Chicken Chow Mein: Cantonese High-Heat Stir-Fried Noodles

The moment the noodles hit the wok, chow mein parts ways with yakisoba

Swirl oil around a wok, spread out the loosened noodles, and for the first few dozen seconds nothing seems to be happening. Then the edges of the noodles firm up a little, and when you turn them with a spatula you see a light golden color. In that moment, the aroma of stir-fried noodles rises, and it is no longer just "seasoned noodles."

Chow mein (炒麵 / 炒面 / chǎo miàn) is a Chinese noodle dish whose name means, literally, "stir-fried noodles." It spread through the English-speaking world as chow mein and has changed shape in every place it landed: Cantonese and Hong Kong versions, North American Chinese restaurants, Indo-Chinese cooking and the Chinese communities of Southeast Asia. It looks close to Japanese yakisoba, but the flavor is built a little differently. Rather than leaning on a sweet sauce, you dry the surface of the noodles, sear them against the wok, and build aroma with soy sauce, dark soy sauce (laochou), oyster sauce and white pepper.

This article adapts Cantonese home-style chow mein for a home kitchen. Thin Chinese egg noodles are ideal, but we cover moisture control separately so you can also use dried noodles or steamed yakisoba noodles. Unlike biangbiang noodles (in Japanese), where you make the noodles yourself, the challenge here is how you handle store-bought noodles. On days when you want soft noodles that soak up sauce without searing, it's easier to turn the same Chinese noodles into lo mein (in Japanese).

The background of chow mein: "stir-fried noodles" that change by region

Chow mein is less a single fixed recipe than a cooking method. Wikipedia describes it as stir-fried noodles of Chinese origin that spread from Guangdong around the world with Chinese emigrants. In North America, "crispy chow mein" and "steamed chow mein" are distinct, and the term can mean different things on the East Coast and the West Coast. Indo-Chinese cooking has street-style chowmein heavy on cabbage, carrot and green chili, and Southeast Asia has produced stir-fried noodles tied to local sweet soy sauces and fish sauces.

At home, the first priority is not letting it turn watery. Chinese restaurant burners are stronger than home stoves and can drive off the moisture from vegetables in an instant. At home, drying the noodles first, stir-frying the chicken and vegetables separately, and combining everything briefly at the end gives a result that isn't sticky.

To get closer to the original, a small amount of dark soy sauce (laochou) brings the color and aroma closer. Too much makes it black and heavy, though, so for two servings, starting with 1 tsp is plenty. Oyster sauce is the backbone of savoriness, and Shaoxing wine rounds off the sharp edges of the aroma. Sake can replace Shaoxing wine, but dark soy sauce is something quite different from regular soy sauce, so if you want the right color, it's worth having even a small bottle.

Ingredients (serves 2): proportions for a home kitchen

This makes two servings as a main course for dinner. On days you want more vegetables you can add another head of bok choy, but in that case don't skip the step of searing the noodles, because the moisture from the vegetables easily makes everything heavy.

How to choose the noodles

The easiest to work with are thin steamed Chinese noodles. If using steamed yakisoba noodles, choose ones without a powdered sauce packet, warm them in the bag in a 600 W microwave for just 30 seconds and loosen them. If you stir-fry them straight from the bag, the surface moisture mixes with the oil and they turn sticky easily.

If using dried noodles, boil them slightly less than the package says, drain and spread them out to dry for 5 minutes. Made With Lau shows a method of steaming chow mein noodles and then boiling them, but when handling dried noodles at home, aiming for noodles with no white core in the center but a dry surface cuts down on failures.

Shopping: noodles, dark soy sauce and a pan

Chicken, bok choy and bean sprouts are easy to find at a local supermarket. What's worth seeking out at an Asian grocer or online is dried noodles close to thin stir-fry noodles, dark soy sauce for color, and a pan wide enough to spread and sear the noodles. You can make it in a deep skillet without a wok, but a pan wide enough that the noodles don't pile up matters a lot.

When you can't find thin Chinese egg noodles, dried noodles for pancit canton are easier to manage for moisture than steamed yakisoba noodles. It won't be exactly the same dish, but they're good for practicing boiling, drying and then stir-frying.

Dark soy sauce adds color and a caramel-like roundness in small amounts. You can also use it in Southeast Asian stir-fried noodles like char kway teow (in Japanese), so if you'll keep making stir-fried noodles, a bottle is handy.

