob. Chop the spring onions, both white and green parts, on the diagonal, and keep the two separate.
5 Pre-cook the meat
Bring a medium saucepan of water to a boil, tip in the chicken and stir a couple of times to make sure it doesn’t stick together. Turn down the heat and poach the meat for about 45 seconds, until it’s white on the outside but still raw in the middle. Drain and set aside near the stove, ready for action. A timer would be useful, if you have one.
6 Cook the noodles
Bring another pan of water to a boil, add the fresh noodles, stir to separate, then immediately drain and toss with a dash of sesame oil – even if they’re pre-cooked, this will make life easier later. (If you’re using dried noodles, cook them for a little less time than the packet instructions, because they’ll soften further in the wok; once blanched, toss with oil as above.)
7 The stir-fry
Arrange all the ingredients near the hob. Heat a tablespoon of groundnut or other neutral oil in a wok over a high heat, until smoking, then stir-fry all the veg apart from the spring onion greens for about 30 seconds, until wilted. Add the chicken and cook for another two minutes, tossing the pan furiously all the time, so nothing sticks.
8 Add the noodles and sauce
Add the noodles to the pan and toss everything together so it’s all well combined. Tip in the sauce and cook for another minute or so, until everything is hot and the chicken is cooked through. (Note that if you’re a fan of takeaway-style crispy noodles, you’ll need to fry them in very hot oil separately, and serve the two separately.)
9 The finishing touches
Add a dash of sesame oil and the spring onion greens to the wok, toss through and serve up for immediate consumption, preferably with a good dollop of chilli oil. This makes a great quick meal on its own, or can be combined with other stir-fries or roast meats, in which case it will serve four.
