Chow mein

Ingredients

Noodles

• 400 gfresh or dried egg chow mein noodles
• 1 tbspoil

Chicken and marinade

• 400 gchicken breast or thigh, sliced thin
• 1 tbspsoy sauce
• 1 tspcornflour
• ½ tspwhite pepper

Vegetables

• 3 tbspoil
• 4garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tbspgrated ginger
• 1onion, sliced
• 2carrots, in matchsticks
• 150 ggreen beans or bora, in 4 cm lengths
• ¼small cabbage, shredded
• 4spring onions, in lengths

Sauce

• 3 tbspsoy sauce
• 1 tbspoyster sauce
• 1 tspsesame oil
• 1 tspsugar
• 4 tbspwater
• 1wiri wiri or scotch bonnet pepper, whole (optional)

Directions

1. Toss the chicken with the soy, cornflour and white pepper and leave it for 15 minutes. The cornflour is what keeps thin slices from going stringy over high heat.
2. Boil the noodles until just barely tender — a minute less than the packet says. Drain, rinse under cold water to stop them cooking, and toss with a tablespoon of oil so they do not knit together.
3. Mix the sauce ingredients in a cup so it can go in all at once. Stir-frying gives you no time to measure.
4. Get a wok or a wide pan properly hot. Fry the chicken in a single layer until it colours and is just cooked, then lift it out.
5. Add the rest of the oil, then the garlic, ginger and onion, and stir-fry for 30 seconds. Add the carrot and beans and cook for 2 minutes, keeping everything moving, then the cabbage for 1 minute more. The vegetables should stay crisp.
6. Return the chicken, add the noodles and pour the sauce round the edge of the pan so it hits hot metal. Toss everything together for 2 minutes until the noodles have taken up the sauce and are heated through.
7. Add the spring onions, toss once, and serve immediately with pepper sauce on the side.

Technique

• Undercooking the noodles at the boil is deliberate: they finish cooking in the wok, and fully boiled noodles turn to paste there.
• Heat is the whole technique. A pan that is not hot enough steams the vegetables and the dish comes out grey and wet.

Substitutions

• Shrimp, beef or a mix of all three are as common as chicken in Guyana.
• Bora (yardlong beans) are traditional; green beans are the easy substitute.

Variations

• Chinese indentured labourers arrived in Guyana from 1853, and their stir-fried noodles became a fixture at Guyanese birthdays and Christmas tables, usually served alongside cook-up rice and garlic pork.

History

Chinese indentured labourers arrived from 1853; their stir-fried noodles became standard at Guyanese birthdays and Christmas tables.

Frequently asked questions

What is Chow mein?

Chow mein is a main from Guyana: guyanese-Chinese noodles stir-fried with vegetables and chicken. Chinese indentured labourers arrived from 1853; their stir-fried noodles became standard at Guyanese birthdays and Christmas tables.

How long does Chow mein take to make?

Chow mein takes 25 min of preparation and 15 min of cooking. The recipe makes serves 4. It is rated easy to make.

What can I substitute in Chow mein?

Yes, within limits. Shrimp, beef or a mix of all three are as common as chicken in Guyana. Bora (yardlong beans) are traditional; green beans are the easy substitute.

What is the most important thing to get right in Chow mein?

Boil the noodles until just barely tender — a minute less than the packet says. Drain, rinse under cold water to stop them cooking, and toss with a tablespoon of oil so they do not knit together.