Takeout chow mein is easy to crave and hard to plan around. The good news is that the version you make at home does not need a long ingredient list, it needs one pan, a hot stove, and noodles that hold up to a toss. This one comes together in about fifteen minutes, start to finish, with chicken or paneer, whichever you have on hand.
Wholewheat noodles tossed with chicken or paneer, mushrooms, and beansprouts in a hot wok.
Why wholewheat noodles work for a stir fry
Wholewheat noodles have a slightly firmer bite than plain egg noodles, which matters once they hit a hot wok. They hold their shape through the toss instead of turning soft and clumpy, so the dish keeps some texture rather than going mushy by the time it reaches the table.
What you will need
- 2 nests Blue Dragon Wholewheat Noodles
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 2 tbsp Blue Dragon Dark Soy Sauce
- 200g chicken breast or paneer, sliced or cubed
- 2 to 3 spring onions, sliced
- A handful of mushrooms
- A handful of beansprouts
Serves 2.
How to make it
1. Boil and simmer the noodles
Bring a pan of water to the boil. Add the noodle nests and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally with a fork to separate the strands. Since these are going into a stir fry, take them out after 4 minutes instead, they will finish cooking in the wok.
2. Drain
Drain the noodles and rinse them in cold water. This stops the cooking and keeps them from turning sticky while you prepare the rest of the dish.
3. Cook the chicken or paneer
Heat the vegetable oil in a wok or large pan over high heat. Add the chicken or paneer and stir fry until cooked through and lightly browned on a couple of sides. Chicken will need a few minutes longer than paneer.
High heat is what gives chicken or paneer that lightly browned edge.
4. Add the vegetables
Add the mushrooms, beansprouts, and spring onion to the pan. Stir fry for around 2 minutes, just until they soften slightly but still have some bite.
5. Bring it together
Add the drained noodles and the dark soy sauce to the pan. Toss everything over high heat until well combined and heated through, then serve immediately.
A few notes from the wok
- Keep the heat high once the chicken or paneer goes in. A hot wok is what gives stir fry its texture, a lukewarm one just steams everything.
- Taking the noodles out a minute early is the key step for a stir fry. They finish cooking in the wok, so boiling them fully first leads to noodles that fall apart on the toss.
- Swap in whatever vegetables you have on hand, this recipe is forgiving as long as the noodle timing stays the same.
