Saturday, March 07, 2009

Chicken Chow Mein!

I've been craving Chinese food and for some reason the Chinese restaurant on base is not open, so I figured I may as well make it myself. It takes a little bit of prep time and it's not one of those super quick dishes to prepare, but it's worth it. 

I usually make it on the weekends when the hubby is home so he can go off and play with the kids and I can take my time fixing dinner. Enjoy!  

 2009_03070051

CHICKEN CHOW MEIN
 
 
Ingredients:
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, 7 to 8 ounces each  
 
 
Marinade: 
1 tablespoon oyster sauce 
1 teaspoon soy sauce 
Salt and pepper, to taste 
1 small piece (less than 1 teaspoon) cornstarch  
 
Sauce: 
1/4 cup water or low-sodium chicken broth 
1 tablespoon oyster sauce 
1 tablespoon soy sauce 
Salt and pepper, to taste 
1 tablespoon cornstarch 
4 tablespoons water 
 
Other: 
1/2 pound dry wonton noodles 
2 medium ribs celery 
1 pound bok choy or broccoli 
1/2 pound fresh mushrooms ( I used a small can) 
1 red bell pepper 
1/2 red onion 
1 green onion (scallion, spring onion) 
Vegetable oil for frying and stir-frying, as needed 
1/4 cup toasted sesame seeds ( I didn't use the sesame seeds) 
 
 
Cut the chicken into thin strips. Add the marinade ingredients, adding the cornstarch last. Marinate the chicken for 20 to 25 minutes. The following 3 steps can be completed while the chicken is marinating: 
 
To prepare the sauce, in a small bowl dissolve the 1 tablespoon cornstarch with the 4 tablespoons water. Whisk the water or chicken broth with the oyster sauce, soy sauce, salt, pepper and cornstarch and water mixture and set aside. Soften the noodles by placing them in boiling salted water. Plunge into cold water to stop the cooking process and drain thoroughly. Wash all the vegetables as needed. 
 
Cut the celery and the bok choy into 1/2-inch pieces on the diagonal. If substituting broccoli for bok choy, peel the stalks until no more strings come out, and slice thinly on the diagonal. Wipe the mushrooms clean with a damp cloth and slice. Cut the red bell pepper in half, remove the seeds and chut into chunks. Peel and chop the onion. Dice the green onion. 
 
 2009_03070033 
 
Heat a wok or frying pan over medium-high to high heat. Add 2 tablespoons oil. When the oil is hot, add the noodles. Fry in batches until golden. Remove the noodles from the pan. 
 
Heat 2 tablespoons oil. Add the onion and the meat. Let the meat brown briefly, then stir-fry until the redness is gone and the meat is nearly cooked through. Remove the cooked meat and onion from the pan. (TO SAVE TIME, I DIDN'T ADD THE ONIONS HERE, I JUST ADDED THEM IN WITH THE REST OF THE VEGGIES) 
 
2009_03070045 
 
Cook the rest of the vegetables separately, except for the green onion, seasoning each with a bit of salt while stir-frying if desired. 
 
When cooking the bok choy or broccoli, add 1/4 cup of water and cover while cooking. Remove each of the vegetables from the pan when finished stir-frying. Add more oil as needed. Give the sauce a quick restir. Add all the ingredients back into the wok, making a "well" in the middle if the wok for the sauce. 
 
Add the sauce, stirring quickly to thicken. Mix everything together. Stir in the green onions. Pour the cooked vegetable and sauce mixture on top of the noodles. Garnish the chow mein with the toasted sesame seeds. Serve hot. 
 
2009_03070046

8 comments:

  1. That looks fantastic, I am so making it! Is there another name for wonton noodles? I am wondering where to find those.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Do you have a suggestion on what to replace the oyster sauce with? We are a shellfish free home and oyster sauce isn't used. Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  3. That looks really good. I love your site. I am going to add you to my blogroll so i can stay updated. I found your site doing a google search for recipes. I have a recipe blog and i am a sahm as well. I hope you stop by and visit. I will definitly be back.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I really wish I could smell that!

    ReplyDelete
  5. I am new here! What a great blog!
    ♥ Hugs :

    ReplyDelete
  6. Hi Sandra...I love your blog and just wanted to let you know I featured you for my Random Acts of Kindness Friday for Bloggers:

    http://givingwithoutspending.blogspot.com/2009/03/raok-friday-for-bloggers.html

    I hope you get a few new readers out of it. Keep up the good work!

    ReplyDelete
  7. I just came over from Giving Without Spending and I can't believe how gorgeous your blog is? Who designed this? i love it and I'm so excited to learn some new recipes since we hae beeneatingout too much lately, becsue I can't think of anything to make! Will you post a quick and easy meal for me sometime?

    ReplyDelete
  8. Aaah! chicken chow mein! ooooooooh! My mouth is watering. This has to rank as one of my favorite chains foods of all time! especially when eaten hot from the street vendors. I really miss the authentic chow mein and can't get it anywhere here in the restaurant. Your version looks delicious! thank you for shearing your post.

    Thanks

    Rumela
    my site

    ReplyDelete