Friday, January 23, 2009

Chicken Chow Mein

I suppose this could be classified under "fake out take out", but then I would have to classify all Chinese food as fake out take out.

When I was making my menu for the week, I knew I would have some extra chicken breasts that would need to be used, not enough to just grill them individually, but enough to put in a pasta or casserole. I think this recipe came across my hotmail & when I saw that it called for snow peas, I was pumped. (This is because I still have snow peas in my freezer from the garden). So not only would I be utilizing the extra chicken I had on hand, I would also be using up some of the items in the deep freeze.


Chicken Peanut Chow Mein
Cooking Light

Ingredients
1 cup precut matchstick-cut carrot
1 cup snow peas, trimmed
2 (6-ounce) packages chow mein noodles
1 tablespoon dark sesame oil, divided
1/2 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast
3 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce, divided
3/4 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
2 tablespoons oyster sauce
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 cup presliced mushrooms
2 teaspoons bottled fresh ground ginger (such as Spice World)
1 cup (1-inch) sliced green onions
2 tablespoons dry-roasted peanuts, coarsely chopped
Preparation

Cook carrots, snow peas, and noodles in boiling water 3 minutes; drain.

Heat 2 teaspoons oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Cut chicken crosswise into thin strips. Add chicken and 1 tablespoon soy sauce to pan; stir-fry 3 minutes. Remove chicken from pan; keep warm.

Combine remaining 2 tablespoons soy sauce, broth, oyster sauce, sugar, and pepper, stirring well. Heat remaining 1 teaspoon oil over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms and ginger to pan; stir-fry for 3 minutes. Add broth mixture, and cook for 1 minute. Add noodle mixture and chicken to pan; cook 1 minute, tossing to combine. Sprinkle with onions and peanuts.


With a few modifications, the only thing I had to buy was mushrooms. I used fish sauce in place of oyster sauce; spaghetti noodles for chow mein noodles & I omitted the onions.

This tasted just like the chow mein I eat at the chinese buffet, but way healthier. I think it could have used a little more sauce or more red pepper, I would have liked more of a kick. Also to note, if you are using noodles other than chow mein, do not cook your veggies with the noodles. My poor peas were so overcooked.

1 comment:

allsmilesinkc said...

that looks yummy and healthy! did it reheat well?