Cantonese Vegetable Chow Mein

Ingredients & Substitutes

Please scroll down to the bottom Recipe Card for full measurements.

• Chow mein noodles: These are yellow, long, thin noodles made of egg and wheat flour. They can also be called "Cantonese steamed egg noodles". Any Asian market will sell them in the fresh noodle section. If you're gluten-free, substitute with gluten-free chow mein noodles found online.
• Leafy green: Yu Choy Sum, Bok Choy, Baby Gai Lan (Chinese Broccoli), Napa Cabbage or Chinese Cabbage.
• Green onions: or substitute with onion.
• Red pepper: or substitute with any colored bell pepper of your choice.
• Carrots
• Snow peas or snap peas
• Garlic
• Neutral oil: like avocado oil, sunflower oil, grapeseed oil, peanut oil, vegetable oil or canola oil with a high smoke point. Avoid olive oil that has a low smoke point.

Chow Mein Sauce

• Oyster sauce: or substitute with vegetarian stir fry sauce if you don't like oysters or if you're vegetarian. If you're gluten-free: substitute with a gluten-free version.
• Regular soy sauce: or substitute with low sodium soy sauce or light soy sauce. If you’re gluten-free, substitute with tamari sauce, coconut aminos or a gluten-free soy sauce.
• Cornstarch: or tapioca starch or potato starch. This is a sauce thickener
• Shaoxing wine: a Chinese rice cooking wine. Or substitute with Dry Sherry. For a non-alcoholic or gluten-free version, substitute with any broth. 
• White granulated sugar: to balance the saltiness in the sauce
• Sesame oil: or substitute with sesame seeds.
• Broth: vegetable broth, chicken broth, beef broth, or cold water will work. I highly recommend vegetable broth at the least for more flavor.

Note: Most Asian grocery stores will carry most of the Asian specific ingredients or check Amazon.

Expert Tips

• Don't over blanch the noodles. Just blanch until loosened and strain immediately.
• Do not rinse the noodles off with cold water. This will cause them to have a harder time to crisp up in the pan.
• Use a large pan to make the noodle pancake so the noodles can spread out and crisp up.
• Use a non-stick pan for easy clean up and this prevents the noodles from sticking to the pan.
• Don't skimp on the oil for the noodles! Enough is needed to make it crispy as usually these noodles are deep fried in oil.
• Turn the noodle pancake occasionally for an even golden crust.

Instructions

1. In a small bowl, combine ingredients for the Sauce as listed above and set aside.
2. In a wok or pot filled halfway with hot water, bring to a boil. Add noodles and blanch for 30 seconds or just until loosened and strain immediately. Do not rinse off with cold water.
3. In a large pan on medium heat, add ¼ cup oil. Wait for oil to become shiny. Then carefully lower in noodles and spread into a pancake. Fry until the bottom is golden and crispy. Turning the noodles occasionally for an even crust. Flip over noodles and pour another ¼ cup of oil around edges of wok. Fry until golden crispy. Transfer crispy noodle to a large serving plate.
4. On medium-high heat, add in all vegetables, green onion and garlic. Sauté until vibrant in color.
5. Then pour in Sauce and let it simmer to reduce and thicken for a couple of minutes, about 2-3 minutes. Once the sauce thickens to your desired consistency, immediately pour over crispy noodles. Enjoy!

Pairing Suggestions

Vegetable chow mein serves well with:

• starters like egg rolls, crab rangoons, egg drop soup, hot and sour soup
• fried rice
• cooked vegetables like bok choy, or spicy garlic bok choy
• protein dishes like Mongolian Chicken, Honey Sesame Chicken,  Orange Chicken, Lemon Chicken, Cashew Chicken, Honey Walnut Shrimp, Bang Bang Shrimp, Gochujang Chicken, Soy Garlic Tofu, Chinese Braised Tofu and more!

FAQ