Craving some delicious shrimp chow mein but don’t want to order takeout? This recipe is perfect for a quick, homemade alternative that tastes just as good (if not better) than the restaurant version! It’s loaded with juicy shrimp, crisp veggies, and chewy noodles tossed in a savory sauce that’s easy to whip up in under 30 minutes.
Fried noodles are great one-pan meals that are perfect for a weekday dinner. I’ve shared many noodle recipes in the past, such as beef chow mein, chicken chow mein, vegetable lo mein, and Singapore noodles. The beauty of these dishes is, they turn a small amount of protein and your vegetable scraps into a comforting balanced meal that is super satisfying.
Why you’ll love this shrimp chow mein recipe
Shrimp chow mein is a fantastic choice when you’re looking for a meal that’s flavorful, satisfying and healthy. Here’s what makes this recipe a keeper:
- Quick and Easy: Done in less than 30 minutes!
- Customizable: Swap out carrot and bean sprouts with whatever veggies you have on hand.
- Money saver: Not only does it cost less to cook it at home, you can also load the dish with more shrimp than the restaurant does.
- Healthy and Satisfying: With a balance of protein, carbs, and vegetables, it’s a meal that’s sure to fill you up without weighing you down.
Shrimp chow mein ingredients
What type of noodles to use?
To get the best tasting shrimp chow mein, fresh chow mein and Hong Kong pan fried noodles are the best. The noodles are thin and have a yellow color.
If you live close to an Asian market, you can find these fresh noodles in either the refrigerated or freezer section. You can also find them at the online Asian grocery store Weee!. My favorite noodles are Hong Kong style pan fried noodles and Twin Marquis Yakisoba Noodles. The Hong Kong pan fried noodles are semi-fresh. You can soak them in boiling water for 1 minute and use them right away. The texture of the Twin Marquis yakisoba noodles is closer to Chinese chow mein than Japanese yakisoba. It’s fresh and you can use it directly without boiling it.
If the fresh type is not available, you can use dried chow mein noodles as well. Many regular grocery stores carry them these days (usually in the “ethnic” aisle). And you can even find them on Amazon.
Oyster sauce
Oyster Sauce, (蚝油, hao you) is one of the most frequently used ingredients in Cantonese dishes. And it is in many of your favorite takeout dishes. It is the magic ingredient to add umami to stir fry sauces such as brown sauce, and it will make your shrimp chow mein extra fragrant.
You can shop for oyster sauce at your local Asian market and online, though some regular supermarkets stock good oyster sauce these days, too.
As far as brands go, Lee Kum Kee invented oyster sauce and they’re still my default choice. Their premium oyster sauce has a rich flavor and is made without preservatives.
Another great oyster sauce is made by Megachef in Thailand. Their sauce is made from fresh oysters which are smoked before being made into sauce. The flavor of Megachef is the best of any oyster sauce I’ve tried, and they achieve this without using MSG.
Other vegetable alternatives
The vegetables in shrimp chow mein can be flexible, depending on what you’ve got in your fridge.
I used carrot, bean sprouts, and baby bok choy in this recipe. This combo offers a variety of colors and textures·.
Other vegetables such as yu choy, Chinese broccoli, cabbage, bell pepper, snow peas, onion, and napa cabbage work well too. Note, you need to consider how much time is needed to cook each vegetable and add them in order. Your goal will be to cook everything until just cooked through at the end.
Mise en place
When you’re ready to cook shrimp chow mein, all of your ingredients should be prepped and placed near your stove. You should have:
- Vegetables, washed, drained and sliced (bok choy, carrot, bean sprouts)
- Marinated shrimp
- Mixed sauce
- Chopped aromatics (ginger, green onion)
- Noodles
Do I need a wok for shrimp chow mein?
The short answer is no. You can use a large skillet (12” minimum) to create a very good tasting shrimp chow mein. You can read more on this topic in my post wok vs skillet. If you decide to use a wok, you should make sure that you have a powerful gas range so the wok heats up properly. A good nonstick skillet or a carbon steel pan is great for making chow mein. If using a carbon steel pan, you will need some cooking experience to make sure the ingredients cook properly without sticking.
How to make shrimp chow mein
Making shrimp chow mein is easy once you’ve done all the preparation.
First, you need to prepare the noodles according to the type you’re using.
For dried noodles, you need to boil them according to the package instructions until al dente. I used Hong Kong pan fried noodles in my recipe, so I only briefly soaked the noodles in boiling water prior to using. If using fresh noodles, you only need to thaw them and fluff them with your hands before using.
For the stir fry, first, pan fry the shrimp and move them to a plate. This is important so the shrimp stay juicy and tender without overcooking.
Then saute the aromatics to infuse the oil, and cook the harder vegetables until al dente. The veggies will cook more when you add the sauce, so you don’t want them to be too soft at this stage.
Toss the noodles with sauce, then toss with bean sprouts and green onion at the end.
Once everything is almost done, add back the shrimp and mix everything together.
