Chicken Chow Mein (鸡肉炒面)

Name: Chicken Chow Mein (鸡肉炒面)
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 25 min
Ingredients: 6 oz boneless chicken breast or thighs (, thinly sliced); 1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine ((or dry sherry)); 2 teaspoons cornstarch; 1/4 teaspoon salt; 1/4 cup chicken broth; 2 tablespoons Shaoxing wine ((or dry sherry)); 2 tablespoons oyster sauce; 1 tablespoon soy sauce ((*Footnote 1)); 2 teaspoons sugar; 1/4 teaspoon white pepper ((or ground black pepper)); 1 teaspoon sesame oil; 2 tablespoons peanut oil ((or vegetable oil)); 4 cups shredded cabbage ((*Footnote 2)); 2 cloves garlic (, finely chopped); 1 tablespoon ginger (, minced); 10 oz fresh chow mein noodles; 2 small carrots (, julienned (yields 1 cup) (*Footnote 2)); 1 anaheim pepper or other hot pepper of your choice (, sliced (Optional)); 4 green onions (, cut into 2” (5 cm) pieces, white part halved lengthwise)

By Maggie Zhu

• Published Jun 11, 2026

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This chicken chow mein is my 25 minute weeknight version with springy chow mein noodles, marinated chicken, shredded cabbage and carrot, and a glossy brown sauce built on oyster sauce, Shaoxing wine, and soy sauce. It is a Chinese takeout favorite I cook at home on the nights I want one pan, dinner on the table, and zero leftovers wasted.

Chow mein at a Chinese restaurant means stir fried wheat noodles tossed with a protein, vegetables, and a savory brown sauce. The version I serve at home leans on the same flavor base as my beef chow fun and my seafood chow mein, but uses chicken breast or thigh and the cabbage and carrot combo I see most of the time in everyday Chinese restaurants.

I cook chicken chow mein the night before grocery day, when the crisper is down to half a head of cabbage, the end of a carrot, and one pepper. A piece of chicken from the freezer covers the protein, and the brown sauce ties everything together regardless of what vegetable made it into the pan.

To put it together, I marinate the chicken in Shaoxing wine and cornstarch while I mix the sauce and slice the vegetables, blanch the noodles a minute short, sear the chicken, then bring everything back to the pan with the sauce. The whole thing takes 25 minutes and uses a single nonstick skillet, so it is ready on the table faster than the takeout driver would. I highly recommend it!

Chinese fried noodles with chicken and vegetables

Ingredients

The ingredient list reads long, but everything sits in 3 simple buckets, the chicken, the sauce, and the stir fry. I prep all 3 before I turn on the heat, since chow mein moves fast once the pan is hot and there is no time to chop mid stir fry.

The chicken: I slice boneless chicken breast or thigh thinly across the grain and toss it with Shaoxing wine, cornstarch, and salt. The cornstarch is the most important piece of the marinade, since it coats the chicken in a thin film that locks in moisture and keeps the meat tender even when it touches a hot pan. Thigh stays juicier if I am cooking ahead and reheating, breast cooks faster on a weeknight, both work.

The sauce: I whisk chicken broth, more Shaoxing wine, oyster sauce, soy sauce, sugar, white pepper, and sesame oil into a small bowl. The oyster sauce is what gives chow mein its glossy brown body, and I do not skip it. If I want the deeper restaurant color, I add a small splash of dark soy sauce, which is purely for color and does not change the flavor. For the full pantry picture, my essential Chinese ingredients guide walks through everything in the sauce.

The stir fry: Peanut or vegetable oil, shredded cabbage, julienned carrot, minced ginger and garlic, an optional anaheim or other mild hot pepper, and green onion cut into 2 inch pieces with the white parts halved lengthwise.

The noodles: Fresh chow mein noodles from the refrigerated or freezer aisle of an Asian market are my first choice, since they cook in under a minute and stay springy in the pan. Dried chow mein noodles work too, and Japanese yakisoba noodles or spaghetti are honest substitutes if neither chow mein style is available. You can also find them on online on Amazon.

How to Make

1. Marinate the chicken: Combine the sliced chicken with Shaoxing wine, cornstarch, and salt in a medium bowl. Mix with my hands until every piece is evenly coated, then set aside while I prep the rest.

2. Mix the sauce: Whisk chicken broth, Shaoxing wine, oyster sauce, soy sauce, sugar, white pepper, and sesame oil in a small bowl until the sugar dissolves. Set the bowl next to the stove.

