Chicken chow mein, loaded with vegetables
35 min · 39 g protein · 443 cals / serving
Springy egg noodles fried until they catch a few crispy edges, tossed with tender velveted chicken, crunchy bean sprouts, cabbage, carrot and a fistful of green onions in a savoury oyster-soy sauce with white pepper. It tastes exactly like the takeaway carton, with about twice the vegetables winding through the noodles.
Ingredients
Chicken
- 1 lb 2 oz chicken breast, thinly sliced
- 2 tsp reduced sodium soy sauce
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
Noodles
- 5 oz dried egg noodles, thin chow mein or egg noodles
Sauce
- 2 1/2 tbsp oyster sauce
- 2 tbsp reduced sodium soy sauce
- 6 tbsp chicken broth
- 1 tsp granulated sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp cornstarch
- 1/2 tsp white pepper
- 1 tbsp canola oil, divided
- 1 medium onion, thinly sliced
- 1 large carrot, in matchsticks
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tsp ginger, minced
- 1/3 head cabbage, finely shredded
- 3 1/2 cups bean sprouts
- 4 green onions, cut in 5 cm (2-inch) lengths
- 1 tsp sesame oil, toasted
Steps
- Toss the chicken with the soy sauce and cornstarch and leave it while you prepare everything else.
- Cook the noodles 1 minute less than the packet says, drain, rinse under cold water and shake very dry.
- Stir together the oyster sauce, soy sauce, broth, sugar, cornstarch and white pepper.
- Heat 1 tsp of the oil in a large nonstick wok or pan over high heat. Spread the noodles out and leave them alone for 2 minutes, until golden and crisp underneath, then flip and crisp the other side for a minute. Tip onto a plate. Add another 1 tsp oil and stir-fry the chicken 3–4 minutes, until browned and cooked through to 165°F. Add it to the noodles.
- Heat the last of the oil and stir-fry the onion and carrot 2 minutes, then the garlic and ginger for 30 seconds, then the cabbage for 2 minutes, until wilted at the edges but still crunchy.
- Return the noodles and chicken, pour in the sauce and toss with tongs for a minute until everything is glossy. Add the bean sprouts and green onions, toss 30 seconds more so the sprouts stay crisp, then take off the heat, drizzle with sesame oil and serve.
Good to know
Why rinse and dry the noodles?
Rinsing washes off loose starch so the noodles do not glue together, and a dry noodle is the only kind that crisps. Spread them on a tea towel for a few minutes if you have time.
Chow mein or lo mein?
Chow mein is fried until some noodles turn crisp; lo mein is soft noodles tossed in sauce. This is the crispy one. If you want the saucy version, our lo mein is the other way.
Can I swap the chicken?
Raw peeled prawns (shrimp) cook in 2 minutes, at about the same score; thin strips of lean beef or pork work too.
Alternative
Per
- Calories
- 99
- Protein
- (36%)
- 9 g
- Fat
- (22%)
- 2 g
- Carbohydrates
- (42%)
- 11 g
- of which sugar
- 3 g
- Fiber
- 2 g
- Sodium
- 188 mg
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Computed from the ingredients with our published formula, not yet kitchen-tested. General guidance, not medical advice. Talk to your prescriber. How
As written, 1773 kcal goes into the pot and 1890 g of ingredients comes out as about 1800 g of food: 99 kcal per 100 g. Cooking moves water and energy density is the score's biggest lever, so the dish is scored as cooked, not as an average of its parts. Every ingredient links to its food page, with the same data and score. The label's percentages are each macronutrient's share of the calories. The full formula.