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Home » Lunch & Dinner » Chicken Chow Mein

3 January 2015

Chicken Chow Mein

31.1K shares

In need of a quick, healthy evening meal? This chicken chow mein recipe is ready in under 25 minutes and is below 500 calories per serving. It also has just under two of your five-a-day fruit and vegetables, so it’s packed full of goodness.

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Looking down of a bowl of chicken chow mien. Next to the bowl is more chow mein in a wok and some of the ingredients on a chopping board - spring onions, red pepper and garlic.

My healthy alternative to Chinese takeaway

Whenever I start thinking about cooking something new, I think about all of my family’s favourite foods and work out which ones I haven’t cooked before. Then I start experimenting.

When we order Chinese takeaway my family will always, always order a chicken chow mein, so this seemed like an obvious choice to create a recipe for.

I wanted to create something that would be similar in taste to a takeaway chicken chow mein (well actually more yummy as it turns out) but to know what was going in it, keeping it low in calories and packed full of vegetables. This chow mein recipe has red pepper, carrots and spring onions which not only really add to the flavour, but also add colour too. This makes it look, as well as taste, delicious.

A bowl of homemade chicken chow mein with a wok and chopping board of ingredients in the background.

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Looking down of a bowl of chicken chow mien. Next to the bowl is more chow mein in a wok and some of the ingredients on a chopping board - spring onions, red pepper and garlic.

Chicken Chow Mein Recipe

In need of a quick, healthy evening meal? This chicken chow mein recipe is ready in under 25 minutes and is below 500 calories per serving. It also has just under two of your five-a-day fruit and vegetables, so it’s packed full of goodness.
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Active Time: 24 minutes minutes
Total Time: 24 minutes minutes
Servings: 2 people
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INGREDIENTS

  • 100 g dried medium egg noodles
  • 1 large chicken breast - approx. 200g
  • 1 inch cube fresh ginger
  • 2 cloves of garlic
  • 4 spring onions
  • 1 medium carrot - approx. 60g
  • 1 red pepper
  • 1 tsp toasted sesame oil
  • 2 tsp sunflower oil
  • 2 tsp dark soy sauce
  • 2 tsp light soy sauce
  • 2 tsp dry sherry or shaoxing rice wine
  • salt and pepper

For the marinade

  • ½ tsp toasted sesame oil
  • 1 tsp light soy sauce
  • 1 tsp dry sherry or shaoxing rice wine
  • salt and pepper

INSTRUCTIONS

Marinate the chicken - this can be done immediately before cooking or several hours in advance

    • Prepare the marinade by mixing 1tsp sherry/rice wine, 1 tsp light soy sauce, ½ tsp toasted sesame oil, ¼ tsp pepper and salt
    • Chop the chicken breast into thin strips and mix thoroughly with the marinade - ensure that the chicken is cut to a uniform thickness, otherwise thinner pieces will dry out during cooking.
    • Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

    Cook the noodles

      • Bring a pan of water to the boil
      • Add the noodles and cook according to the packet instructions (approx 5 minutes) - leave the noodles al dente as they will be cooked further later
      • Once cooked, drain immediately and cool quickly with cold water to prevent them cooking further

      While the noodles are cooking, chop the vegetables

        • Chop the red pepper into thin strips
        • Peel the carrot and chop into matchsticks
        • Finely chop the garlic and ginger
        • Thinly slice the spring onion - set aside the green ends to use as a garnish

        Cook the stir fry

          • Heat 1 tsp sunflower oil in a wok
          • Once hot, add the marinated chicken and cook for 1-2 minutes until browned on the outside but not cooked through
          • Remove the chicken from the pan and set aside
          • Add the remaining sunflower oil (1 tsp) and once heated add the garlic and ginger and cook for 30 seconds
          • Add the cooked noodles, carrots, peppers, spring onions, light soy sauce (2 tsp), dark soy sauce (2 tsp), sherry/rice wine (2 tsp) and cook for 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
          • Return the chicken to the wok and cook for a further 3-4 minutes until the chicken is cooked - don't over cook the chicken as it will go dry
          • Mix through 1 tsp toasted sesame oil.
          • Serve immediately sprinkled with the green ends of the spring onion

          NOTES

          If you want your dinner ready even faster, you can save time by marinating the chicken earlier in the day, or the night before, and by using ready cooked noodles.
          Have you tried this recipe? Please leave a comment and rating at the bottom of the page to let others know what you thought.
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          NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION

          Calories: 468kcal | Carbohydrates: 42g | Protein: 29g | Fat: 18g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Cholesterol: 64mg | Sodium: 2001mg | Potassium: 747mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 7145IU | Vitamin C: 84.4mg | Calcium: 47mg | Iron: 3.3mg

          Any nutritional information provided is the estimated nutritional information per serving. Please refer to my guide to Charlotte’s Lively Kitchen nutritional information if you would like to learn more about how this is calculated.


