Chow-Mein

Good Chinese food really does take a lot of skill, practice and patience! I never knew how hard it was to be able to get the taste's right! I tried my hand at Chow-Mein and it was alright - I've definitely had better. Someone please, tell me what's missing! I want to succeed! Although I must say - it was pretty good for my first attempt!

Chow-Mein

Ingredients:

10 oz Steamed Chowmein Noodles

2 Chicken Breasts

3 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 cup shredded cabbage

1/2 cup shredded carrot

8 oz. bean sprouts

2 TBS soy sauce

1 TBS oyster sauce 

1/2 tsp sugar 

2 TBS water 

2 TBS cooking oil

2 stalks of scallions (cut into 1 1/2 inch length)

Salt to taste

Chicken Marinade:

2 tsp. soy sauce

1 tsp Shao Hsing cooking wine

1 tsp corn starch

2 TBS water

Directions:

1. Cut chicken breasts into bite-size pieces and marinate (in the "Chicken Marinade") for at least 15 minutes.

2. Soak the Chowmein noodles in cold water for 5 minutes. Drain and rinse with cold water (to remove excess starch). Set aside. 

3. In a small mixing bowl combine soy sauce and oyster sauce; stir and set aside.

4. Heat up the wok with the cooking oil. Add in the chopped garlic and stir-fry until light brown or aromatic. Add the chicken and cook until it's almost cooked through. Add the shredded cabbage and carrot into the wok and do a few quick stirs. Add the noodles, the soy/oyster sauce mixture and the water. Continue to stir until the noodles are well blended with the seasonings and completely cooked through. Add the chopped scallions and bean sprouts, do a few final stirs, dish out and serve hot. 

**NOTES: It was bland this way... so I added more soy sauce. It then became just a little too salty so I added a few shakes of sugar. It didn't taste quite right so I added a few shakes of ground ginger (hoping I can save this dish somehow). All-in-all it was alright... I'm still on the lookout for a good chow-mein recipe! Like I said though, this was my first attempt, and practice makes perfect. :)