A fast and easy Chinese meal that won’t leave you hungry.
Depending if you’re from the East Coast, West Coast or somewhere in between…. some folks call this recipe Chicken Lo Mein. So if you were looking for either Chicken Chow Mein, or Lo Mein, you are in the right place.
This recipe uses the soft type of noodles, not the crunchy ones. (You can also substitute thin spaghetti if you don’t have chow mein noodles available.) They’re cooked separately, then mixed into a pan full of tender-crisp veggies and chunks of chicken. Then everything gets tossed with a basic Chinese-American brown sauce – soy sauce, sugar, ginger, garlic, oyster sauce, and sesame oil – and sprinkled with bright green scallions.
Result: a classic Chinese dish loaded with tender chicken, crunchy veggies, soft noodles, and delicately spiced sauce. With all that good stuff in it, this meal definitely won’t leave you hungry an hour later. And if you want to call it lo mein instead of chow mein, I won’t mind.
How to Make Chicken Chow Mein
- Prepare veggies as needed. Take a look at my times saving tips below! Season your chicken with salt and pepper to taste, and then cook it in 1 TBSP of the vegetable oil.
- Once it is slightly browned, place it on a paper towel lined plate and sit to the side. Cook your chow mein noodles according to the package and then drain and set aside.
- Using the second TBSP of vegetable oil, cook your carrots and celery in your pan for 2-3 minutes. Add cabbage and 2 green onions, then cook till veggies are tender yet still crunchy. About 3-4 more minutes.
- While your veggies are cooking combine the ginger, garlic, soy sauce, oyster sauce, sugar, and sesame oil to a small bowl.
- Once your veggies are cooked, add your noodles and chicken back to the pan and pour your sauce over them.
- Using tongs, stir your dish till everything is covered in a sauce and warmed through. Garnish with 3rd green onion and enjoy!
Recipe Time Saving Tips
- Green Cabbage: You can buy a bag of angel haired sliced green cabbage so you do not have any prep work. Now look and see if your store has this using several different cabbages to add a variety of color (like purple or red cabbage). Even if the green is all you’ve got, it is worth the time (and mess) saved by buying this prepackaged.
- Matchstick Carrots: This is also an easy pre-packaged item you can buy. Then it is easy to add it to salads, meatloafs and other recipes without having to put in the hard work.
- Minced Ginger: Also in the refrigerated section with the fresh herbs are tubes of paste. I picked up a ginger one for recipes such as these to save the time of peeling and mincing ginger and then I never get to use the rest of it before it goes bad. This has a longer shelf life and works perfectly for any recipe calling for ginger.
- Minced Garlic: I know there is much debate on freshly minced garlic and pre-minced garlic in a jar. Some days the extra effort goes a long way and some days you need to quickly reach into your fridge and have it done.
These leftovers make the best lunch the next day! We packed up our leftover Chicken Chow Mein in our Easy Lunchboxes.
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Chicken Chow Mein
Ingredients
- 6 oz of Chow Mein Noodles prepared according to the package
- 2 boneless skinless, chicken breasts, sliced into 1/2 inch strips
- 2 TBSP vegetable oil
- 2 celery stalks
- 2 cups of thinly sliced green cabbage for ease, buy a bag of angle haired sliced green cabbage
- ½ cup carrots matchstick (*for ease, buy a small package of already cut up ones)
- 3 green onions chopped and divided
- 2 tsp minced ginger (*for ease, buy a tube of fresh ginger paste in the refrigerated section with the fresh herbs)
- 3 tsp of minced garlic *for ease, buy a jar of minced garlic to have on hand
- 1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce
- 1 1/2 TBSP oyster sauce
- 1/2 TBSP granulated sugar
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- Salt and Pepper to taste
Instructions
- Prepare veggies as needed. Take a look at my times saving tips below! Season your chicken with salt and pepper to taste, and then cook it in 1 TBSP of the vegetable oil.
- Once it is slightly browned, place it on a paper towel lined plate and sit to the side.
- Cook your chow mein noodles according to the package and then drain and set aside.
- Using the second TBSP of vegetable oil, cook your carrots and celery in your pan for 2-3 minutes. Add cabbage and 2 green onions, then cook till veggies are tender yet still crunchy. About 3-4 more minutes.
- While your veggies are cooking combine the ginger, garlic, soy sauce, oyster sauce, sugar, and sesame oil to a small bowl.
- Once your veggies are cooked, add your noodles and chicken back to the pan and pour your sauce over them. Using tongs, stir your dish till everything is covered in a sauce and warmed through. Garnish with 3rd green onion and enjoy!
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Nutrition Information:
Nutrition Disclaimer
Family Fresh Meals is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is only an estimate. We recommend running the ingredients through an online nutritional calculator if you need to verify any information.
Gayle says
Turned Out Well! Didn’t have oyster sauce so I added a touch of hoisin sauce and left out the sugar. It did take a bit more prep time but having said that, I did add a few more veggies (sliced mushrooms and a bit of broccoli, cut up small). I also cut the oil back a bit and fried the chicken & veggies in 1/2 oil and 1/2 Italian dressing, All in all though, a keeper! Thanks Corey! 😉
Barb says
This recipe was a hit. I used coleslaw mix instead of chopping cabbage and carrots.