Chicken chow mein with pak choi and beansprouts
Written by Estelle & Alice for The Wok House
When the noodles hit the hot oil, the hardest part is leaving them alone. One minute without stirring, and the underside picks up the golden patches that give chow mein its flavour: that's the step I watch every time, with the spatula resting beside the wok. The rest goes quickly, with chicken breast coated in cornflour, pak choi, beansprouts and three bottled sauces from the world foods aisle. Allow half an hour, including cooking the noodles.
The name comes from Cantonese and means "fried noodles" (炒麵, chǎomiàn in Mandarin). The egg noodles, boiled and then stir-fried over a high heat, turn golden in places and keep their bite. That's what sets chow mein apart from lo mein, where the noodles stay soft and coated in sauce. Two rules are enough to get it right: noodles that are well drained before they go into the wok, and never more than two servings at a time.
Chicken chow mein
Egg noodles browned in the wok in small batches, chicken breast coated in cornflour, pak choi and beansprouts, brought together with light and dark soy sauce and oyster sauce.
For 3 or 4 people, use a 30 to 32cm wok and brown the chicken and then the noodles in two batches. Everything still fits in the wok for the final toss.
Ingredients
For the chicken
For the noodles
For the sauce
To cook and serve
Equipment
- 30 to 32cm iron or carbon steel wok, well seasoned
- Large saucepan and colander
- Tongs or two wok spatulas
- Tray or large plate to dry the noodles
- 2 bowls
Method
Marinate the chicken
Cut the chicken breast into thin strips 5mm thick. In a bowl, mix them with 1 tbsp cornflour, ¼ tsp salt and 2 tbsp water, massaging until the meat has soaked up the liquid. Add 2 tsp sesame oil and stir to coat the strips well. Leave to rest while you prepare everything else.
Prepare the noodles
Dried noodles: drop them into a large pan of boiling water and cook them for 1 minute less than the time on the packet, as they finish cooking in the wok. Rinse them under cold water. Ready-to-wok noodles: run them under hot water for 30 seconds to separate them. Either way, drain them well, toss them with 1 tsp oil and spread them out on a tray. The drier they are, the better they brown.
Prepare the sauce and vegetables
In a bowl, mix the two soy sauces, the oyster sauce and the pepper. Separate the pak choi stalks from the leaves: cut the stalks into 1cm pieces and halve the leaves. Slice the chilli, thinly slice the garlic and cut the spring onions into 4cm lengths, keeping the whites and greens separate. Rinse and drain the beansprouts. The stir-fry moves fast, so keep everything within reach.
Sear the chicken
Heat the wok over a high heat until it's lightly smoking. Sear the chicken in 2 batches: for each batch, add 1 tablespoon of oil, spread the strips out in one layer and leave them for 1 minute without touching them, then stir-fry for another minute. As soon as they've turned white on all sides, set them aside on a plate. They finish cooking in step 8.
Brown the noodles
Keep the heat high. Brown the noodles in 2 batches: for each batch, add 1 tablespoon of oil, spread the noodles out in one layer and leave them for 1 minute without stirring, until the underside is golden in places. Turn them over in clumps with the spatula, give them another minute, then set them aside with the chicken.
The aromatics and pak choi stalks
Add 2 tsp oil to the hot wok, then the garlic, chilli and spring onion whites. Stir for about 15 seconds, until the garlic smells fragrant without colouring. Add the pak choi stalks and stir-fry for 1 minute: they turn glossy and stay crunchy.
Return the noodles and add the sauce
Put the noodles back in the wok and drizzle the sauce over the top. Stir-fry for 1 minute, lifting the noodles from the bottom up with tongs or two spatulas, until they've all taken on the same amber colour.
Add the chicken and vegetables
Add the chicken with its juices, the pak choi leaves and the beansprouts. Stir-fry for another minute, until the leaves wilt and the chicken is white all the way through. Stop while the beansprouts are still crunchy.
Serve
Off the heat, scatter over the spring onion greens. Serve straight away on warm plates, with a drizzle of chilli oil for anyone who likes some heat: if they wait, the noodles soften and lose their golden edges.
Wok tips
- On gas, a round-bottomed wok takes the whole flame and heats right up to the sides. On induction, only a flat base touches the hob: let it heat for 2 minutes at full power before the first batch.
- No more than 300g noodles at a time in a 30 to 32cm wok. Any more and they pack down, hold on to their water and steam: they stick instead of browning.
- Noodles that stick come from a wok that isn't hot enough or is poorly seasoned. A well-seasoned wok, heated until lightly smoking before the oil goes in, lets them come away on their own once golden: wait for that moment instead of scraping.
- With a non-stick wok, add the oil before you turn on the heat and never heat it empty. The noodles brown a little less, so leave them longer before turning them.
Variations
- Without oyster sauce: the same amount of vegetarian mushroom stir-fry sauce, sold in the world foods aisle. Without dark soy sauce: 1 extra tablespoon of light soy sauce and ½ teaspoon of soft light brown sugar for 4 people; the noodles will be paler.
- Vegetarian: 400g firm tofu cut into sticks and patted dry, seared like the chicken, or 4 eggs scrambled separately and added in step 8, with the mushroom sauce instead of oyster sauce. Vegan: firm tofu, egg-free wheat noodles and mushroom sauce.
- Other meats: 400g thinly sliced pork or beef, or peeled raw prawns, with the same marinade. 300g ready-cooked char siu (Cantonese barbecued pork) goes in, cut into strips, in step 8, without searing.
- Other vegetables: swap the pak choi for the same amount of shredded Chinese leaf, celery, mangetout or pepper strips, added in step 6 with the stalks.
Storage
Two days in the fridge, in a sealed container. Reheat in the wok over a high heat with 1 tablespoon of water, for 2 minutes, stirring: the noodles loosen without drying out. The beansprouts go soft in the fridge and the golden edges of the noodles don't come back.
The Gassan Hand-Forged Wok
Iron, Ø 30cm, for gas hobs
Frequently asked questions
What's the difference between chow mein and lo mein?
Both are made with egg noodles. In chow mein, they go into hot oil until golden in places, with little sauce. In lo mein, they're just warmed through and coated in more sauce, so they stay softer.
Which noodles should I buy for chow mein?
Thin egg noodles: ready-to-wok in vacuum packs from the world foods aisle, or dried in nests. For 4 people, allow 600g ready-to-wok or 300g dried. Instant noodles fall apart in the wok, so avoid them.
Can you make gluten-free chow mein?
Yes, with rice noodles prepared following the packet and wheat-free tamari instead of both soy sauces. Check the label on the oyster sauce: most contain wheat, but some brands sell a gluten-free one.
How do you make the noodles crispy?
Dry them well after cooking, oil them and leave them untouched in a very hot wok, one small batch at a time. For crispy Hong Kong-style chow mein, brown the noodles as a cake on both sides, then pour the stir-fry over the top instead of mixing everything together.
