I think I need to be educated by other Westernized folks on what it is they see in the Canadian buffet-staple, chow mein. In turn I will gladly educate other interested folks on the fundamentals of chow mein; that it is no secret that the Canadianized version is, in one word, shameful.
Perhaps I am a little too harsh with my judgement. I suppose I hold true to the integrity of ethnic cuisine. It should either stay intact in its traditional form or be enhanced creatively, but to be “Canadianized”? No, no, no and no. I disapprove such a silly injustice to such a great food. I would feel the same way about any other food, especially with Italian food.
Rule #1 – The mein taste a lot like soy sauce. Come on now, just because it’s been cooked in soy sauce doesn’t mean it’s authentic. This is nothing but a con. Restaurants make this lazy mein because it is cheap, easy , quick and believe it or not, they “think” customers won’t be able to tell the difference, especially if you’re not Chinese. Soy sauce is an ingredient in chow mein but it shouldn’t overpower the dish.
Rule #2 – The mein is devoid of your basic seasoning, salt. Taste it, folks, taste it. Don’t let the soy sauce façade fool you.
Rule #3 – Look for vegetables. Give it up, vegetables belong, period. A chow mein that doesn’t have julienned vegetables is mein without any flavour.
Rule # 4 – The mein is not just devoid of vegetables, it’s devoid of any trace of protein. The standard fare should at least have scrambled wisps of egg in it. More upscale versions will contain chicken, shrimp, or BBQ pork, or even all 3.
These are 4 basic rules of proper Chinese Chow Mein. All of which can be played with in different ways to produce different versions of chow mein. Here is my street version of a classic favourite.
Note: I used fresh cayenne chilli peppers from my garden but you can use any other chilli pepper you can find. I highly recommend fresh jalapenos or Thai chilli peppers.
Chinese Chow Mein
Yields 8 servings
Marinade
1 tbsp cornstarch
¼ cup soy sauce
3 tbsp mirin
1 tbsp sesame oil
½ tsp ground white pepper
Salt
Chicken
4 chicken breasts, trimmed and thinly sliced
¼ cup chicken broth
4 tbsp sunflower oil
Noodles & Vegetables
8 cups Chinese special noodles (or any other wide noodle)
2 ½ large carrots, peeled and julienned
2 cups suey choy, julienned
4 scallions, trimmed and cut into 2 inch lengths
1 large yellow onion, peeled, trimmed and thinly sliced
3 cups brown mushrooms, thinly sliced
2 cayenne chilli peppers
6 tbsp sunflower oil
Salt
Pepper
Garnish
4 scallions, trimmed and thinly sliced on a bias
Sesame oil
Pepper
Marinate the chicken by first whisking all marinade ingredients together. Taste the marinade and make sure it is highly seasoned. If not, adjust with salt. Add the chicken and mix to coat the chicken. Cover with plastic wrap and let stand for 30 minutes at room temperature.
After 30 minutes, 2 tablespoons of oil in a large wok or skillet over medium high heat. Working in batches, add half of the chicken. Stir fry until brown. Gradually add half of the chicken broth into the pan while to scrape up the browned bits in the pan. Allow the broth to evaporate before adding more. Stir fry the chicken unit nice and brown and cooked through. Transfer to a dish and repeat the same steps for the second batch. Transfer the second batch to the dish as well.
Bring 4 cups of water to a boil in pot. Add the noodles to the pot and cook until unravelled (1 minute). Turn the heat down to medium low and simmer until the noodles are al dente. Strain and rinse with cold water. Strain again and set aside.
Using the same skillet, heat 3 tablespoons of oil over high heat. Add the scallions, chilli peppers and season with salt. Toss in the oil until the scallions are fragrant and bright green (not browned). Add the yellow onion and carrots. Toss for 1 minute and season with salt. Add the mushrooms. Toss and season with salt again. Add the last 3 tablespoons of oil and toss for 1 minute. Add the suey choy to the pan. Turn the heat down to low and continue to toss until the suey choy is just cooked through (try not to overcook it until it becomes limp and soggy). Taste and season with salt and pepper as needed. Add the chicken and noodles to the pan and toss for 2 minutes over low heat. Remove the pan from the heat.
Taste one more time and season as needed with salt. Serve in bowls garnished with a sprinkle of fresh scallions, cracked pepper and a drizzle of sesame oil.
Chinese chow mein comes in so many forms and versions. In my mind though the ones made at home are the best ones, adapted from years of experimenting with different techniques, vegetables, meats and sauces. This one is probably just 1 of the many I know how to cook (see another version I’ve posted before). There are so many variations of chow mein because it’s chow mein, literally translated, stir fried noodles. Really, it’s got nothing to do with soy sauce, which I have proven above.
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