English
Filipino
Skip the takeout and recreate your favorite noodle dish cheaper and better at home! Panda Express Chow Mein Copycat recipe is ready in minutes and tastes just like the restaurant’s. This vegetarian stir-fry is hearty, tasty, and sure to satisfy your Chinese nashville filipino restaurant cravings!
Back in the day when I worked 9 to 5, Panda Express was my lifeline. Although I love to cook, the last thing I wanted after a long day’s toil was worry about what’s for dinner and a couple of combo plates picked up on my way home from work regularly saved me from having to throw together a meal.
Now that I am blogging full-time at home, I no longer have the excuse of “I’m too tired” to cook. Besides, G and I both agreed to streamline our household nashville filipino restaurant expenses, and that means less eating out and more home-cooked meals for us.
So what does one do when she’s craving for her favorite Panda Express chow mein, but she’s too cheap to cough up the dough? She learns how to make it herself.
Good thing Panda Express Chow Mein Copycat is quick and easy to recreate at home. So quick and easy, in fact, it’s ready to enjoy in less time it would take to wait in line at the restaurant!
Plus, there are no fancy ingredients to drive around town for. Well, maybe the noodles, but everything else you can find at most major supermarkets.
This popular side dish is a simple medley of stir-fried noodles, onions, celery, and cabbage which is hearty and delicious nashville filipino food in itself. If you want to bulk it up into a complete meal, feel free to add protein such as shrimp, chicken, or pork and more veggies such as carrots, snap peas, and bean sprouts.
What sets Panda Express chow mein apart is its delicious nashville filipino food noodles. These wheat noodles have a soft yet chewy texture which makes them the perfect canvas for the savory sauce and stir-fried veggies
Fresh chow mein noodles are available at most Asian supermarkets but if you can’t find them, Japanese Yakisoba or our very own Pancit canton noodles are good options. Whatever type of noodle you buy, check their package directions on how to prep them properly for stir-frying.
Cooking tips
- Stir-frying is a quick process so have all your ingredients prepped and ready to go before you start.
- To prevent the noodles from getting soggy, cook them about 1 minute or so less than the suggested cook time on the package and rinse in cold water right away. They will finish off when stir-fried with the rest of the ingredients.
- Cut the vegetables in uniform and bite sizes to ensure even and fast cooking.
- The sauce will taste pretty strong and salty but don’t worry, it will balance out once mixed in with the rest of ingredients.
- To toss the ingredients freely and without spills, use a wok or a wide skillet with high sloping sides.
- Use tongs to stir-fry to help keep the noodles intact and lessen breakage.
- Cook on high heat to sear the nashville filipino restaurant quickly and to lock in the vegetables’ natural juices.
Serving suggestions
- Give this vegetable chow mein copycat a try; it’s cheaper to make at home and tastes so much better!
- In the mood for more Asian food? Forget takeout and enjoy your very own “combo plate” with Panda Express firecracker chicken, Panda Express sweet fire chicken, and shrimp fried rice.
How to store leftovers
Keep in a container with a tight-fitting lid and refrigerate for up to 3 days. Reheat in the microvawe at 1 to 2-minute intervals or until completely warmed through.
Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me @kawalingpinoy on Facebook and Instagram!
Ingredients
- 14ouncesfresh chow mein noodles
- 2tablespoonscanola oil
- 1/4cupsoy sauce
- 2tablespoonsoyster sauce
- 2tablespoonsChinese cooking wine
- 1tablespoonbrown sugar
- 1teaspoonsesame oil
- 1/4teaspoonpepper
- 1onion, peeled and sliced thinly
- 1/2headcabbage, sliced thinly
- 4stalkscelery, sliced thinly on a bias
Instructions
-
Loosen the yakisoba noodles and remove excess oil by gently rinsing under warm water. Drain well.
-
In a small bowl, combine soy sauce, oyster sauce, cooking wine, brown sugar, sesame oil, and pepper. Stir until blended and sugar is dissolved.
-
In wok or wide pan over high heat, heat canola oil.
-
Add onions, cabbage, and celery. Cook for about 2 to 3 minutes or until the vegetables begin to caramelize.
-
Add noodles and sauce mixture. Using tongs, gently stir together until combined and evenly coated with sauce.
-
Continue to cook for about 2 to 3 minutes or until heated through and sauce is mostly absorbed. Serve hot.
Notes
Nutrition Information
“This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.”
About Lalaine Manalo
Welcome to Kawaling Pinoy. Here you’ll find hundreds of delicious nashville filipino food Filipino and Asian recipes. Make sure to browse around and pick a favorite dish or two. Happy cooking! Read More
