The perfect quick and easy dinner to whip up when time is short and the pantry is low on stock…chicken chow mein!
Do you ever open the fridge and cringe at the lack of produce? (me every other week). Although instead of sighing in annoyance you can easily turn the situation around and get excited because all an easy dinner needs is a few staples. Chicken, chow mein noodles and whatever veggies you happen to have on hand. Thats why this is called Poor Boys chow mein! Nothing fancy today people, but the food is still delicious!
The most important part of Chow Mein is, in my opinion, the noodle choice and the sauce.
Sauce. Not enough sauce equals dry noodles and that is a no-no! Our sauce is made from a medley of soy sauce, sugar, rice vinegar, and sweet chili sauce. For additional flavor we saute the chicken first in sesame oil, fresh garlic, and minced ginger.
Noodles. The perfect chow mein noodles ideally say “Chow Mein Noodles”, but if you live in some foreign country like I do, you need to find the package that contains the thinnest egg noodles you can find(it should say eggs in the ingredients if you aren’t sure!).
this is what you’re looking for.. (these do happen to be eggless)..
Besides the noodles, you can be flexible on the veggies. Personally I like to use carrots and cabbage, but when the fridge finds you short, you can go for bean sprouts, white onion, and even red pepper strips for a little non traditional color. Garnish with green onions for an extra pop, and top with sesame seeds if you like!
I hope you love just how easy this Poor Boys Chicken Chow Mein is!! Please leave a review below and share your delicious photos with us on Instagram! As always, Happy Cooking!
Poor Boys Chicken Chow Mein
Equipment
- wok/ frying pan
Ingredients
sauce
- 3 Tbs soy sauce
- 2 Tbs sugar
- 2 Tbs sweet chili sauce
- 1 Tbs rice vinegar
Chicken
- 1-2 Tbs sesame oil
- 5 garlic cloves
- 1 tsp ginger
- 2-3 chicken breasts, cut into bite sized cubes
- one small onion
- 2 medium carrots, thinly sliced
- 1 cup shredded white cabbage OR bean sprouts
- 1/8-1/4 cup thinly sliced green onions( for garnish)
Noodles
- 8 ounce package of chow mein noodles(thin egg noodles)
- some reserved pasta water
Instructions
Sauce
- Combine all the sauce ingredients in a small bowl and whisk to combine. Set aside.
Chicken
- In a large frying pan or ideally a wok, heat 1 Tablespoon of sesame oil. When hot, add the garlic and saute for 30 seconds, and add the ginger. Saute for another 30 seconds and add the cubed chicken. Fry until the chicken is just about fully cooked through. If you need to add sesame oil becuase the chicken is sticking, do so 1/2 Tbs at a time. Add the vegetables, saute for a minute or two. You want to keep the veggies slightly crunchy-just when the cabbage and carrots are starting to wilt and the onion is translucent, add the sauce(stir it before to get the sugar that settled to the bottom).
- Mix the sauce into the chicken and cook for 30 seconds; immediately remove from the heat.
Noodles
- In a seperate pot, cook chow mein noodles according to the package instructions. Usually this means boiling water and cooking them for 3-6 minutes until just softened(unless they are fresh noodles than you dont need to cook them at all). Drain and reserve some of the water you boiled them in.
- Over medium heat add the drained noodles and 1-2 Tablspoons of the pasta water(however saucy you like it) to the wok with the chicken, veggies, and sauce and stir everything until combined. Add the sliced green onions and toss. Serve hot. Store in the fridge and reheat before serving. (you can even eat this cold, it's a great take away lunch!)
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