Chicken chow mein is probably already one of your favorite Chinese takeout dishes. This one-pan dinner is so satisfying with chicken, vegetables, classic chow mein noodles, and the best homemade chow mein sauce. Also, it’s way healthier than ordering takeout.
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I can’t wait to share this recipe for chicken chow mein with you because it hits all the marks!
Chicken Chow Mein
Chow mein is a traditional Chinese dish made with egg noodles and stir-fried veggies. We love adding a protein and our favorite is chicken, but you can try different meat or tofu. This dish is pan-fried so the noodles get a nice crisp to them and then tossed in a yummy sauce. Chow mein is perfect for those nights when you don’t want to dirty too many pans or make a big mess of the kitchen.
Chow mein gets its signature flavor from the thick, dark homemade sauce the noodles are tossed with. It’s the perfect balance of sweet and salty and makes putting down your chopsticks absolutely impossible.
Ingredients for Chow Mein:
- Chow Mein Noodles: Chow mein noodles are made with wheat and egg. They are very similar to Italian pasta noodles and have a wonderful bite to them. Most grocery stores carry dry chow mein noodles in the Asian aisle. But, if you are lucky, you will find pre-cooked chow mein noodles in the refrigerated section that can be thrown straight into your pan.
- Vegetables: Carrots, cabbage, green onions, and bean sprouts are the perfect combination of veggies to use for chow mein. However, they can easily be replaced with other veggies like bok choy, celery, broccoli, spinach, kale or baby corn. Feel free to get creative and use what you like or whatever you have hanging around in your fridge!
- Meats: Great quality chicken breasts are your best bet for slicing into chow mein-ready strips. If you like, feel free to swap chicken out for beef, shrimp or pork.
- Hot tip: Hosting vegetarians also? Use vegetable broth and set some of your noodles aside to toss them with cubes of baked tofu.
The BEST Chow Mein Sauce:
The homemade chow mein sauce is amazing in this recipe! Combine soy sauce, light sesame oil, oyster sauce, granulated sugar, cornstarch, and chicken broth to make the signature sweet and savory sauce that makes chow mein taste authentic.
How to Make Chow Mein:
- In a small mixing bowl, combine ingredients for chow mein sauce: oyster sauce, sesame oil, soy sauce, chicken broth, and cornstarch. Set aside.
- Cook noodles according to package instructions, set aside.
- Heat a large wok or pan. Add a bit of oil to the pan and cook chicken until it’s golden brown. Remove chicken and set aside.
- Add carrots, cabbage and pressed garlic and saute for a few minutes until veggies are slightly softened.
- Add chicken back to the pan, followed by cooked noodles and pour the sauce right on top. Cook for about 2 minutes, distributing all that saucy goodness around evenly.
- Add chopped green onions and remove from the heat. Serve hot!
We love recreating popular takeout recipes. Noodles are king in Chinese cooking! This Homemade Chow Mein Recipe is simple to make and oh-so-satisfying, these stir-fried noodles are sure to become a part of your weeknight dinner rotation.
More Quick Asian Recipes
- Chicken Stir Fry with Rice Noodles – Make this amazing dinner in just 30 minutes!
- Chicken Stir Fry– so much better than takeout.
- Beef Stir Fry Recipe with 3 Ingredient Sauce– So Easy- perfect weeknight dinner.
- Korean Stir-Fried Glass Noodles a.k.a Japchae– You will be going for seconds!
- Yakisoba Noodles Recipe– A Classic Yakisoba, made in one pan
Chicken Chow Mein with the Best Chow Mein Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 lb chicken breast, boneless, skinless
- 3 Tbsp oil
- 12 oz chow mein noodles, (uncooked noodles)
- 2 cups cabbage
- 1 large carrot, julienned
- 1/2 batch green onions
- 2 garlic cloves
Chow Mein Sauce
- 4 Tbsp oyster sauce, or added to taste*
- 3 Tbsp low sodium soy sauce
- 3 Tbsp light sesame oil, (not toasted)
- 1/2 cup chicken broth
- 1 Tbsp corn starch
- 1 Tbsp granulated sugar
Instructions
- In a small mixing bowl, use a whisk to combine oyster sauce, granulated sugar, sesame oil, soy sauce, chicken broth and cornstarch. Set aside.