When finished, the vegetables should be crunchy and crisp, noodles chewy and flavorful, and the shrimp juicy and tender.
How to serve shrimp chow mein
You can serve shrimp chow mein as a standalone main dish for your meal. You can also serve it as one of the side dishes for a multi-course dinner. In this case, the dinner would usually consist of a soup, one or two main dishes featuring other proteins, and one or two vegetable dishes, side dishes and/or appetizers. For a full-on Chinese dinner, serve shrimp chow mein with:
- Egg Drop Soup
- Chicken Egg Foo Young
- Sweet and Sour Pork
- Bok Choy and Mushroom Stir Fry
- Chicken and Broccoli (Chinese Takeout Style)
- Chinese Scallion Pancakes (葱油饼)
Shrimp Chow Mein (鲜虾炒面)
Ingredients
Marinating
- 8 oz (16 to 20 medium size) shrimp , peeled and deveined
- 2 teaspoons Shaoxing wine (or dry sherry)
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
Sauce
- 1/4 cup chicken stock
- 2 tablespoons Shaoxing wine (or dry sherry)
- 2 tablespoons oyster sauce
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons sesame oil
- 1/4 teaspoon white pepper (or black pepper)
Stir fry
- 2 tablespoons peanut oil (or vegetable oil)
- 1 tablespoon minced ginger
- 8 oz (225 g) fresh Hong Kong Pan Fried Noodles (or 6 oz / 170 g dried chow mein noodles)
- 1 medium carrot , julienned (4 oz / 100 g)
- 3 heads baby bok choy , sliced into large bite-size pieces (7 oz / 200 g)
- 2 cups (4 oz / 100 g) bean sprouts
- 2 green onions , sliced into 2” (5 cm) pieces
Instructions
- Prepare the noodles: Boil the noodles according to package instructions until al dente. Rinse with tap water to stop cooking, drain thoroughly and set aside.
- Mix the sauce: Whisk all the ingredients for the sauce in a bowl.
- Cook the stir fry: Heat 1/2 tablespoon of oil in a large skillet or wok over medium-high heat until hot. Add the shrimp. Cook undisturbed until the bottom turns golden brown, 1 to 2 minutes. Turn to cook the other side, until the shrimp curl up and the color changes throughout. Transfer all the shrimp to a plate and set aside.
- Add 1 tablespoon of oil and the ginger. Stir a few times to release the fragrance. Add the carrot and bok choy. Cook and stir for 1 minute or so, until the veggies just start to wilt but are still crisp.
- Add the noodles and drizzle the remaining 1/2 tablespoon oil over the noodles. Toss a few times with a pair of tongs. Pour the sauce over them. Toss to mix everything together.
- Add the bean sprouts and the green onion. Toss for another 1 to 2 minutes. Add back the cooked shrimp. Toss well until the sauce is absorbed. Transfer everything to serving plates and serve hot as a main dish.
Looks great Maggie, what other types of mushrooms would you recommend?
I usually use shiitake mushroom, but enoki, white mushroom or oyster mushroom will work just fine!
I love shrimp and mushrooms, what a great combination! Your fried noodles look better than anything I’ve gotten from a Chinese restaurant. 🙂
Hi Meggan, thanks for visiting and I’m so glad you like the recipe! Shrimp and mushrooms are my favorite ingredients, they do taste really good! 🙂
This is going to be a wonderful weeknight dish for my family! Shrimp is always in my freezer, so I enjoy keeping all kinds of shrimp recipes handy for days with kids’ activities. Thank you for sharing this quick and delicious recipe with us!
The idea of saving frozen shrimp sounds great! I should do that do. Shrimps make a lot of dishes much more delicious. Hope you enjoy the recipe and happy cooking. 🙂
I keep frozen shrimp in my freezer also! It is my favorite protein for easy weeknight meals. This dish looks magnificent, though. I have never had chow mein that looks as good as yours. Would you ever do this recipe with wood-ear mushrooms, or with chicken thigh instead of breast? I don’t know if you can get this in Beijing, but here we have been getting boneless skinless chicken thigh instead of breast, because the flavor is so much richer.
Thank you for sharing this delicious recipe.
I haven’t tried to cook this dish with wood-ear, but I think it’s possible. Since the wood-ear won’t absorb too much flavor, just make sure you cut them into slices and do not use too much.
I lOVE using chicken thigh, much better than chicken breast. I’m totally agree with you that the thigh part has better flavor, and it also have tender and juicier texture. I used to cook with it a lot while I was living in Japan. Unfortunately, it’s difficult to find boneless chicken thigh in most of supermarket in Beijing. I miss it a lot.
Now I know what I can send you if it is not truffle season the next time you visit the USA! 🙂
Maggie, this looks incredible. Your photos are also really great. A few simple substitutions and I will be able to make this gluten free for my family. They are big noodle dish lovers 🙂
Thanks for creating this and the advice about other mushrooms that can be used.
