Chicken Chow Mein

Name: Chicken Chow Mein
Total time: 45 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: chinese
Ingredients: 8 ounces thin spaghetti; 2 tablespoons peanut oil, plus oil for deep frying; 1/2 cup shredded Chinese cabbage; 1/2 cup shredded celery; 2 tablespoons soy sauce; 1 teaspoon sugar; 1/4 teaspoon monosodium glutamate; 1/2 cup clear chicken broth; 1/2 cup fresh or canned bean sprouts; 1 cup cooked chicken, shredded; 1 tablespoon cornstarch

Recipe from Grace Zia Chu

Adapted by Gish Jen

Total Time: 45 minutes
Rating: 4(137)
Comments: Read comments

Featured in: FOOD: The Lives They Lived: Grace Zia Chu, b. 1900; West Meets East

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Ingredients

Yield:4 servings

8ounces thin spaghetti
2tablespoons peanut oil, plus oil for deep frying
½cup shredded Chinese cabbage
½cup shredded celery
2tablespoons soy sauce
1teaspoon sugar
¼teaspoon monosodium glutamate
½cup clear chicken broth
½cup fresh or canned bean sprouts
1cup cooked chicken, shredded
1tablespoon cornstarch

Ingredient Substitution Guide

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Preparation

Step 1
Drop spaghetti in 2 quarts of boiling water and boil for 3 minutes. Drain, and then steam in a steamer for 20 minutes. The spaghetti will not stick together. Remove spaghetti from steamer and deep fry in hot oil until crisp. Set the spaghetti aside.
Step 2
Heat the 2 tablespoons of peanut oil in a frying pan over high flame and saute the Chinese cabbage and celery for about 2 minutes. Add the soy sauce, sugar and monosodium glutamate. Mix well. Add the chicken broth and bring to boil. Add bean sprouts and shredded chicken and mix.
Step 3
Dissolve 1 tablespoon cornstarch in 2 tablespoons water. When the broth begins to boil again, thicken with the cornstarch and water.
Step 4
Place fried spaghetti on a large platter and pour the chicken-and-vegetable mixture over it. Serve hot.

Tip

Tips: Chow mein has become so popular that prefried noodles are now available in many food stores. These preprepared noodles save time and effort. But if you like to start from scratch, thin spaghetti is the nearest thing to Chinese noodles.