Panda Express Chow mein

5 from 1 vote

Panda Express Chow Mein Noodles are a crowd favourite at the Panda Express chain of fast food restaurants. This homemade version is even better, tastes authentic and made with wheat noodles, onion, celery, cabbage, aromatics and delicious Asian sauces. Ready in minutes for a great weeknight dinner!

Prep Time10

Cook Time10

Course: Light Meal, Mains, Stir-Fry

Cuisine: American, Asian, Chinese

Keyword: chow mein, chow mein noodles, panda express chow mein, panda express noodles, stir fried noodles

Servings:

Calories: 277kcal

Author: Sneh

Ingredients

300 g fresh chow mein noodles
1/3 cup soy sauce
2 tbsp Shao xing wine
2 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tsp kecap manis
¼ cup chicken stock
2 tsp sesame oil
½ tsp MSG
¼ tsp white pepper
2 tbsp oil
1 brown onion sliced
4 garlic cloves minced
2 tsp grated ginger
1 celery chopped
2 cups shredded cabbage
½ cup sliced spring onion

Instructions

Cook chow mein noodles in water as per packet instructions. Drain, refresh with cold water, drain completely and set aside.
Make the chow mein sauce by mixing soy sauce, Shao xing wine, oyster sauce, kecap manis, chicken stock, sesame oil, MSG and white pepper in a bowl.
Heat oil in a wok on high. Add onion and saute for a couple of minutes until starting to soften. Add garlic, ginger and celery. Stir-fry for a minute until aromatics are fragrant. Add cabbage and stir-fry for 2 minutes.
Add cooked noodles, chow mein sauce and half the spring onion. Toss and stir-fry for 2 minutes until heated through. Remove from heat, garnish with remaining spring onions and serve.

Notes

Noodles - I use fresh chow mein wheat noodles. They only need 1-2 minutes in boiling water to cook completely. Other viable options include fresh egg noodles and fresh yaki soba noodles. If using dried noodles, try yakisoba, ramen or thin egg noodles and cook as per packet instructions. You need thinner noodles for this Panda Express chow mein.
Vegetables - The original Panda Express Chow Mein recipe has onion, celery, cabbage and spring onion. These vegetables provide texture, crunch and a bit of sweetness to the stir-fried noodles. You can add vegetables such as green capsicum, snow peas, or Asian greens to bulk up the green vegetable component of this dish.
Ginger and Garlic - I use fresh. You can substitute with paste.
Sauces - The sauce is savoury and sweet, comprising soy sauce, sweet dark soy sauce (kecap manis), oyster sauce and Shaoxing wine. Oyster sauce can be replaced with vegetarian oyster sauce to keep this dish strictly vegetarian.
Oils - A neutral oil like peanut or grapeseed is used for the base stir-fry, whereas sesame oil is added to the sauce for a delicious Asian flavour.
MSG - Monosodium Glutamate is a flavour enhancer and makes this Panda Express Chow Mein taste like the authentic restaurant version. You can skip this altogether or substitute with vegetable stock powder.
Chicken Stock and white pepper - Substitute chicken stock with vegetable stock and white pepper with black pepper.

Nutrition