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
Lucky boat 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 these. I’ve also used Tiger Tiger brand noodles with good results.
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 or Tiger Tiger brand are good.
- 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: Stir Fry The Noodles
In a heat safe bowl, add the dried noodle nest and cover with boiled water. Let the noodles soak for 2-3 minutes, separating and stirring once or twice with chopsticks or a fork to separate. Drain and rinse the noodles in cold water to stop them from becoming too soft, drain well again set aside for 10 minutes.
Heat a wok or large frying pan over a medium-high heat. Add the vegetable oil and swirl it around the pan. Next, add the sliced onion, beansprouts and softened noodles. Add the dark soy sauce and water and let the ingredients fry in the pan for 30-40 seconds. Add the light soy sauce, sea salt, MSG, sugar and white pepper. Stir-fry for 1 minute. Add the spring onion and mix well. Add the rice wine to finish, mix well once more and set the noodles aside on a serving plate. Wipe the wok or frying pan clean.
Step 2: Stir Fry The Chicken And Oyster Sauce
Make the sauce in a small bowl by combining the oyster sauce, light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, sugar and white pepper. Heat the wok or large frying pan over a medium-high heat. Add 2 teaspoons of vegetable oil, then add the chopped garlic in oil and cooked chicken breast or chicken thighs and stir-fry for 1 minute until the chicken is hot. Add the prepared sauce and mix well, then add the stock or water. Bring to the boil and simmer for 1 minute or until the sauce is slightly reduced.
Add the potato starch and water mix to the simmering sauce, mixing thoroughly (all of the mix may not be needed). Finally, add the rice wine and mix well once more. Ladle the sizzling chicken and oyster sauce over the prepared chow mein and serve.
Step 3: Serve
Arrange the stir-fried noodles on your serving plate, then pour the chicken and oyster sauce generously over the noodles and serve.
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.
Using the right ingredients will also help ensure your Chinese takeaway style dishes reach new heights. You can find a full list of recommended brands and ingredients here.
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!
- 1 nest dried wheat noodles
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1/4 large onion thinly 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
- Pinch ground white pepper
- 1 spring onion sliced
- Dash aromatic oil or sesame oil
- 1 generous tablespoon oyster sauce
- 1 teaspoon light soy sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon dark soy sauce
- Pinch caster sugar
- Pinch ground white pepper
- 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 tablespoon potato starch, mixed with 2 tablespoons water
- 2 teaspoons rice wine
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In a heat safe bowl, add the dried noodle nest and cover with boiled water. Let the noodles soak for 2-3 minutes, separating and stirring once or twice with chopsticks or a fork to separate. Drain and rinse the noodles in cold water to stop them from becoming too soft, drain well again set aside for 10 minutes.
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Heat a wok or large frying pan over a medium-high heat. Add the vegetable oil and swirl it around the pan. Add the sliced onion, beansprouts and softened noodles. Add the dark soy sauce and water and let the ingredients fry in the pan for 30-40 seconds. Add the light soy sauce, sea salt, MSG, sugar and white pepper. Stir-fry for 1 minute. Add the spring onion and mix well. Add the rice wine to finish, mix well once more and set the noodles aside on a serving plate. Wipe the wok or frying pan clean.
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Make the sauce in a small bowl by combining the oyster sauce, light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, sugar and white pepper. Heat the wok or large frying pan over a medium-high heat. Add 2 teaspoons of vegetable oil, then add the chopped garlic in oil and cooked chicken breast or chicken thighs and stir-fry for 1 minute until the chicken is hot. Add the prepared sauce and mix well. Add the stock or water, bring to the boil and simmer for 1 minute or until the sauce is slightly reduced.
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Add the potato starch and water to the simmering sauce, mixing thoroughly (all of the mix may not be needed). Add the rice wine and mix well once more. Ladle the sizzling chicken and oyster sauce over the prepared chow mein and serve.
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)