3. Cook the noodles: Bring a pot of water to a boil and cook the chow mein noodles according to the package, pulling them out 1 minute earlier than the package recommends. For fresh chow mein noodles, dip them in boiling water for about 1 minute. Rinse under cool tap water, drain thoroughly, and set aside.

4. Sear the chicken: Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium high heat until hot. Spread the chicken across the pan in a single layer with minimal overlap. Cook 30 to 45 seconds until the bottom turns lightly golden. Flip the chicken and cook another 30 to 45 seconds until just turning white. Transfer to a plate so the residual heat does not overcook it while the vegetables go in.

5. Bloom the aromatics: Pour the remaining oil into the same pan, add the ginger and garlic, and stir for a few seconds until fragrant.

6. Cook the vegetables: Add the carrot and shredded cabbage. Cook and toss for about 1 minute until the vegetables just start to soften but still hold their crunch.

7. Sauce and toss: Add the drained noodles to the pan, toss with tongs a few times to mix, then return the cooked chicken to the pan. Pour the sauce over the ingredients. Toss with tongs until the sauce coats the noodles, chicken, and vegetables and the noodles take on the color.

8. Finish with pepper and green onion: Add the sliced pepper and the green onion. Toss until the sauce is mostly absorbed and the green onion just wilts, then transfer to plates and serve hot.

My Cooking Tips

Slice the chicken thin and against the grain: Thin slices cook through in 60 to 90 seconds total and stay tender. Cutting against the grain shortens the muscle fibers so the chicken does not turn chewy under the sauce.

Add dark soy for color, not flavor: A teaspoon of dark soy sauce is what turns the noodles that deep glossy brown I see in restaurant chow mein. Leave it out and the dish still tastes good, but the color reads paler than the takeout version.

Use the cabbage and carrot shortcut on busy nights: A 5 cup bag of pre cut coleslaw blend stands in for the shredded cabbage and julienned carrot with no flavor loss. On the nights my husband and I are both home late, this single swap saves me 10 minutes of knife work and gets dinner on the table in 25 minutes flat.

Heat the pan before the chicken goes in: A pan that is not hot enough steams the chicken instead of searing it, which leaves the meat pale and watery. I wait for the oil to shimmer before the first piece of chicken touches the surface.

Toss with tongs, not chopsticks or a spatula: Tongs grip the noodles and lift them through the sauce without breaking them, which is how the sauce coats every strand evenly. A spatula tends to push the noodles into a pile at one side of the pan instead of mixing them.

Serving Suggestions

At my house chicken chow mein is a one bowl dinner most of the time, and I serve it in shallow soup bowls with a small dish of homemade chili oil, because my husband likes his noodles with some heat.

For a bigger weekend dinner with friends I scale the noodles into smaller portions and round out the table with authentic hot and sour soup as a starter, easy Chinese cucumber salad for crunch, and a plate of steamed ribs in black bean sauce for extra protein.

Frequently Ask Questions

Why are my noodles clumping in the pan?

The most common cause is overcooking the noodles in the first boil, which leaves them soft and sticky before the sauce ever touches them. I pull them 1 minute earlier than the package says, rinse them under cool tap water to wash off surface starch, and drain them thoroughly so they enter the hot pan dry and springy.

Another cause is the noodles have sitting on the side for too long, and have clumped together before the stir fry. In this case, I would quickly rinse the noodles with cold tap water and fluff them, drain well again, before adding to the pan.

What vegetables can I swap in or out?

Bean sprouts, napa cabbage, baby bok choy, Chinese broccoli, and snow peas all stir fry into chow mein without changing the character of the dish. If using Chinese broccoli, slice the stem thinly (about 1/4″ thick) so it cooks fast in the stir fry.

How long do leftovers keep in the fridge?

Chow mein keeps in an airtight container in the fridge for 3 days, and I reheat it in a hot nonstick skillet with some oil and a splash of water to loosen the sauce if I want a better texture, or simply reheat in microwave for conveniency. It also freezes well in an airtight container or a ziplock bag with the air pressed out, and I thaw it in the fridge overnight before reheating in the skillet.

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4.94 from 15 votes

Comments

Andy

06/13/26

Lovely recipe, but for one thing; when I select Metric for the measurements, it still shows cups. Cups are not a metric measurement, and changing the amount from 1/4 to .25 doesn’t help!
Still delicious, ‘though, once I’d translated the cups.
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