{"id":33346,"title":"Chow Mein – Chinese Stir-Fried Noodles","modified":"2025-06-15T19:54:58+02:00","plain":"Chow mein is a step up from the classic stir-fried vegetable noodles: more veggies, a little more sugar, and a lot more flavor. It is also the perfect catch-all recipe - use it to empty your fridge of leftover vegetables.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nBut what is chow mein?\n\n\n\nChow mein is a traditional Chinese dish of egg noodles and stir-fried vegetables. I like to add a protein - chicken is my favorite - but you can use any meat or even tofu.\n\n\n\nThe noodles are stir-fried until lightly crispy, then tossed in a rich sauce. Chow mein is perfect for nights when you do not want to wash a pile of pans or make a big mess in the kitchen.\n\n\n\nFor an even quicker dish, Chinese garlic noodles\n\n\n\nChow mein gets its characteristic flavor from the thick, dark homemade sauce that coats the noodles. It is a perfect balance of sweet and salty, and once you start eating you will not want to put your chopsticks down.\n\n\n\nChow mein ingredients\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nChow mein noodles: These wheat and egg noodles look a lot like Italian pasta and have a satisfying bite. Most Chinese grocery stores sell them dried.\n\n\n\nIf you are lucky, you might find precooked chow mein noodles in the refrigerated aisle; you can toss them straight into the pan.\n\n\n\nVegetables: Carrots, cabbage, green onions, and bean sprouts are the classic mix, but you can swap in bok choy, celery, broccoli, spinach, kale, or baby corn.\n\n\n\nFeel free to get creative and use whatever you like or whatever is already in the fridge - this really is a catch-all recipe.\n\n\n\nTry beef udon for a Japanese alternative :)\n\n\n\nDark soy sauce: Do not mix it up with light soy sauce. You will probably need to pick some up on Amazon or at an Asian grocery.\n\n\n\nOyster sauce: No, it does not taste like oysters, and yes, it is essential! :) Discover its secrets here\n\n\n\nShaoxing wine: This Chinese wine is a key part of the sauce and gives the dish its unique depth.\n\n\n\nSesame oil: The quintessential Asian oil - use it sparingly but appreciate its mild yet powerful aroma. Discover its secrets here\n\n\n\nThe BEST noodle sauce\n\n\n\nThe homemade chow mein sauce makes the dish. Mix soy sauce, sesame oil, oyster sauce, granulated sugar, cornstarch, and chicken broth to create the sweet and salty glaze that gives chow mein its authentic, addictive flavor.\n\n\n\n\n\n\tChow mein (Chinese stir-fried noodles)\n\t\t\n\t\tA delicious chow mein recipe, the traditional Chinese stir-fried noodles\t\n\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\n\t\tSAUCE15 ml Shaoxing wine35 ml dark soy sauce4 g white pepper27 g oyster sauce5 g sesame oil1 tablespoon water (or chicken broth)5 g cornstarch1 tablespoon granulated sugarNOODLES300 g dried noodles (dry weight)2 stalks spring onions cut into 1 cm segments2 stalks celery, sliced1 carrot, peeled and sliced0.5 Chinese cabbage in very thin shreds (almost grated)6 cloves garlic, minced120 g bean sprouts\t\n\t\n\t\tIn a bowl, mix all the sauce ingredients togetherIn a small non-stick saucepan over high heat, stirring constantly, reduce the sauce until it thickens slightly. Set aside.Heat your pan over high heat with a thin layer of oilAdd the celery, carrot, spring onions and cabbage; stir-fry for about 3 minutes. Transfer everything to a bowlHeat a little more oil and add 3\/4 of the minced garlic. As soon as it browns, return the vegetables to the pan along with the noodles. Stir-fry for 1 minute.Add the sauce, fry for 30 seconds, add the bean sprouts and fry for another 30 secondsTurn off the heat, add the remaining garlic and tossAdd a generous pinch of salt\t\n\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\n\t\tMain courseChinese\t\n\n\n\n\n\nInspiration: Joshua Weissman, who was himself inspired by The Woks of Life","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33346","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33346"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33346\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10839"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33346"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33346"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33346"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}