“When I moved into my first apartment in college, I cooked a lot of Chinese food. I had come up with two great recipes, one for fried rice (which I wrote down) and one for chow mein (which I didn’t.) I have forever regretted not writing it down because it was fantastic. Fast forward nearly 20 years and I am just now adding a chow mein recipe to our cookbook. It’s not the same as my original recipe from 2001, but you would swear it came out of your favorite Chinese restaurant kitchen.” – April Ferre
Chow Mein
Ingredients
- 6 Ounces Dried Chow Mein Noodles
- 3 Tablespoons Oyster Sauce
- 1 Tablespoon Soy Sauce
- 1 Teaspoon Sesame Oil
- 1/4 Cup Vegetable or Chicken Broth
- 1 Teaspoon Corn Starch
- 2 Tablespoons Oil (Peanut or Vegetable)
- 1 Teaspoon Garlic Minced
- 1 Teaspoon Ginger Minced
- 1 Cup Green Cabbage Shredded
- 1/2 Cup Carrots Cut into Match Sticks
- 1 Stalk Celery Thinly Sliced
- 1/2 Cup Bean Sprouts
- 1/4 Cup Green Onions Sliced
Instructions
- In a large pot, bring 2 quarts of water to a boil. Add dried noodles and cook for 3 minutes or until just tender. Drain into a colander and rinse with cold water to stop the cooking process. Drain well and set aside.
- In a small bowl, whisk together oyster sauce, soy sauce, sesame oil, broth and cornstarch for chow mein sauce. Set aside.
- Heat oil in a large wok or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Once oil is hot, add garlic and ginger and stir fry 20 seconds being careful not to burn them.
- Add cabbage, carrots and celery and stir fry until tender. Add noodles and sauce. Toss to coat and cook until sauce thickens. Remove from heat and add bean sprouts and green onion.
- For Chicken Chow Mein: Thinly slice 1/2 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs. Marinate chicken for 10 minutes with 1 to 2 Tablespoons chow mein sauce. Add chicken to wok after adding the garlic and ginger and stir fry until browned.
2020 Adapted Recipe – April Ferre – Adapted from www.jessicagavin.com
