Special Chow Mein

5 from 1 vote

Rustle up a pan of Special Chow Mein in just 30 minutes with this simple yet scrumptious recipe. With meat, prawns/shrimp and veggies tossed with soft chewy noodles and generously coated in an unforgettable umami sauce, these noodles are sure to knock your socks off.

Serves 4. Use the scaling buttons below to change the quantity.

Prep Time15

Cook Time15

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Chinese

Servings:

Calories: 443kcal

Author: Helen

Equipment

1 wok

Ingredients

Sauce ingredients:

2 tbsp dark soy sauce (Note 1)
2 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tbsp sesame oil (toasted)
2 tbsp rice or apple cider vinegar (Note 2)
1 tbsp sugar
½ tsp white pepper

Remaining ingredients:

2 tbsp neutral oil ground nut or vegetable oil (Note 3)
350 g chicken thighs or pork cut into bite-sized pieces (Note 4)
200 g prawns/shrimp peeled, butterflied and deveined if raw (Note 5)
2 medium carrots cut into matchsticks
250 g cabbage finely shredded
4 spring onions/scallions chopped into 2cm or 1 inch pieces + extra to serve
4 cloves garlic crushed
300 g bean sprouts
600 g fresh egg noodles or x 4 portions of dry egg noodles

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Mix the sauce ingredients in a small jug or bowl and set aside.
Place the chicken or pork in a bowl and mix with 1 tablespoon of the sauce. Set aside while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.
Place a wok or large frying pan on a medium to high heat and add the oil. Add the chicken when the oil is hot and cook for a few minutes until it is brown on the outside.
Add the prawns/shrimp and cook for another 1-2 minutes until opaque. Then remove from the pan and set aside.
Add the carrot and cook for 2-3 minutes then add the cabbage and the whites of the spring onions/scallions and cook for a few minutes until tender.
Add the garlic, bean sprouts and the green parts of the spring onions/scallions and cook for a minute or two until fragrant.
Add the noodles and toss for a minute or so until hot.
Pour on the sauce, toss the noodles, chicken and veggies for 30 seconds until incorporated, remove the pan from the heat and serve immediately topped with more spring onions/scallions as desired.

Notes

Soy sauce: you can use regular/light soy sauce instead. They're not as sweet so you'll probably want to add a little more sugar to the sauce to taste.
Rice vinegar: swap for the same amount of apple cider vinegar. You can also use white wine vinegar. It's not as sweet, so if you do you'll want to add a little more sugar to taste
Oil: use a neutral oil with a high burn point like vegetable, sunflower or groundnut. Avoid olive oil, it has a lower burn point and is not suitable for stir-frying.
Chicken and pork: Chicken thighs are more succulent, but you can also use breast. For pork, cuts like fillet and loin will work well.
Prawns/shrimp: I tend to use raw prawns/shrimp because they're juicier than the pre-cooked varieties. Feel free to use cooked prawns/shrimp instead.

Nutrition