Delicious Chow Mein ready in just 15 minutes, easy to put together, all in one pot and always a crowd favorite! A homemade version of your favorite take-out dish, vegetarian style or add the protein of your choice!
Easy Chow Mein Recipe
This really is one of my favorite take-out dishes ever. But did you know it’s so simple to make at home that you can really make this from start to finish in 15 minutes? Yep, that’s faster than it would take you to order take-out!
Not only is this recipe quick, but you really do end up with restaurant quality Chow Mein. This will surely become your family’s favorite! The other great thing about this dish is that it’s easily customizable!
Why We Love This Chow Mein Recipe
- Faster Than Takeout! Even takeout takes you more than 15 minutes to get.
- Easily Customizable. Use your favorite veggies and add a protein to make this dish perfect for you.
- Crowd Favorite.
- Perfect For Busy Weeknights!
Ingredients You’ll Need
Chow Mein Sauce Ingredients:
- Soy Sauce – I always opt for a low sodium soy sauce.
- Oyster Sauce – A sauce made with oysters and soy sauce, very common in Chinese cooking.
- Chinese cooking wine – Such as Shaoxing wine which is a Chinese rice wine that’s used a lot in Chinese cooking. A great substitute would be dry sherry or mirin which is a Japanese sweet cooking wine.
- Dark Soy Sauce – it’s usually thicker and darker in color, and aged for a longer period of time. It’s made from molasses or caramel and a bit of cornstarch. It has a more full-bodied flavor and it’s usually used to add flavor and a darker color to food.
- Sesame Oil – I love using toasted sesame oil for some extra toasty flavor, but use what you have.
- Brown Sugar – A bit of brown sugar to add a bit of sweetness to the sauce and help in caramelization. Sub with granulated sugar or honey.
- Cornstarch – A little bit to thicken our sauce.
Vegetables And Noodles
- Garlic – Use fresh garlic for best results.
- Carrots – You’ll need a medium carrot which I cut into thin 2-inch strips. You can also use shredded carrots.
- Cabbage – I love using Napa cabbage for this dish, but regular cabbage works just as well.
- Bean Sprouts – A few fresh bean sprouts to be added at the end.
- Green Onions – Fresh green onions, chopped for some great flavor.
- Chow Mein Noodles – You can easily find these in your local store in the Asian aisle. However, if you can’t find them you can sub them with ramen noodles, spaghetti or some other thin egg noodles.
- Peanut Oil – For stir frying.
How To Make Chow Mein
If you’ve had chow mein before then you know it comes with crispy noodles or non crispy noodles. For the crispy version you usually deep fry the noodles until they’re crispy. I, however, prefer the non crispy version.
The other difference with my recipe is in how the noodles are prepared. Usually the noodles are soaked in boiling water until soft. However, I prefer to add mine to wok dry and then just pour the sauce over them. This way it’s all done in one pot, I hate washing pots. As you start tossing the noodles around, you’ll notice them soften and within a few minutes they will be cooked enough.
- Make the sauce. To do this, start by mixing all the sauce ingredients together in a bowl and set aside.
- Sauté veggies. Sauté the garlic in the peanut oil for just 30 seconds until it becomes aromatic. Add in the carrots and cook for a minute or so until they soften a bit then add in the cabbage. Stir-fry the cabbage and the carrots for 2 to 3 minutes in total. You’ll notice the cabbage start to wilt a little.
- Cook the noodles. Add the noodles to the wok, give the sauce another stir since the cornstarch tends to sink to the bottom, then pour it over the noodles. Leave them alone for 2 minutes, then start tossing them around, you’ll notice they soften quickly and within a couple minutes they’re all done.
- Finish the dish. Add the bean sprouts and green onions and serve while warm. I like to drizzle some hot sauce over mine, for a little kick. Trust me, it’s worth it!
What Is Chow Mein
Chow Mein is a Chinese dish of stir fried noodles with vegetables and sometimes shredded meat like chicken, beef, pork or seafood. The words chow mein really just mean “stir fried noodles”.
Chow Mein vs Lo Mein
Let me first say that I love both Chow Mein and Lo Mein, they are a couple of my favorites whenever I go to a Chinese buffet. However, if you’re really wondering what the difference is between the two, let me just say not a lot. The main difference is in the method and it comes down to frying time. Chow Mein usually has crisper noodles, so you add a bit more oil and increase the frying time.
