Crispy fried noodles topped with a savory gravy, tender chicken and succulent seafood with vegetables. This quick and easy chicken shrimp chow mein is ready in 30 minutes and it's restaurant-quality! A great main dish for the family to enjoy!
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Chicken Shrimp Chow Mein features crispy pan-fried noodles covered in a savory sauce with chicken, shrimp, carrots, bean sprouts, mushrooms, and cabbage. It's a delicious noodle dish served at many Chinese Restaurants or for takeout.
This popular Chinese dish originates from Hong Kong and the difference between this version and other types of chow mein is that the noodles are fried until golden brown and crispy and topped with a thick glossy sauce with protein and veggies.
On the other hand, regular chow mein isn't fried until crispy and everything is stir-fried in a light sauce with other ingredients. Sometimes, the noodles can also be thicker too.
This chow mein recipe is fantastic as a main dish for dinner or lunch and can easily be made at home. I love making this dish when I have a fresh bag of egg noodles. It's quick and easy for a tasty busy weeknight meal!
Ingredients & Substitutes
Please scroll down to below recipe card for exact measurements.
- Cantonese-style chow mein noodles: these fresh noodles are also called "steamed chow mein noodles". They are thin, yellow egg noodles that can be found at the Asian grocery store in the refrigerated section. I share an image of what they look like below in the FAQ section.
- Or substitute with fresh wonton noodles as a last resort or dried egg noodles prepared according to package directions.
- Jumbo shrimp: get the easy peel pre-deveined kind to make preparation quicker.
- Boneless skinless chicken thighs: or substitute with chicken breast, pork or beef.
- Seafood mushrooms: or substitute with button mushrooms, oyster mushrooms, king oyster mushrooms, or shiitake mushrooms.
- Green cabbage: or substitute with red cabbage, bok choy, yu choy sum or baby gai-lan. Avoid using napa cabbage as it can release a lot of water into the stir-fry sauce.
- Carrots
- Low-sodium Chicken Stock: or beef stock. As a last resort, you can use cold water.
- 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.
Chicken Marinade
- 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.
- Shaoxing wine: a Chinese rice cooking wine. Or substitute with Dry Sherry. For a non-alcoholic or gluten-free version, substitute with any broth.
- Cornstarch: or substitute with potato starch to lock in the moisture in the chicken.
- Baking soda: the key ingredient to velvet the meat making it super tender as it raises the acidity preventing protein bonds. Do not skip this! Don't worry you won't taste it as we're using a small amount.
- Sesame oil: for that nutty flavor! If you're allergic, omit it.
Cornstarch Slurry
- Oyster sauce: or substitute with vegetarian stir fry sauce if you don't like oysters. If you're gluten-free: substitute with a gluten-free version.
- Cornstarch: or potato starch to thicken the slurry.
- Cold water
Note: Most Asian grocery stores will carry most of the Asian specific ingredients.
Instructions
Below are step-by-step instructions on how to make chicken shrimp chow mein:
- In a large bowl, marinate sliced chicken with the marinade ingredients. Set aside to marinate as you prepare other ingredients.
- In a small bowl, combine cornstarch slurry ingredients and set aside. Note: You'll need to re-mix this again before simmering it later.
- Bring a large pan filled with enough water to boil on medium-high heat. Blanch chow mein noodles just until loosened for 30 seconds. Strain immediately. Do not rinse off with cold water.
- Heat ¼ cup vegetable oil in a dry large pan on medium heat. Carefully lower chow mein noodles into the pan and spread them apart into a thin pancake. Fry until golden crispy brown. Flip over and add the remaining ¼ cup vegetable oil around the edges of the noodle pancake. Once crispy brown on both sides, slide fried noodle pancake to a large serving plate.
- On medium-high heat, add 1 teaspoon vegetable oil into the pan and fry marinated chicken until 75% cooked.
- Fry shrimp until mostly pink.
- Toss in vegetables with chicken stock. Cook until cabbage is softened. There should be some liquid in the pan, which is normal.
- Mix cornstarch slurry again and pour into pan. Simmer the sauce until thickened and pour everything in the pan over the crispy noodle pancake. Serve and enjoy!
Expert Tips
- Use Cantonese style chow mein egg noodles for the best texture and taste. I would avoid using thicker noodles for this recipe as they won't get crispy.
- Cut your veggies and chicken lengthwise into thin pieces so they integrate better with the noodles.
- Prepare ingredients in advance as the cooking process is fast!
- Only blanch your egg noodles just until loosened. Do not boil them or it’ll result in soggy noodles.
- Use a non-stick pan when frying the noodles for easy cleanup!
