Chow Mein is a very quick and inexpensive meal and can be customized in many ways. I love making butterfly mine with vegetables and make it a great vegetarian main course or a delicious side dish. But you can also stir-fry tofu, chicken, beef or pork with this and add protein.
“Chow” means stir-fried food while “main” is noodles. The name suggests this stir-fried noodles and vegetables and a flavorful sauce. I like to use both bright and dark soy sauce in this recipe. Anyone can make this. No special equipment is required that exceed chef-level skills or large frying pans. Let’s stir-fry!
Related: Next, you will learn to make the best stir-fry.


material
- Lo Mein noodles – or other egg nods
- onion
- Carrots
- cabbage
- Garlic
- Sesame oil
- Light soy sauce
- Dark soy sauce
- Oyster sauce
- Hoijong
- Granular white sugar
- Green onion (green onions), optional


How to make Chow Mein
Prepare the vegetables. Thinly slice the onion and carrots. Shred the cabbage. Chop the garlic.
Prepare the sauce. In a small bowl or cup, combine soy sauce, oyster sauce, foisin and sugar. Beat until the sugar is completely dissolved.
Meanwhile, cook the noodles according to the package instructions. For the cooked drain, add 1 teaspoon of sesame oil to prevent it from sticking together.
In a large skillet or wok, heat the sesame oil over medium/high heat. Cook for 2 minutes until the onions are tender. Add carrots and cabbage. Cook for another 1-2 minutes until the cabbage begins to wilt. Then add the garlic and cook for another minute or two.
Push all the vegetables into half of the pan and add a little more oil to the empty side. Add the cooked noodles to the empty area. Fry with vegetables. Next, pour the sauce over everything. Fry for another 1-2 minutes. If using, enjoy hot by sprinkling green onions on top.


Tips, alternatives, add
- I like green cabbage, especially Napa cabbage in this recipe. However, purple cabbage can also work well.
- Other vegetables such as bean sprouts, mushrooms, peppers, bokchoy, broccoli, and Brussels sprouts can be added.
- Stir chicken, steak or pork before starting betables and toss it back into the pan before adding sauce. Alternatively, make air fryer tofu or add shredded rotisserie chicken. You do you! This recipe is very versatile. Excellent Clean Out the Refriger Recipe.
- Bright vs. Dark Soy Sauce – If you’re not familiar with it, perhaps the soy sauce you use most is light soy sauce. The thick soy sauce appears to be a thicker, almost consistent reduction in balsamic cons. It is very rich and flavorful and worth looking for if you like cooking Asian food.
- If the frying pan isn’t big enough to cook all the ingredients at once, you can do this in batches. Split the vegetables, noodles and sauce into two or three and stir-fry in batches.


More Chinese and Asian fusion recipes


PS If you like Chinese and Asian fusion recipes, there’s one cooking book I love 168 Takeaway Better than Chinese Recipes Mandyhoo.
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Stir the noodles and vegetables.
Instructions
-
Prepare the vegetables. Thinly slice the onion and carrots. Shred the cabbage. Chop the garlic.
-
Prepare the sauce. In a small bowl or cup, combine soy sauce, oyster sauce, foisin and sugar. Beat until the sugar is completely dissolved.
-
Meanwhile, cook the noodles according to the package instructions. For the cooked drain, add 1 teaspoon of sesame oil to prevent it from sticking together.
-
In a large skillet or wok, heat the sesame oil over medium/high heat. Cook for 2 minutes until the onions are tender.
-
Add carrots and cabbage. Cook for another 1-2 minutes until the cabbage begins to wilt.
-
Then add the garlic and cook for another minute or two.
-
Push all the vegetables into half of the pan and add a little more oil to the empty side. Add the cooked noodles to the empty area. Fry with vegetables.
-
Next, pour the sauce over everything. Fry for another 1-2 minutes. If using, enjoy hot by sprinkling green onions on top.
Note
- I like green cabbage, especially Napa cabbage in this recipe. However, purple cabbage can also work well.
- Other vegetables such as bean sprouts, mushrooms, peppers, bokchoy, broccoli, and Brussels sprouts can be added.
- Stir chicken, steak or pork before starting betables and toss it back into the pan before adding sauce. Alternatively, make air fryer tofu or add shredded rotisserie chicken. You do you! This recipe is very versatile. Excellent Clean Out the Refriger Recipe.
- Bright vs. Dark Soy Sauce – If you’re not familiar with it, perhaps the soy sauce you use most is light soy sauce. The thick soy sauce appears to be a thicker, almost consistent reduction in balsamic cons. It is very rich and flavorful and worth looking for if you like cooking Asian food.
- If the frying pan isn’t big enough to cook all the ingredients at once, you can do this in batches. Split the vegetables, noodles and sauce into two or three and stir-fry in batches.
nutrition
Nutrition Facts
Chau Main
Amount per serving
% Daily Value*
*Percent daily value is based on the 2000 calorie diet.
Notice: Nutrition is automatically calculated using spoon culler for your convenience. If relevant, we recommend using your own nutritional calculations.
Source: A Beautiful Mess – abeautifulmess.com