Chicken Chow Mein — The Takeout-Style Stir Fry I Should Have Made Instead of That Mushy Fried Rice

Summer hit Milwaukee like a freight train this week. Ninety degrees by Tuesday. The brewing floor becomes a sauna when it's this hot — you're standing next to boiling kettles in ninety-degree heat, and by the end of the day your clothes are soaked through and you've drunk about a gallon of water. But the taproom is air-conditioned and packed every night, so the beer is flowing and business is good. Marcus and I finished the Door County cherry wheat beer. It's in fermentation now and the early samples are promising — tart, fruity, refreshing, exactly what you want on a hot Wisconsin day. Marcus says if this batch is good enough, it might become a permanent summer seasonal. The idea that something I helped make could be a permanent menu item at Lakefront Brewery is... I don't know. It means something. It means I'm not just loading kegs anymore. I cooked twice this week, which is a personal record. Tuesday I made tacos — ground beef, seasoning packet from the store, shredded cheese, lettuce, the works. Not authentic, not impressive, but tasty and mine. Thursday I tried to make fried rice because I had leftover rice from Chinese takeout and I saw a video that said you should use day-old rice. The fried rice was... okay. Kind of mushy. I think I used too much soy sauce. The apartment smelled like a Chinese restaurant for two days, which wasn't the worst thing. Hockey on Thursday was good. I'm getting my legs back. Still slow, still not scoring, but I'm hitting clean and my wind is improving. A guy on the other team tried to fight me in the third period — dropped his gloves and everything — and I just skated away. Not because I was scared. Because I'm not that guy anymore. I was the enforcer in high school because I wasn't skilled enough to be anything else, and also because I was angry about Danny and didn't know what else to do with it. I'm still not skilled enough to be a scorer, but I'm not angry anymore. I'm just playing because I love to play. Sunday at Babcia's: she made a strawberry compote with fresh berries from the farmers market, served over naleśniki — Polish crepes. Thin, buttery, slightly sweet, rolled up with the strawberries and a dusting of powdered sugar. Summer food. Babcia food. The best food.

That Sunday at Babcia’s hit different this week — something about skating away from that fight, about not being angry anymore, made me want to cook something that felt like moving forward instead of looking back. Chow mein isn’t Polish, it’s not nostalgic, it’s just a weeknight meal I’ve been making since college when I needed something fast and satisfying and a little bit loud. It fills the apartment with a smell that lingers, which I’ve decided I’m fine with. Here’s how I made it.

Chicken Chow Mein

Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 20 min | Total Time: 35 min | Servings: 4

Ingredients

• 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts, thinly sliced
• 8 oz chow mein noodles (or thin lo mein noodles)
• 2 cups coleslaw mix (shredded cabbage and carrots)
• 1 cup bean sprouts
• 3 green onions, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
• 1 tablespoon hoisin sauce
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon white pepper

Instructions

1. Cook the noodles. Boil noodles according to package directions, usually 3–4 minutes. Drain, rinse with cold water, and set aside. Rinsing stops the cooking and keeps them from clumping.
2. Mix the sauce. In a small bowl, whisk together soy sauce, oyster sauce, hoisin sauce, sesame oil, cornstarch, sugar, and white pepper. Set aside. This is where the flavor lives — don’t skip anything.
3. Marinate the chicken. Toss sliced chicken with 1 tablespoon of the sauce mixture and let it sit for 5 minutes while you get everything else ready.
4. Sear the chicken. Heat 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil in a wok or large skillet over high heat until it’s just starting to smoke. Add the chicken in a single layer and cook without stirring for 2 minutes, then flip and cook another 2 minutes until cooked through. Remove to a plate.
5. Cook the vegetables. Add the remaining tablespoon of oil to the same pan. Add garlic and cook 30 seconds. Add the coleslaw mix and stir-fry for 2 minutes until it starts to wilt but still has a little crunch.
6. Add noodles and sauce. Add the cooked noodles to the pan along with the bean sprouts and green onions. Pour the sauce over everything. Toss and stir-fry for 2–3 minutes until the noodles are coated and starting to get a little crispy on the edges.
7. Finish and serve. Add the chicken back to the pan, toss everything together for one more minute. Taste and add a splash more soy sauce if needed. Serve immediately — chow mein is best hot and fresh from the wok.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 420 | Protein: 32g | Fat: 11g | Carbs: 48g | Fiber: 3g | Sodium: 890mg