Chow Mein better than panda express

If you're like me you get super bummed out when you run out of noodles at Panda Express.  If somebody kept putting plates in front of me I think I could keep eating it all day.  This recipe will allow you to recreate the noodles at home and you can tweak it to your tastes.  I prefer more noodles, less veggies.

You'll need these:


That's hard to see, the brand is wel-pac.  I found them at Wal-mart.  They are more expensive on Amazon.  Other brands of chow mein noodles I'm sure are good, just make sure you are buying dry noodles.  The dry noodles will allow you to cook them to your desired "doneness"  I prefer the noodles to be a little more "al dente"  whereas if you buy the noodles that are precooked you have no control over how mushy they are.

If you aren't good at multi-tasking go ahead and boil your noodles first.  About 2 minutes.  Strain the noodles and immediately rinse with cold water to stop the cooking process.  Set aside

Chop about a cup of cabbage and about a half cup to full cup of celery.

Sauce ingredients (based on one package of noodles):
About 1/4 cup soy sauce
2 to 3 cloves of garlic finely chopped
1 tsp to 1 tbs of finely chopped or grated ginger
black pepper
1 tbs brown sugar

Mix it all together, set aside.

In a wok or large saucepan heat up about 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil and sautee the celery until it starts to get soft, then throw in the cabbage for a couple minutes.

Once the cabbage starts to wilt throw in your noodles.  For best results let them crisp up a bit, don't stir much.  Once the noodles are to your desired level of crispiness throw in the sauce.  Toss the noodles with the sauce quickly, don't allow the sauce to burn.  Remove from heat.

This is the part where you'll be tempted to start shoving the noodles in your face.  Relax, go outside and take a breather.  Let the noodles cool off enough to not melt your face.

Dive in.  Best enjoyed with chop sticks and a fortune cookie.

To make it a complete meal brown some chicken in the oil before you put in the celery.  No need to season the meat, the sauce will do that for you.



Spicy version:

Some like it spicy.  It's quite simple, just add a little or a lot of this to the sauce mix:




You should have this in your fridge at all times.  It's seriously so good.