- Shallow fry chow mein noodles on medium heat until golden crispy brown. Do not raise the heat any higher or they will get burned.
- To flip the noodles, slide the fried noodles onto a plate and then flip the noodles back into the hot pan.
- Make sure to re-mix the cornstarch slurry again as the cornstarch will fall to the bottom of the bowl.
- Bring the sauce to a boil to allow it to thicken and reduce. It should be thick and smooth.
Storage
- Leftovers will last up to 4 days stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator. To reheat: microwave for 2-3 minutes until hot or reheat in a pan on medium heat. Note: the crispy noodles will become soggy overtime so it's best to enjoy these noodles fresh.
- Freezer friendly? I don't recommend freezing these noodles as they will become soggy.
Pairing Suggestions
Chicken shrimp chow mein serves well with:
- starters like egg rolls, crab rangoons, egg drop soup, hot and sour soup
- white or brown rice, cauliflower rice, fried rice, chow mein, lo mein, plain noodles, soup noodles
- cooked vegetables like bok choy, spicy garlic bok choy, choy sum, gai lan, garlic green beans or stir fried snow pea leaves.
- protein dishes like Honey Sesame Chicken, Ginger Chicken, Honey Walnut Shrimp, Bang Bang Shrimp, Soy Garlic Tofu, Chinese Braised Tofu and more!
- other protein dishes like Soy Sauce Chicken, Oven-Roasted Char Siu or Air Fryer Char Siu, or Chinese Roasted Pork Belly.
FAQ
Chow mein is best enjoyed immediately but if you'd like to make it in advance, I recommend making the stir fry sauce a few days in advance and you can fry the noodles on the same of serving so they remain crispy.
You can also make the dish up to 4 days in advance and store it in an airtight container in the fridge to reheat for later. I do recommend storing the sauce and noodles separately if possible.
Cantonese-style chow mein noodles are thin noodles with a yellow color and are made of eggs, wheat flour, and water. They are found at most Asian markets in the refrigerated noodle section and look like the below in their packaging. 
Chow mein is when the noodles are served crispy after being deep fried or shallow fried and served with a delicious sauce on the side or on top. Lo mein is when the veggies and proteins are tossed into the mein as it’s being cooked.
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📖 Recipe
Quick & Easy Chicken Shrimp Chow Mein
Ingredients
- 1 lb chow mein noodles fresh kind
- ½ lb skinless boneless chicken thighs thinly sliced
- 1 cup jumbo shrimp peeled and deveined
- 1 cup seafood mushrooms with ends cut off, or sub with thinly sliced button mushrooms
- 2 cups cabbage thinly sliced
- ½ cup carrot julienned
- 1 cup chicken stock low-sodium, or beef stock
- ½ cup vegetable oil for frying noodles
- 1 tsp vegetable oil or any neutral oil for stir frying
Chicken marinade
- 1 teaspoon regular soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon Shaoxing Cooking Wine or dry sherry or chicken/beef broth for non-alcoholic version
- ½ teaspoon cornstarch or potato starch
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- ¼ tsp baking soda do not skip!
Cornstarch slurry
- 3 tablespoon oyster sauce or vegetable stir fry sauce
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch or potato starch
- 1 cup water cold
Instructions
- In a large bowl, marinate sliced chicken with the marinade ingredients. Set aside to marinate as you prepare other ingredients.
- In a small bowl, combine cornstarch slurry ingredients and set aside. Note: You'll need to re-mix this again before simmering it later.
- Bring a large pan filled with enough water to boil on medium-high heat. Blanch chow mein noodles just until loosened for 30 seconds. Strain immediately. Do not rinse off with cold water.
- Heat ¼ cup vegetable oil in a dry large pan on medium heat. Carefully lower chow mein noodles into the pan and spread them apart into a thin pancake. Fry until golden crispy brown. Flip over and add the remaining ¼ cup vegetable oil around the edges of the noodle pancake. Once crispy brown on both sides, slide fried noodle pancake to a large serving plate.
- On medium-high heat, add 1 teaspoon vegetable oil into the pan and fry marinated chicken until 75% cooked.
- Fry shrimp until mostly pink.
- Toss in vegetables with chicken stock. Cook until cabbage is softened. There should be some liquid in the pan, which is normal.
- Mix cornstarch slurry again and pour into pan. Simmer the sauce until thickened and pour everything in the pan over the crispy noodle pancake. Serve and enjoy!
Heidi | The Frugal Girls
What a totally fun Chow Mein upgrade you've created! Adding crispy noodles and shrimp to your Chow Mein introduces some really fun textures.