I am freinds with a couple of Chinese Chef's, one in Sault Ontario, and one in Sault Michigan. They both have excellent Chicken Chow Mein. Both taste about the same.
As was posted before, chow mein is a dish with fried and crunchy noodles, while lo mein uses the soft noodles.
Here's my recipe for Chicken Chow Mein.
Ingredients:
2 large Chicken Breasts and 1 thigh.
1 large onion
2 cloves fresh garlic
2 tbs. peanut oil
1/2 tsp. MSG (Accent Flavor Enhancer)
1 tsp. sugar (or Splenda)
2 stalks celery
Corn Starch
Water
Bone the chicken and cut into thin 1/2 inch-wide strips. Peel and slice the onion into leaves, and cut the leaves in half. Mince the garlic. Slice the celery into 1 to 1-1/2 inch lengths.
Heat the oil in a heavy pan. Sweat the garlic, onion, and celery. Add the MSG, and sugar. Remove from the pan and keep for later.
Dredge the chicken strips in some of the cornstarch. Quickly stir-fry until just cooked. Add the other ingrediants back into the pan and reduce the heat to simmer. Add 1 cup of water and cover. Let the mixture steam for about seven minutes. Mix 2 tbs. cornstarch with a 1/8 cup water until smooth. Remove the pan lid and gently stir the cornstarch into the pan. Let thicken. The resulting sauce should be just thick enough to coat a spoon, like a gravy.
Serve with rice, salt, and chow-mein noodles. Enjoy.
Of course this is the simple and deliscious recipe I learned from my professional freinds. Feel free to add other ingrediants and flavors such as 5-spice powder, or ginger. A couple of peppers wouldn't hurt this dish either. But my wife likes it just as it is. And we all know that my wife is the woman I'm trying to impress.
Seeeeeya; Goodweed of the North