Hi Sandi, thanks for stopping by! I’m not familiar with creating gluten free recipe, but glad you could manage to make it. Let me know how it goes 🙂
I have cooked this a few times now, each with different variations, and it’s always been superb. Shiitake and seafood are awesome together! No matter whether shrimp, squid, or scallops, the flavors of the sea go deliciously with the earthy mushrooms.
I admit, I ate the leftovers cold, and it was even tastier after the flavors had time to blend more.
I’m so glad you like this one! The squid and scallop ones sound so delicious, I must try them myself!
About the leftover, I actually didn’t know, since I finish my big bowl of noodles every time. It’s good news that the leftover is still tasty. 🙂
I always want to try and eat every single one of your recipes Maggie! Can’t wait to try this dish. Thanks for sharing!
I really love this simple recipe, Maggie. I think I already have all the ingredients in my cupboard – bonus!
Hi Maggie!!! I love shrimp and also mushrooms, what a terrific mix! Your fried noodles look better than anything I’ve obtained from a Chinese dining establishment. Shrimp and also mushrooms are my preferred components, they do taste really good! Yum Yum!! And also Shrimp is always in my fridge freezer, so I enjoy maintaining all type of shrimp recipes helpful … Hope this is going to be a remarkable weeknight recipe for my family members! Thank you for sharing this fast and delicious dish with us!
You’re the most welcome Emma! Happy cooking and hope your dish turns out great 🙂
Very good I’m learning from it to be a cook
Fantastic recipe! Made it exactly as written. My whole family loved this dish.Tasted better than a take out!
Thanks you Natalia! It really means a lot to me when you said the dish better than a take out 🙂 Hope you have a delicious week ahead!
Had everything except bean sprouts so substituted broccoli florets Excellent one pot meal. The sauce was excellent on the shrimp: not too anything … just right..
Hi Rob, I’m glad to hear you like this dish! Yes, please feel free to replace any of the veggies. When I make fried noodles I basically use whatever left in the fridge 😉
Hope you have a great week ahead and happy cooking!
This is perfect. I was craving Chow Mein and got some as take out. All that did was make me want GOOD chow mein all the more. I found your recipe and make a quick trip to the local market to pick up the ingredients. Oh so good. I just have one question, the bottle of Shaoxing Wine is written in Chinese, do I store the opened bottle in the refrigerator?
Should have checked first, you have already had the answer posted.
https://omnivorescookbook.com/pantry/shaoxing-wine
There’s not much else to say then, it tastes absolutely amazing! Even when substituted the oyster sauce(not available organic) for Thai sweet chili sauce! My compliments!!
Thanks for the kind words, Harry! As Maggie’s husband and official taste-tester, I’ve tried the dish with various chili sauces and I bet it was great with the Thai sweet chili.
We have this recipe from your cooking Chinese recipes. We don’t see where it says to cook and / or add the bean sprouts and the spinach? So we are a little lost here. Is there further explanatory directions you can give us? WE are enjoying the recipes so far, and they have turned out most satisfactory. Thank you for your help and assistance. We will wait to hear from you before we pepare this recipe. Thank you.
You are the bomb cook. I have made three recipes so far and think your recipes are the best that I have tried and believe me I am always looking for good recipes. Thank you so much for sharing
Hi Maggie ,
This recipe looks great, I can’t wait to make it. before that, I’ve got to ask can I use shitake mushrooms if so how many grams? Also, the recipe says 8 ounces dried noodles that like 230g roughly right, would that serve 3-4 people?
Thank you
Hi Sam, I think you can throw in thinly sliced shiitake mushrooms, maybe 3 to 4 mushrooms.
The serving size really depends on how you serve the dish. It can serve 3 to 4 people if you serve it on the side, with other dishes (like in a restaurant). But if you plan to only serve the chow mein, it will be 2 big servings.
Hi Maggie,
Your recipes look amazing, can’t wait to try this one. Just wondered, can I use sesame oil instead of peanut oil in most Asian recipes?
Hi Lynda, I recommend to use a neutral oil (vegetable oil, grapeseed oil, sunflower oil etc) to replace all the peanut oil in my recipes. Sesame oil is a finishing oil and it will lose its fragrance if you add it at the beginning of the stir fry. If you want a bit extra nuttiness, you should drizzle a bit sesame oil at the end of the stir fry, although most of my recipes are fragrant enough so you don’t have to add the finishing oil.
I can’t tell you how happy I am to read all fo your recipes!……WONDERFUL!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I was craving shrimp with noodles. This really hit the spot! Thank you for the recipe. This will definitely go into regular line up of meals to cook
Good Morning Maggie, This looks like a wonderful recipe. I had a question about the sesame oil. Is it a toasted oil or not toasted. Trying to make sure I have the correct ingredient. Thank you for all the work you do to provide wonderful recipes and all the help in cooking them.
It is toasted sesame oil. Chinese recipes do not use un-toasted sesame oil very much, and all the recipes on my website call the toasted type.
Happy cooking and hope you enjoy the dish! 🙂