This Chinese takeaway style chicken chow mein with oyster sauce takes just 15 minutes to prepare and cook, making it perfect for a quick lunch or midweek meal.
Chinese takeaway style chicken chow mein with oyster sauce is a deliciously easy dish to put together. The charred and smoky flavour of wok fried onions, beansprouts and noodles is a thing of real beauty – topped with tender chicken in a savoury and umami rich oyster sauce, it’s an easy but rewarding dish that you’re bound to return to again and again.
When I was testing recipes for The Chinese Takeaway Secret book, this dish stood out as an absolute favourite. Even with two stages to the recipe, it’s so quick and easy to prepare, making it perfect for a fast lunch or dinner.
Ingredients For Chicken Chow Mein With Oyster Sauce
This recipe starts with noodles. Lucky boat brand noodles are commonly used in Chinese takeaways and restaurants in the UK. You can find them in large boxes in Chinese supermarkets, or in smaller amounts online. If you’re serious about recreating Chinese takeaway style noodle dishes at home, you won’t regret stocking up on them.
The noodles are stir fried with onions and beansprouts, then topped with a delicious savoury sauce made with soy sauce, oyster sauce and more.
- Noodles: Lucky Boat brand noodles are widely used in Chinese takeaways.
- Onions: Large spanish onions are good for long takeaway style onion slices.
- Beansprouts: The fresher the better!
- Spring Onions: Green part only.
- Cooked Chicken: Chicken Thigh or Chicken Breast. You can find tips on precooking chicken for stir-fry dishes here.
- Flavour / Sauce: MSG, Sugar, Chopped Garlic in Oil, Light Soy Sauce, Dark Soy Sauce, Oyster Sauce, Light Chicken Stock, Rice Wine.
- Other Ingredients: Vegetable Oil, Potato Starch, Water.
You can find a full list of recommended ingredients and brands for Chinese takeaway style cooking here.
How To Make Chicken Chow Mein With Oyster Sauce
The dish begins life as a standard plain chow mein, but as we’re topping the noodles with chicken and a savoury oyster sauce, we’ll use a little less seasoning than we typically would. Next, the chicken is stir-fried with oyster sauce before being poured over the top of the sizzling hot noodles.
Step 1: Soak Noodles
In a heat safe bowl, add 1 nest dry noodles and cover with boiled water. Soak for 2-3 minutes, separating and stirring once or twice with chopsticks or a fork to separate. Drain and rinse noodles in cold water, drain well again and set aside for 10 minutes.
Step 2: Fry Noodles
Heat a wok or large frying pan over a medium-high heat. Add 1 tablespoon vegetable oil and swirl it around the pan. Add 1/4 large onion (sliced), 1 handful fresh beansprouts and softened noodles. Add 1/2 teaspoon dark soy sauceand 50 ml water and stir-fry in the pan for 30-40 seconds. Add 1/2 teaspoon light soy sauce, 1/4 teaspoon sea salt, 1/4 teaspoon MSG, 1/4 teaspoon caster sugar and 1/8 teaspoon ground white pepper. Stir-fry for 1 minute. Add 1 spring onion (sliced) and mix well. Set the noodles aside on a serving plate. Wipe the wok or frying pan clean.
Step 3: Stir Fry Chicken & Oyster Sauce
Make the sauce in a small bowl by combining 1 generous tablespoon oyster sauce, 1 teaspoon light soy sauce, 1/2 teaspoon dark soy sauce, 1/8 teaspoon caster sugar and 1/8 teaspoon ground white pepper.
Heat a wok or large frying pan over a medium-high heat. Add 2 teaspoons vegetable oil, then add 1/2 teaspoon chopped garlic in oil and 100 grams cooked chicken breast or chicken thighs and stir-fry for 1 minute. Add prepared sauce and mix well. Add 125 ml light chicken stock, vegetable stock or water, bring to the boil and simmer for 1 minute or until the sauce is slightly reduced. Mix potato starch and water and add to the simmering sauce to thicken slightly (all of the mix may not be needed). Add 1 teaspoon rice wine
and 1/4 teaspoon sesame oil or aromatic oil and mix well once more.
Step 3: Serve
Arrange stir-fried noodles on a serving plate. Top generously with chicken & oyster sauce and serve.
Tips For Chicken Chow Mein With Oyster Sauce
- Add a teaspoon of Jimmy’s sate paste for a satay style variation.
- Chow mein with sauce is a great way to use up leftover stir-fry dishes. A small portion of black bean, Szechuan or sweet and sour with added noodles, onions and beansprouts turns leftovers into another full meal!
- Soften noodles ahead of time. Drain, cool and set aside in the fridge in a sealed container ready to stir fry for up to 2 days. This also gives the noodles time to dry a little and may even give better results when cooking.
