Chicken Veggie Lo Mein

I could eat Asian food every single day.  So much variety and lots of options for healthy choices.  Over the past few years, I’ve been making more Chinese dishes at home instead of ordering in.  Don’t get me wrong, there are some dishes I will never be able to duplicate but this Chicken Veggie Lo Mein is one I will definitely make over and over again.  It’s basically a stir fry with noodles so the customization of noodles and veggies is yours to decide.  I went with chicken but shrimp or beef would be great, too.  And the veggies? I love bok choy and zucchini but when I don’t have those on hand, broccoli works well.  I usually prep the chicken and veggies earlier in the day and then when dinner rolls around, everything comes together in about 20 minutes so this is a great weeknight meal.   

Ingredients

1 lb.                  Chicken breasts, boneless, skinless, thinly sliced

1                      Zucchini, cut in half lengthwise and then slices into half moons

4                      Small heads of bok choy, washed and chopped into 1-inch pieces (You can use one large head if you can’t find small heads)

2 cups               Fresh bean sprouts

1 can                Sliced water chestnuts, drained

2 tbs                 Canola or vegetable oil

1 tbs                 Sesame oil

½ c                  Oyster sauce

1 tsp                 Garlic, minced

1 tsp                 Ginger, minced

1 tbs                 Toasted sesame seeds

1 tsp + 1 tbs     Corn starch

1 cup             Water

1 pkg (16 oz)    Fresh egg noodles.  (If you can’t get these in your supermarket, linguini works well too)

Preparation

In a measuring cup or small bowl, combine the oyster sauce, garlic, ginger, ½ cup water and tablespoon of corn starch.  Mix and set sauce aside.

Place the thinly sliced chicken in a bowl with the sesame oil and teaspoon of corn starch.  This will velvetize the chicken and make the texture of the chicken silky and tender.  Set aside for at least 10 minutes.

Cook the noodles according to the package directions, drain, rinse with water (to stop the cooking process) and set aside till the chicken and veggies are done.

In a large skillet on medium heat, add one tablespoon of oil and then cook the chicken till it is cooked through (about four minutes).  Transfer to a plate. 

Add 1 tablespoon oil to the pan along with the bok choy and zucchini along with ½ cup of water.  Cover and cook till almost all the water has evaporated and the vegetables are fork tender but not overdone (check them along the way).  Add the sauce, bean sprouts and water chestnuts to the pan and mix well.  You can add some water to the sauce if it is too thick for your taste.  Add the chicken (along with the juices from the plate), mixing well to incorporate.  Top with sesame seeds.

You could combine the noodles with the chicken and veggies and serve or, you could make individual bowls if you want to control the noodles to chicken/veggie ratio.