hello! Hi everyone, Wesley here. Today we’re diving back into our series dedicated to classic Americanized Chinese cuisine with a look at the Chow Mein noodles from Panda Express. For those new to the channel, in this series, we have been deconstructing classic dishes from Americanized chinese cuisine (not unlike the plethora of dishes from the Panda Express menu), then seeing what they might look like when reconstructed through the lens of more traditional wok cooking.
In more recent memory, this has tended to be really interesting to break down dishes like General Chicken or Bejing Beef, where the dish has no real foundation in Chinese cuisine (and instead really just originates from American cuisine), because frequently, we end up with wildly unique results. For our Chow Mein today however, obviously this dish has roots all throughout chinese cuisine, meaning that we are for the most part going to be taking a look at what makes Panda Express’ chow mein unique (and make no mistake, it definitely is unique) before we construct our own attempt at the dish. Hope you try it.
Serves 2-3
INGREDIENTS
4 cloves garlic
1 inch (about 1 tbsp) ginger
3 Thai chiles
2 heads broccoli
4 oz bean sprouts
1 lb firm tofu
3 eggs
14 oz dry rice noodles
onion powder
chili powder
garlic powder
kosher salt
peanut oil
INGREDIENTS (sauce)
4 tbsp low sodium soy sauce (or 2 tbsp full sodium soy sauce)
2 tbsp sambal oelek
2 tbsp rice vinegar
2 tbsp hoisin sauce
PREP
CRUSH and mince the garlic, set aside
FINE MINCE the ginger, set aside
SLICE the Thai chile, set aside
SLICE the broccoli into long spears, set aside
LARGE DICE the tofu, then press dry with a paper towel and set aside
WHISK the eggs to combine, set aside
REHYDRATE the noodles in boiling water for 5 minutes, then strain and set aside
COMBINE all sauce ingredients, set aside
ON THE STOVE
HEAT a wok over medium, then add 4 tbsp peanut oil and long yao
ADD the tofu and sear for 3-4 minutes per side until golden, then remove to a large mixing bowl and dry season with onion powder, garlic powder, chili powder, and kosher salt
REHEAT the wok as hot as possible, then add 4 tbsp peanut oil and long yao
ADD the broccoli and saute for 2-3 minutes, then shift the broccoli to one side and add the garlic, ginger, and Thai chiles to the wok surface, then saute until fragrant for 15 seconds
ADD the bean sprouts, noodles, and tofu back to the wok, then toss to combine
ADD the sauce mixture to the center of the wok and toss to combine
ADD the eggs around the sides of the wok then let set for 30 seconds and toss to combine