If you think you have children that "don't like chinese food", this chow mein will change their mind! My kids love it, and they can help with almost all of the preparation, so they have fun along the way as well.
This is a good dish for practicing with chopsticks!
Directions
Cut the chicken breasts or thighs (or a combination) into medium sized chunks and brown well in canola oil in a hot wok. Remove chicken from wok and set aside.
Bring a medium sized pot of water to a low boil. Add the chow mein noodles and cook for three minutes. Remove the noodles, rinse in cool water, drain and set aside. Do NOT overcook noodles! Be sure to read the instructions on the package and follow those directions if different from what is here.
Create sauce by mixing in a bowl:
- 1/2 cup chicken stock
- 3 tablespoons hoi sin sauce
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon black bean sauce
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
To the wok, add:
Then, add to hot wok about 1 cup each of any 3-5 vegetables from the following list, choosing vegetables that give a nice variety of textures and colors:
- baby corn, broken in 1" chunks
- zucchini, sliced in 1/4" thick slic
- cucumber, halved, seeded and cut in
- bamboo shoots, sliced, from a can
- water chestnuts, sliced, from a can
- broccoli florets
- baby bok choy, cut in half lengthwise
- mushrooms, any kind, whole or sliced
- cabbage, chopped or coarsely shred
- whole snow peas
- onion wedges
- red bell peppers, cut in 1" chunks
- green bell peppers, cut in 1" chunks
- bean sprouts
- celery, cut at an angle in 1" chu
Some good combinations of vegetables are:
a. Red bell peppers, onions, mushrooms
b. Baby corns, water chestnuts, cabbage, snow peas, shitake mushroom slices, onions
c. Celery, baby corns, bean sprouts
To the vegetables in the wok, add the sauce and stir fry for 3-5 minutes.
Add the noodles to the wok and return the chicken to the wok. Toss with the vegetables until well combined and noodles are hot. Serve.
Kids!
Cut the chicken, make the sauce, and find, clean, and cut the veggies!
Notes...
The only trick to this dish is the noodles - every brand is a bit different, so try a few different kinds, but look for fast cooking, low fat varieties. Like any stir fry, fresh vegetables make all the difference between ho-hum and a rockin' good stir fry!