My favorite chow mein recipe is easy to whip up in just 25 minutes and tossed with a seriously awesome stir-fry sauce. Feel free to add meat, seafood, tofu, and/or whatever extra veggies you might like!
Because quick and easy stir-fried noodles are always a winner on busy weeknights — I have a new chow mein recipe for you guys today! ♡
I have to admit that I’ve always had a bit of a complicated relationship with ordering chow mein in Chinese-American restaurants over the years. I absolutely love this dish. But half of the time, it seems like the stir-fry sauce tossed with the noodles is — to use a word that we say in our house — “whelming.” Not over- or underwhelming. Just kind of boring, which I always think is a missed opportunity when it comes to noodles!
So for any of you other chow mein fans out there, I thought I would share with you today how I love to make this simple comfort food. First and foremost, of course, I like to go big with a blend of my favorite full-flavored, savory ingredients when it comes to the stir-fry sauce used here. I also like a very high ratio of veggies to noodles, adding in whatever fresh veg and greens happen to be hanging out in the crisper drawer that day. (And if we happen to feel like adding some protein, it’s incredibly easy to add some stir-fried chicken, beef, pork, shrimp, tofu too.) I’m also a big believer that chow mein noodles should have a firm al dente texture, so it’s important to slightly undercook them before adding them to the stir-fry so that they can finish cooking with the veggies and sauce. And finally, I like to add a good spoonful of hot chili sauce to give my noodles a kick, although it is optional in the recipe if you prefer to keep your chow mein more on the mild side.
The great news for all of us is that chow mein recipe can be whipped up in just 25 minutes from start to finish (the noodles cook very quickly!), making this an awesome back-pocket recipe to pull out on busy weeknights. It also makes for great leftovers, if you would like to make a double batch while you’re at it. And as always, I have included lots of options below for how to make this recipe gluten-free and vegan too.
So clean out the crisper drawer and round up whatever veggies you have on hand, and let’s make some seriously awesome chow mein together!
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