Chicken Chow Mein | Fast & Better Than Takeout Chow Mein Recipe

Hey friends, today's recipe is one pan chicken chow mein. Fast, tasty, and minimal emotional damage. Let's cook. First, slice about a quarter of an onion into thin strips, around one quarter inch wide. Separate the onion. Trust me, this saves lives. What about Optional, but it makes the onion way less angry. Next, garlic. Just smash one clove, then chop it finely. And if garlic hits your stomach, skip it. We are cooking, not suffering. Now, the green onion. Cut it in half, then chop both the white and green parts into about one inch pieces. Keep the white part separate from the green part. The white goes in early for fragrance, the green goes in late for that fresh, I'm healthy energy. Chili is optional, but I like a little. Slice it open lengthwise, scrap out the seeds to keep it Then, lay it flat and cut into thin strips, so everything matches in length and looks. Oddly organized for a lazy recipe. And finally, bean sprouts, about one and a half cups. Quick rinse, drain well. Trim the ends if you want it fancy. I'm not being graded, so I'm not doing that. Save it for the last step. Now for the chicken, you can use any cut, thigh or breast, but today I'm using chicken tenderloin. It's perfect for cooking for one, and it's super easy to handle. Slice it thinly and drop it into a bowl. Then, add white pepper, a bit of soy sauce, a touch of dark soy for color, and cornstarch. Mix it well. And then, add a little oil to lock in the flavor. I'm using my homemade shallot oil, because it makes everything smell like you worked harder than you actually did. Give it about 10 minutes to chill, like a quick spa break for the chicken. Now, the sauce. In a separate bowl, add a little kombu dashi granules, then add a bit of sugar, light soy sauce, a little dark soy sauce for color, and water. And yes, I'm adding a tiny drizzle of shallot oil here too, because this is my personal seasoning cheat code. If you want the recipe for shallot oil, leave a comment and I'll share it. Mix it well and set it aside. Okay, time to cook. Heat up some oil in a pan over medium heat. Again, I'm using shallot oil, because I want the pan to smell like happiness. Toss in the garlic and the white part of the green onion, and saute until fragrant, about 10 seconds. Then, add the onion and chili, and keep stirring until the onion turns translucent, about 30 to 40 seconds. At this point, the kitchen smells like I have my life together. Love that. Now, push the onions to the side, add the chicken, and spread it out in the pan. Stir fry until about 80% cooked, around 1 to 1 and a half minutes. Then, add a splash of Shaoxing wine, just to give it a little boost, like a flavor espresso shot, about 5 seconds. And if you don't take alcohol, skip it. Keep stir frying until the alcohol cooks off. Then, toss in the noodles. Now, for the noodles, I'm using Japanese yakisoba, super convenient, already cooked, so no boiling today. Just straight into the pan, like VIP. But honestly, you can use whatever noodles you like, classic chow mein noodles, yellow egg noodles, even spaghetti, if it's a noodle, we respect it. Toss them around, loosen them up, for about 20 seconds. This is the moment you pretend you are a chef. And then, pour in that sauce we mixed earlier. Stir gently so the noodles get nice and glossy, about 30 to 45 seconds. Look at that shine. That's not sweat, that's flavor. Give it a quick taste, and adjust if needed. I'm adding a tiny bit more dark soy sauce here for color. You do you. Mix everything together until the noodles and chicken are fully coated in that sauce. Last step, toss in the bean sprouts and the green part of the green onion. Sprinkle in some crusted black pepper. Crank up the heat, and give it a faster fry for about 15 seconds. We are not cooking the sprouts, we are just waking them up. At this stage, it's basically impossible not to eat it straight from the pan. Stay strong. And that's it, we are done. Transfer it to a plate. That's roughly 3 minutes of actual cooking, which means the harder part was emotional preparation. And this is my true one pan chicken chow mein. Quick, glossy, savory, and honestly better than takeout, because I didn't have to put on pants to get it. If you enjoyed this lazy one pan dinner, hit like, subscribe, and drop a comment, especially if you want my shallot oil recipe. And if you want another super easy one pan meal, check out my ground beef fried rice on screen right now. See you next time. Bye!