          Course: Main Course
          Cuisine: Chinese

          More heathy dinner inspiration…

          If you’re looking for more healthy dinners then take a look at my DELICIOUS DINNERS WITH UNDER 500 CALORIES, including my SALMON CHOW MEIN.

          meals under 500 calories title  Soy and Sesame Salmon with Noodles

          Free From/Suitable For…

          The ingredients I used to make this recipe are all free from the following allergens. However, please check any labels carefully for allergens you need to avoid as brands can vary and product recipes can change over time.

          • Dairy-Free
          • Tree Nut-Free
          • Peanut-Free
          • Sulphur Dioxide & Sulphite-Free
          • Fish-Free
          • Crustacean-Free
          • Mollusc-Free
          • Celery-Free
          • Mustard-Free
          • Lupin-Free

          In need of a quick, healthy evening meal? This chicken chow mein recipe is ready in under 25 minutes and is below 400 calories per serving. It also has just under two of your five-a-day fruit and vegetables, so it’s packed full of goodness.

          31.1K shares

          Reader Interactions

          Comments

          1. Cindy says

            March 02, 2016 at 9:25 am

            You need to velvet your chicken!!

            Reply
          2. Tyvek Coib says

            October 25, 2015 at 11:16 am

            Could you please tell me which brand of noodles you use, and if they are available online? I can never find the right noodles for chow mein! It s really frustrating. Thanks!

            Reply
            • Charlotte Oates says

              October 25, 2015 at 9:53 pm

              I use Sharwood’s medium egg noodles. I always get them from Tesco (and I think they’re available in all big supermarkets) so I’m not sure if they’re available from any online retailers (I did find them on Amazon but they were out of stock).

          3. Ellie says

            April 13, 2015 at 3:52 pm

            I can’t wait to try! Looks amazing!

            Reply
            • Charlotte Oates says

              April 14, 2015 at 9:53 pm

              Thanks Ellie. I hope you enjoy it x

          4. Christine says

            January 21, 2015 at 3:32 am

            This looks like the U.S. Version of Lo-mein, in the states, chow mein is with a clear sauce served with crunchy small fried noodles. Still looks yummy, love different countries take on things, can’t wait to try it.

            Reply
            • Charlotte Oates says

              January 21, 2015 at 8:46 pm

              Thanks Christine. I knew there were some differences in how we describe foods between the UK and the US but I had no idea there were so many, I seem to be learning a new one every day! As I learn more I’ll hopefully be able to make things clearer for everyone. If you spot any more then let me know.

              I hope you enjoy the chow (lo) mien.

          5. Ashley says

            January 11, 2015 at 3:53 am

            Isn’t this lo-mein? Lo mein has noodles where chow mein is a veggie and meat with a white sauce topped with crunchy noodles sometimes. Or are there different varieties?

            Reply
            • Charlotte Oates says

              January 11, 2015 at 8:19 pm

              Erm, I’m not really sure, and it turns out the rest of the world isn’t entirely clear either. I googled “what’s the difference between chow and lo mien” and the first few results all seemed to suggest something a little different. The good news (for me) is that my dish definitely seemed to meet some of the descriptions of a chow mein and it resembles what I’m used to having from take-aways (although much nicer obviously 🙂 ).

              I have to say I’ve never had chow mein with a white sauce, perhaps it’s made differently where you are. I expect it’s one of those food that’s been adapted over time to suit local tastes and probably varies quite a lot from place to place.

          6. turtle66 says

            January 08, 2015 at 8:10 am

            Mmm Chow Mein!

            Reply
            • Charlotte Oates says

              January 08, 2015 at 10:00 am

              Couldn’t have put it better myself 🙂

          7. Thalia @ butter and brioche says

            January 05, 2015 at 5:25 am

            Can’t remember the last time I had a chow mein… I definitely need to make this (or order chow mein for take out) tonight!

            Reply
            • Charlotte Oates says

              January 05, 2015 at 4:07 pm

              I vote for making this 🙂 much nicer (and better for you) than take-away

          8. April @ Girl Gone Gourmet says

            January 04, 2015 at 8:07 pm

            Chicken chow mein is one of my favorites, too, but I’ve never tried making it – your recipe looks simple and tasty!

            Reply
            • Charlotte Oates says

              January 04, 2015 at 10:10 pm

              It is really simple and pretty quick to make, you should definitely try it sometime.

          9. Mel says

            November 12, 2014 at 11:02 pm

            Love you for your accuracy! x

            Reply
          10. Mel says

            November 12, 2014 at 10:31 pm

            This really is the kind of food we love. Hubby is always the one making Chow Mein so I’ll show him your recipe! You made me smile with your really precise timings (24 minutes!) x

            Reply
            • Charlotte Oates says

              November 12, 2014 at 11:01 pm

              That was one of my first recipes. I had my phone timing me to make sure it was accurate. I’m a bit more relaxed about it now, nearest five minutes is close enough.

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