Chow Mein (Stir Fry Noodles)
Why do restaurant chow mein always tastes better than homemade one? Firstly, chefs steam fresh egg noodles instead of boiling them. Secondly, commercial stoves are much hotter than residential ones. So in order to mimic the restaurant style stir-fry temperature, we need to use high heat all the time. Thirdly, chefs know the best sauce ratio of chow mein, which I'll share with you today! With these chef secrets, you will be able to make authentic Chinese restaurant-style chow mein at home.
Equipment
- 1 Steam pot
- 1 Wok
Ingredients
- 8 oz fresh Chinese egg noodles about 230g
- 1 tbsp sesame oil or cooking oil
Sauce
- 1 tbsp light soy sauce for the savory flavor
- 1 tbsp dark soy sauce for the reddish brown color
- 1/2 tsp sugar
- 1/3 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp oyster sauce lee kum kee has vegetarian oyster sauce if you want
- 1 tbsp water
Other Ingredients
- 3 tbsp cooking oil I used corn oil
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 sweet onion
- 1/2 bell pepper
- 1 green onion
- 1 handful of cabbage
Instructions
- Beat 2 eggs. Cut cabbages and 1/2 bell pepper into strips. Cut green onions into 2 inch length. Set prepared ingredients aside.
- Mix all sauce ingredients in a bowl and set aside.
- Put fresh egg noodles in a large bowl, loosen the noodles. Add sesame oil into the noodles, mix well.
- Once the water in the steamer is boiling, put in the noodles, and steam over high heat for 5 minutes. Transfer the noodles into a plate, loosen the noodles, and set aside.
- Preheat the wok over high-heat for about 1 minute. Add 3 tbsp cooking oil. Heat oil over high heat until its smoking hot. I usually wait until my oil is literarily smoking.
- Pour in the eggs and stir fry for about 30 seconds. (I set a timer. So I literarily mean 30s here.) Add vegetables and stir fry for 1 minute. Add steamed noodles and stir fry for 1 minute. Pour in the sauce, toss or stir fry for 1 minute.
- Dish out and serve.
Video
@msshiandmrhe How to make restaurant style chow mein at home. #stirfrynoodles #chinesefood #easyrecipe #homecook #asianfood #recipe #noodles #cooking
♬ Because of You - Josh Vietti
Notes
- Since we are going to use high heat from the beginning to the end, the entire stir-fry time should not take longer than five minutes.
- If you can not find fresh Chinese egg noodles, you can also use dry chow mein noodles. For dry noodles, boil them by following instructions on package, then "shock" them with an ice bath right after they're boiled. In this way you can make chow mein more al dente ("to the teeth").