I hope you’ll try this chicken chow main with oyster sauce recipe. If you do, let me know in the comments how it went!
Equipment
- 1 Wok or Large Frying Pan
Ingredients
Noodles
- 1 nest dry noodles
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1/4 large onion sliced
- 1 handful fresh beansprouts (about 100g)
- 1/2 teaspoon dark soy sauce
- 50 ml water
- 1/2 teaspoon light soy sauce
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/4 teaspoon MSG
- 1/4 teaspoon caster sugar
- 1/8 teaspoon ground white pepper (a pinch)
- 1 spring onion sliced
Chicken and Oyster Sauce
- 1 generous tablespoon oyster sauce
- 1 teaspoon light soy sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon dark soy sauce
- 1/8 teaspoon caster sugar (a pinch)
- 1/8 teaspoon ground white pepper (a pinch)
- 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
- 1/2 teaspoon chopped garlic in oil
- 100 grams cooked chicken breast or chicken thighs sliced
- 125 ml light chicken stock, vegetable stock or water
- 1 teaspoon potato starch
- 2 tablespoons water
- 1 teaspoon rice wine
- 1/4 teaspoon sesame oil or aromatic oil
Instructions
Noodles
- In a heat safe bowl, add 1 nest dry noodles and cover with boiled water. Soak for 2-3 minutes, separating and stirring once or twice with chopsticks or a fork to separate. Drain and rinse noodles in cold water, drain well again and set aside for 10 minutes.
- Heat a wok or large frying pan over a medium-high heat. Add 1 tablespoon vegetable oil and swirl it around the pan. Add 1/4 large onion (sliced), 1 handful fresh beansprouts and softened noodles. Add 1/2 teaspoon dark soy sauce and 50 ml water and stir-fry in the pan for 30-40 seconds. Add 1/2 teaspoon light soy sauce, 1/4 teaspoon sea salt, 1/4 teaspoon MSG, 1/4 teaspoon caster sugar and 1/8 teaspoon ground white pepper. Stir-fry for 1 minute. Add 1 spring onion (sliced) and mix well. Set the noodles aside on a serving plate. Wipe the wok or frying pan clean.
Chicken And Oyster Sauce
- Make the sauce in a small bowl by combining 1 generous tablespoon oyster sauce, 1 teaspoon light soy sauce, 1/2 teaspoon dark soy sauce, 1/8 teaspoon caster sugar and 1/8 teaspoon ground white pepper.
- Heat a wok or large frying pan over a medium-high heat. Add 2 teaspoons vegetable oil, then add 1/2 teaspoon chopped garlic in oil and 100 grams cooked chicken breast or chicken thighs and stir-fry for 1 minute. Add prepared sauce and mix well. Add 125 ml light chicken stock, vegetable stock or water, bring to the boil and simmer for 1 minute or until the sauce is slightly reduced. Mix 1 teaspoon potato starch and 2 tablespoons water and add to the simmering sauce to thicken slightly (all of the mix may not be needed). Add 1 teaspoon rice wine and 1/4 teaspoon sesame oil or aromatic oil and mix well once more.
- Arrange stir-fried noodles on a serving plate. Top generously with chicken & oyster sauce and serve.
Chicken Chow Mein with Oyster Sauce Recipe FAQ
How do Chinese takeaways get that flavour in chow mein dishes?
Takeaway flavour is a combination of ingredients, heat and technique, particularly when it comes to noodle dishes. The skill of the chef shines through. ‘Wok Hei’ (The breath of the wok) is achieved in dishes cooked in a carbon steel wok over a roaring flame, and it can be difficult (some say impossible) to achieve at home. But, with a well seasoned carbon steel wok, a high heat and good cooking technique, we can most certainly add delicious flavour to our home cooked noodles nonetheless. Allowing the noodles to catch slightly in the hot pan adds a deliciously smoky char to the dish. Practice over a high heat, stirring often but not constantly. You can also buy your own carbon steel wok and follow this guide to use it at home.
What kind of noodles do Chinese takeaways use?
One of the most commonly used brands used by Chinese takeaways is Lucky Boat. If you’re lucky enough to live close to a Chinese supermarket, you’ll be able to buy these in bulk and they keep for a long time. You can also buy them online and more recently they’ve even become available in smaller quantities for home use. Lion brand noodles are also good.
Do you like this Chinese takeaway style chicken chow mein with oyster sauce recipe? If so, buying a copy of my book might appeal to you! In The Chinese Takeaway Secret you can find a host of restaurant and takeaway style recipes that you can make at home. You’ll learn how to make salt and chilli chicken wings, crispy beef, black bean sauce, fried rice and more! You can buy The Chinese Takeaway Secret in paperback or kindle form here.
- McGovern, Kenny (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
- 240 Pages – 06/09/2022 (Publication Date) – Robinson (Publisher)