- Cook your noodles according to package instructions then drain, rinse with cold water and set aside.
- Heat a large wok or pan with olive oil over medium-heat. Cut your chicken breasts into bite-sized strips and cook them in the oil until golden brown. Remove strips and set aside.
- Add carrots, cabbage and pressed garlic and saute for a few minutes until veggies are slightly softened and the cabbage is a bit translucent.
- Add chicken and noodles back into the pan. Pour sauce over the top and continue cooking all the ingredients together for another 2 minutes.
- Garnish your chow mein with chopped green onions and serve the noodles straight from the pan and piping hot!
Notes
*Oyster sauce can vary in salt content and if you use regular soy sauce rather than reduced, you will want to adjust the oyster sauce to taste.
Nutrition Per Serving
Filed Under
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Hi! I’m Natasha Kravchuk, a New York Times bestselling cookbook author, recipe developer, food photographer, and writer. Here you’ll find delicious, reliable recipes made with simple ingredients, plus easy step-by-step photos and videos to help you cook confidently at home. 
Delicious!!! Shared recipe with my daughter and it’s the only chow mein she makes now. Thank you for sharing!
That’s great! I’m so glad she loved it too. Thanks for sharing the recipe.
Very good and very easy to make! Will definitely make again!
Loved it, will definitely make it again, and maybe add bean sprouts and other veggies
Is absolutely amazing and all the steps you show,your recipes can be done by anyone, due and thanking you,dear Natasha.
Be blessed now and always.
Thank you, Sanda! I’m glad it’s helpful!
Do I have to use oyster sauce? Is there any substitute or can I leave it out?
Hi Charlotte! It adds good depth and flavor. You can try mushroom stir-fry sauce, sweet soy sauce, hoisin sauce or soy sauce with a touch of sugar. Once is my viewers even reported using Worcestershire sauce with a splash of vinegar.
Question: Could I use rotisserie chicken for this recipe? I often buy one at my local Giant, bring it home, cut it into bite-sized pcs and freeze it.
Hi Jan! Yes, that would be fine.
I make this dish regularly and both my husband and I love it. Not sure why some people struggle with the recipe. Delicious!
I substituted the chow mein noodles for brown rice noodles as I am gluten free and it still turned out amazing!!
Can you use a bag of cole slaw for the cabbage and carrots? Also someone commented they velvet the meat. Can you explain how to do that if we want to do it?
Hi Amanda! Yes, you can use bagged cole slaw. I don’t have instructions for velveting the meat but you can easily find this information online.
Best ever! Made this exactly as the recipe said.
Where has this recipe been all my life?!!!
Husband loved it! In fact, we made this together.
Very authentic and takes no time at all !
Hi Viv! I’m so glad you found this recipe. Thank you for the wonderful review.
So sorry, but this was the worst dish I’ve ever made. Six tablespoons of oyster sauce?!! I had never cooked with oyster sauce before and didn’t know it was so salty!!! I actually used only 1/4 cup to test it–and it was a heart-stopper. I was already disappointed as this recipe is nothing like the chicken chow mein we see in American restaurants (perhaps this should be called chicken lo mein?). I have since confirmed that American chow mein never uses oyster sauce.
Hi Jo, I adjusted the recipe card to account for if people don’t use low sodium soy sauce. That is a common issue. I would definitely start with less if you are using regular soy sauce.
Mine did not work out at all. Followed the recipe exactly. So disappointed and upset
Hi Diane, I’m sorry to hear it didn’t work out – that’s always a bummer. Did you make any substitutions in ingredients? If you could provide more info on what went wrong, I’ll do my best to troubleshoot.
So Delish!! Will make again n again!! Thank you for sharing! I did add more cabbage as it wilts down!
Sounds delicious…can you share the brands of products you use? For example soy sauces vary greatly in taste depending on the brand.
Hi Cheryl! I’ve used different brands so I don’t have just one to recommend. If I do, I will always include a note of it or link it in the recipe. Check out the recipe card as well, you can click on any of the bold words in red font, they are links.