(Chicken) Chow Mein!

Lately, I have been craving Chinese food! The only thing is that sometimes all of that oil makes me feel a little sick so I set my mind to learning how to make a few quick Chinese dishes that I love. This way, I can control all the oiliness and tailor all the ingredients to what I prefer. Today, I made chicken chow mein. For a vegan or vegetarian option, you can substitute tofu chicken or skip it altogether.

I began by chopping up baby corn, bok choy, water chestnuts, straw mushrooms, and green onions, and thinly julienning a red bell pepper. During this time, I was also bringing to a boil a large pot of unsalted water for the Chinese yellow wheat noodles (seen on the far right). Due to the amount of sodium in the soy sauces, I chose to forgo the salt I would typically add to cook the pasta. Once the water is boiling, add the pasta and let cook. Once all the noodles are able to freely move about and are floating, they are done. Drain the water and add just a bit of sesame oil so the noodles don't stick together.

If you are choosing to use chicken or tofu, you will first need to create a marinade and then cut the breasts into pieces. My marinade consisted of sweet chili sauce, regular low-sodium soy sauce, and a few dashes of all spice. If you'd like to marinade overnight, seal it in a resealable plastic baggie and refrigerate. I only let it rest for about 20 minutes while I was doing all of my vegetable prep and it came out well enough. If you like a lot of heat, I would suggest adding some sriracha. If you are using only vegetables, you will still need to create a marinade as, later, we will be adding the noodles to the veg and there will not be a separate sauce.

Once you're happy with your marinade, take out your wok, add some peanut oil, and put on very high heat. The wok will start to smoke but don't worry! This just means the oil has heated sufficiently and you need to put your ingredients in. You will need to use some sort of spatula to put the first ingredients in because the oil will begin to sizzle and it will pop up and burn your skin. Nevertheless, add in your meat, tofu, or vegetables. If you're using meat or tofu, let cook fully (at least a few minutes) before adding in the veg. Once you've added in your vegetables of choice and they have simmered for a few minutes, add in your pasta and a little light soy sauce. After this cooks for about a minute, do a taste check and modify as you wish with additional spices or sauces. 

Once this has cooked for another minute, remove from heat, plate and enjoy!

P.S. Just a side note - I always save the little vegetable leftovers that I would typically disregard and later throw away for vegetable stock for later soups and stews! Just store them in a resealable plastic baggie in the refrigerator until you want to use them later. When you want to use them later, just put it all into a large pot with water, bring to a boil, and then reduce to a simmer for 20 to 30 minutes.