Both Chow Mein and Lo Mein are made with Chinese wheat flour noodles made with eggs. For Chow Mein you can use either dried or fresh noodles, while for Lo Mein you use fresh lo mein noodles. That’s about it! Which is better? It all comes down to your preference!
Other Ingredients You Can Add
Chow mein is very versatile so there are other veggies you can add such as bok choy, mushrooms such as shiitake or oyster, snow peas or bell peppers. You can also add chicken to turn this into a chicken chow mein, or if you like beef, pork, tofu or shrimp for a seafood version.
Expert Tips
- Prepare all your ingredients ahead of time. Whisk all the sauce ingredients together and chop all your veggies. Once you start making this dish, it’s super quick and you’ll be done in no time!
- If you can’t find chow mein noodles use other noodles such as soba noodles, or pancit noodles, I find they work the best.
- Use a mandoline to cut vegetables thin, or if you’ve got great knife skills, use them!
- If you’re adding a protein such as chicken or beef to this dish, add them to the wok first and saute them until no longer pink.
- If you don’t have a great big wok, just use a large skillet, it works just fine.
- Notice I don’t add any salt to the dish and that’s because there’s plenty of sodium from all the other ingredients, but feel free to taste and adjust to your needs and preferences.
Leftovers
If you’ve got some leftover chow mein, store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days. Usually I just reheat it in the microwave for a couple minutes before serving again.
Freezing
You can also freeze chow mein, stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 2 to 3 months.
More Asian Favorite Recipes:
- Lo Mein
- Asian Pork Rolls
- Pad Thai
- Kung Pao Chicken
- Shrimp Fried Rice
- Pad See Ew
- Chicken Teriyaki
- Chicken Mushroom Stir Fry
- Bibimbap (Korean Rice Bowl)
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Chow Mein
Ingredients
Chow Mein Sauce
- 1 cup hot water
- ¼ cup soy sauce low sodium
- 2 tablespoon oyster sauce
- 2 tablespoon Chinese cooking wine
- 1 teaspoon dark soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 2 teaspoon cornstarch
Chow Mein
- 2 tablespoon peanut oil
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 medium carrot julienned or thinly sliced
- 4 cups cabbage shredded, I used Napa cabbage
- 12 ounce chow mein noodles
- 3 green onions chopped
- 1 cup bean sprouts
Instructions
- Make chow mein sauce: In a medium size bowl whisk all the sauce ingredients together and set aside.
- Stir-fry veggies: In a wok or a large skillet or frying pan heat the peanut oil. Add the garlic and saute for 30 seconds. Stir in the carrots and cook for another minute until they start to soften a bit. Stir in the cabbage and saute for 2 more minutes until the cabbage is wilted.
- Add noodles and sauce: Add the noodles to the wok. Give the sauce a quick stir, then pour over the noodles. Let them cook for 2 minutes before tossing them around in the sauce. Keep tossing them around and within 3 to 5 minutes they will soften and cook completely.
- Add the green onions and bean sprouts: Add in the green onions and bean sprouts and toss everything together.
- Serve: Serve while warm. If preferred drizzle some hot sauce over the noodles.
Video
Recipe Notes
- Protein: Feel free to add protein of your choice to this dish, such as chicken, pork, beef or shrimp. If adding protein, I recommend sautéing it first in the wok with a bit of oil before adding any of the veggies to the wok.
- Chinese cooking wine: If you want an alcohol free version, go ahead and use a vegetable broth or chicken broth instead, though the cooking wine really is key to this dish.
- Prepare all your ingredients ahead of time. Whisk all the sauce ingredients together and chop all your veggies. Once you start making this dish, it’s super quick and you’ll be done in no time!
- If you can’t find chow mein noodles use other noodles such as soba noodles, or pancit noodles, I find they work the best.
- Use a mandoline to cut vegetables thin, or if you’ve got great knife skills, use them!
- If you’re adding a protein such as chicken or beef to this dish, add them to the wok first and saute them until no longer pink.
- If you don’t have a great big wok, just use a large skillet, it works just fine.
- Notice I don’t add any salt to the dish and that’s because there’s plenty of sodium from all the other ingredients, but feel free to taste and adjust to your needs and preferences.
Are the chow mein noodles soba noodles? They indicate wheat noodles so I’m assuming soba.
They’re not the same noodles, but you can still use them.