In this evolving society, Chinese cuisine is getting massive attention worldwide in the 21st century. In this modern society, all types of cuisines are available to satiate the palate. We can try all types of cuisines such as Italian, Mexican, American, Chinese, and Indian in the restaurants of the United States. The US is a hub for cross-cultural contact and has food from every culture, including Chinese food (Shun). The supermarket in Flushing is famous for buying fresh meat and vegetables to make Chinese food at home. Chinese cuisine is an all-time healthy food that gives intense satisfaction and a quenching palate. The famous healthy dish of Chinese cuisine is “Chicken Chow Mein”, which is made with fresh vegetables, rich oyster sauce, hot sauce, garlic, boneless chicken, and a wok in less than 30 minutes.
Chicken chow Mein is the most appealing Chinese dish served in restaurants in the US. Chicken chow Mein is loved by everyone because of its health benefits. The abundant stir-fried vegetables boost its healthy components. Chow Mein means “stir-fried noodles”. Many people in America have made slight variations in cooking chow Mein according to their taste preference because of spicy food. The most tempting, favourite, and appealing food around the world in Chinese cuisine is Chicken Chow Mein which appears on many American Chinese menus (Cho). This illustrated recipe of chicken chow Mein is a modified version with slight variations according to the local preference.
Authentic Chinese food is ideally made in a wok to stir fry the vegetables, boiled round noodles and chicken with oyster sauce, soya sauce, hot sauce, garlic powder, and freshly chopped garlic to give an intense flavour. Chicken chow Mein can be made in a mixture of olive and peanut oil. Garlic powder along with chopped garlic, can also be used in making the sauce to enhance its flavour. Round egg noodles are preferred for Chow Mein because their shape remains beautiful even after stir-frying. First of all, the noodles are boiled in water with two spoons of vinegar and 3 spoons of salt. After boiling, the noodles are rinsed off. Now we take 4 cloves of garlic chopped and sauté them in a mixture of olive and peanut oil in the wok. The vegetables should be sliced in the diagonal direction making crisp julienne shapes to make them more professional and presentable.
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Usually, a large number of carrots, cabbage, green onions, and capsicum diagonally sliced are used in chicken Chow Mein. These sliced vegetables should be added to the mixture with oyster sauce, soya sauce, and hot sauce to enhance its rich flavour with a pinch of garlic powder. After two minutes of stir-frying, add tomato paste and give it another minute of frying. Seared chicken strips in chopped garlic and oils (Peanut and Olive oil) separately give a flavorful glaze to the chicken before adding the sauces and vegetables to it. Boneless chicken is sliced in strips and seared with chopped garlic, soya sauce, black pepper, and salt. This is the most tempting step because of the searing noise of chicken with the intense aroma of sauces and garlic. The chicken strips are perfect when the thick mixture of sauces is glazed over the stiffed strips with a hint of brown colour. After this step, sauté vegetables added, boiled egg noodles, and garlic seared chicken strips. In the end, green spring onions are added for garnishing the Chow Mein. The dark brown glazing sauces of Chow Mein coating the stir-fried vegetables, chicken, and boiled noodles give intense flavour to the palate.
Chow Mein is one of the favourite Chinese dishes eaten around the world. Chow Mein is prepared in light oil and a large number of fresh vegetables, making it high in healthy nutrients with lean proteins. Ample fresh and raw vegetables give a boost to the nutritional value of this dish. Food historians claim that Chow Mein is prepared in American-Chinese restaurants, has improvised the dish according to the taste preference of the local population (Lim). Homemade Chinese food is preferable due to hygienic purposes and the global pandemic of Covid-19. Chicken Chow Mein is a healthy option to binge upon from Chinese cuisine.
Works Cited
Cho, Lily. Eating Chinese. University of Toronto Press. p. 51. (2010)
Coe, Andrew. Chop suey: A cultural history of chinese food in the United States. Oxford University Press, (2009)
Lim, Imogene L., and John Eng-Wong. “Chow Mein Sandwiches: Chinese American Entrepreneurship in Rhode Island.” Origins and Destinations: 41 Essays on Chinese America (1994): 417-36.
Lu, Shun, and Gary Alan Fine. “The presentation of ethnic authenticity: Chinese food as a social accomplishment.” The Sociological Quarterly 36.3 (1995): 535-553.