Chow mein changes depending on whether you can spread the noodles out in the pan. Without a wok, a deep skillet of 26 cm or more works, but if you just put two servings in at once and stir, they steam instead.

Method: dry the noodles, then combine over high heat

Before you turn on the heat, have the sauce, the marinated chicken, the cut vegetables and the dried noodles all within reach. Chow mein moves fast, so if you open the fridge midway, the noodles stick to the bottom of the pan or the vegetables release water.

Where to draw the line on substitutes

Chow mein works without importing every ingredient. But separating what you can change from what's hard to change keeps the result from drifting.

On days you want something other than chicken, cut Cantonese char siu (in Japanese), which adds a sweet glaze and fat, into strips and add it at the final combining step. It's already cooked, so just warm it through rather than stir-frying it long.

If using Japanese yakisoba noodles, don't use the included sauce. That powdered sauce is delicious for Japanese yakisoba, but it hides the soy sauce and white pepper aroma of chow mein. On days when yakisoba noodles are all you have, sear the noodles first and reduce the chicken stock in the sauce to 1 tbsp. If the noodles are very soft and look like they'll break when seared, don't force them into chow mein; it's easier to eat them like lo mein (in Japanese), letting them soak up the sauce briefly.

For heat, stir-fry just 1/2 tsp doubanjiang with the aromatics. This is a Sichuan-style home variation, though. On days you want Cantonese-leaning chow mein, it comes together better with the aroma of white pepper and dark soy in front rather than heat. It's a different aromatic direction from dishes turned red with doubanjiang, like mapo tofu (in Japanese).

Common problems and how to fix them

The most common chow mein failure is sticky noodles. The cause isn't the seasoning but the surface moisture of the noodles and how crowded the pan is. Seasoning more strongly won't fix it, so deal with each problem by its symptoms.

If you add a lot of water when it looks like it's about to burn, you end up closer to braised noodles than stir-fried ones. If you add any, add hot water 1 tbsp at a time down the side of the pan and turn it to steam right away over high heat.

Storage and eating it the next day

Chow mein is best freshly made. If you have leftovers, don't pack them hot into a deep container; spread them on a tray or large plate to cool for about 10 minutes. Once cool, transfer to a container, refrigerate, and finish by the next day.

You can reheat it in the microwave alone, but the noodles lose some aroma. Our recommendation: heat 1 tsp oil in a skillet over medium heat for 1 minute, add the chow mein, sprinkle with 1 tbsp hot water and cover for 60 seconds. Uncover, turn the heat to medium-high and toss for 60 more seconds to drive off the moisture. The bean sprouts won't regain their crunch, so the next day, add chopped scallions or white pepper to bring back the aroma.

At the table, a tangy side dish goes well. Within Chinese cooking, a small serving of Buddha's delight (luohan zhai) (in Japanese) broadens the vegetables on the table. To compare noodle dishes, related themes include japchae (in Japanese), with its chewy glass noodles, char kway teow (in Japanese), finished with rice noodles and sweet soy sauce, and pancit canton (in Japanese), where dried noodles soak up broth.

Frequently asked questions

Can I use yakisoba noodles instead of Chinese noodles?

Yes. Use steamed yakisoba noodles without the powdered sauce, warm them in the bag in a 600 W microwave for 30 seconds and loosen them. Spreading them on a tray to dry and searing them before combining with the fillings keeps them from turning sticky.

What if I don't have dark soy sauce?

Substitute 1/2 tsp regular soy sauce mixed with a pinch of sugar. The color will be lighter, but the flavor comes together. Adding more soy sauce to make it look darker makes it salty, so a slightly paler color is fine.

Can I make it without oyster sauce?

If anyone has a seafood allergy or dislikes it, leave it out and use 1 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tsp mirin, 2 tbsp chicken stock and a heavier hand with the white pepper. The savoriness will be lighter, but the aroma of the seared noodles makes up for it. For a fully plant-based version, replace the chicken with fried tofu and the chicken stock with kombu dashi.

Is searing the noodles first essential?

On a home stove, searing the noodles first is more reliable. It drives off surface moisture, so they're less likely to turn gummy when the sauce goes in at the end. With a powerful restaurant wok burner you can stir-fry everything in one go at the end, but at home, searing the noodles first is more reproducible.

Can I make a big batch at once?

We don't recommend it. In a 26 cm home skillet, two servings is the limit. For four servings, sear the noodles in two batches, stir-fry the fillings in two batches, and toss everything lightly in a large bowl at the end to keep it from turning watery.

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