Ever since we shifted our focus on losing weight, we haven’t eaten much pasta. Last time we ate some was when our neighbors came over for a meal. That was a few months ago. I agree, nothing is more comforting than having a nice plate of pasta covered in Italian meat sauce. However, Italian is not the only way you can enjoy noodles… nothing beats the enhanced taste of Asian cuisine!
I only started recently to experiment with Asian cuisine. I never had done homemade Asian meals before. I’ll be honest, the Asian meals I made were coming from the freezer aisle and I would pop it into the oven. The amount of salt in these frozen meals is to the roof and often time end up being too greasy. How difficult can it be to make an homemade meal inspired by Asia?
After reading several recipes and doing some trial and error, I managed to get a few recipes down that my family loves. Today, I am sharing with you, the one recipe that is my family’s favorite – Chicken Chow Mein.
In order to make this recipe, you will need:
- 3 Boneless Chicken breasts sliced
- 1 cup of chopped celery
- 1 1/2 cup of julienne carrots
- 5 green onions sliced diagonally
- 3 cups of chopped Chinese cabbage
- 2 tsp of ground ginger
- 10 Tbsp of Soy Sauce (you can use the low sodium)
- 2 Tbsp of Sesame oil
- 3 Tbsp of Oyster Sauce
- 1 Tbsp of canola oil (or Olive oil)
- 1 clove of garlic
- 2 tsp of sugar (you can also use 1 packet of Sweet N Low)
- 1/2 pack of Asian Noodles
Cook the noodles according to the package directions. While the noodles are cooking, in a cast iron pan or a large skillet, at medium temperature, heat your tablespoon of canola oil (or olive oil). Add chicken and celery and let saute for about 10 minutes.
Using tongs, make sure you turn your chicken celery mixture often. After 10 minutes, add your carrots, 4 of the green onions (keep one for garnish), the cabbage, garlic and ginger. Mix well together and let cook until your chicken is no longer pink.
While the chicken and vegetables are cooking, using a measuring cup, mix together the soy sauce, oyster sauce, sesame oil and sugar together. This will give the Asian goodness to our noodles. Your noodles should also be cooked by now so make sure they are properly drained.
Once your chicken is fully cooked and your vegetables are tender, drop in your pasta and the sauce mixture. Using the tongs, mix noodles and sauce with the chicken mixture. Serve topped off with some fresh green onions and a sprinkle of sesame seeds.
There you have it… a homemade Chicken Chow Mein that will leave you with a mouthful of flavor. Learning to cook Asian was easier than I thought. It also thought me the importance of a diversified pantry. You can do an incredible meal with almost nothing, as long as you have the basics in your pantry. In the end, a great meal is all in the flavors!
