Guyanese Style Chicken Chow Mein is a delicious fusion of Chinese and Caribbean flavors; tender marinated chicken tossed with fresh veggies, chewy noodles, and a savory sauce. This well-balanced meal comes together in just 40 minutes, for a deliciously satisfying dinner.
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Guyanese Chicken Chow Mein
Chicken chow mein is one of those dishes that most Guyanese people make on special occasions (holidays, birthday parties, etc) or for lunch on Sundays. But in my house, it's an "any day you don't feel like cooking too much but want something delicious" kind of meal to prepare.
That's probably why I have so many variations like these Whole 30 Compliant Ground Beef Chow Mein and Guyanese Style Chicken Chowmein recipes.
Why You'll Love This Guyanese Style Chicken Chow Mein Recipe
- Quick & Easy: It's quick and perfect for lazy days. We have it so often that it's become a family favorite. And it's ready in less than one hour.
- Healthier Than Takeout: If you've ever had Chinese takeout then you know how delicious it can be, in all its greasy glory. But when you make it at home, you control the amount of sodium, and oil, and can use fresher ingredients.
- A Delicious Fusion: This may not be authentic chicken chow mein in the traditional sense but making this Guyanese style is super yummy!
What is Chow Mein?
Chow mein is a Chinese-American dish traditionally made with egg noodles and stir-fried veggies in a wok.
Ingredients for Chicken Chow Mein
As you can see this easy chow mein recipe has elements of Chinese, American and Guyanese cuisine. It's a fun tasty twist that makes for an excellent infusion of flavors from all over the world.
- Dried chow mein noodles: You can usually find this in the Asian aisle at your local grocery store.
- Oil: Use your cooking oil of choice.
- Chicken: Boneless, skinless chicken thighs provide a rich flavor. But you can use chicken breasts or bone-in chicken cut up into 1 to 2-inch chunks.
- Onion: Thinly sliced.
- Seasoning: I use Chinese 5 spice and garlic powder.
Vegetables
- Green Cabbage: Thinly shredded.
- Green onions: Finely chopped.
- Carrots: Julienned.
- Broccoli spears: About 1 cup.
- Petite green beans: Cut them into 2 Inch pieces. This is a substitute for Chinese long beans (bora beans). If you have access to bora beans, use those instead.
- Baby bell peppers: This adds a color and little bit of spice.
Chicken Seasoning
- Dried thyme: This adds herby flavor.
- Cassareep: This a thick brown syrup made from boiling down cassava and enhancing it with sugar and spices. Use soy sauce as an alternative if necessary. Substitute with coconut aminos for a soy and sugar-free option
- Garlic cloves: grated
- Brown sugar: If you end up using coconut aminos in this chicken chow mein recipe, skip this.
- Seasoning: The chicken is seasoned with onion powder, salt, black pepper, and Chinese 5 spice.
- Brown mustard: This helps the spices stick to the chicken. It is a bit spicier than dijon mustard.
- Ketchup: For a hint of sweet tomato flavor.
Optional Chow Mein Sauce
- Coconut aminos garlic sauce: Use this or another Chinese garlic sauce.
- Red pepper flakes: This adds some heat.
- Sesame oil: For a deep, toasted flavor.
See recipe card for quantities.
How to Make Guyanese Chicken Chow Mein
Season the Chicken
I always prep and season my chicken before doing anything else. This way it marinates while I am prepping my vegetables.
Prep the Vegetables
Julienne your bell peppers (or baby bell pepper in my case), julienne your carrots, blanch your vegetables if you are using those, and have everything ready to go before you start cooking.
I also measure out my seasoning ingredients ahead of time if I am following a recipe. You don't want to be hunting for a particular spice while you are stir-frying on high heat! No one likes burnt food, especially burnt chow mein.
Cook the chicken
I love cooking my meat separately from my vegetables. When I first started cooking, I prepared chicken then added all of the vegetables into the pot with the chicken and stir-fry them all together. It is simple and produces a really delicious chow mein.
But all the color of the vegetables would get washed away by the sauce from the chicken, so I started sautéing them separately, then adding everything back together. The flavor was so much better this way and it's how I've been making chow mein ever since.
Sauté the veggies
Assemble Guyanese Chicken Chow Mein
I cook my chow mein noodles while I am cooking my other ingredients. I don't boil it, drain it and let it sit while I am cooking. The best chow mein I make is when I put the pot of water on to boil when I put the skillet on to sauté the chicken. Then I cook the noodles about 1-2 minutes shorter than the instructions on the packet.
The noodles are usually done cooking right when I need to add them to my meat and veggies. I drain the noodles and transfer them immediately to my pot with the meat and veggies. I don't have to run them with cold water to separate them or anything.
To take the flavor of my chow mein up a notch I serve it with a garlicky sesame oil sauce. I love serving the sauce on the side and then dinners can pour it over the chow mein and mix it together for a real hands-on dining experience. And by diners, I mean my husband and children!
Substitutions & Variations
- Vegetarian Chow Mein. Add pre-cooked tofu instead of chicken.
- Noodle. Use dry spaghetti, rice noodles, or yakisoba as a substitute for chow mein noodles.
- Vegetables. Consider adding bok choy, wiri wiri peppers, bean sprouts, spinach, or kale.
- Chicken Lo Mein. Instead of pan-fried noodles, try soft lo mein noodles.
Equipment
- Large skillet or wok: This cooks each element of the recipe. Woks are preferred because they are deep and retain heat well.
- Large bowl: This contains the cooked chicken as you prepare the other elements of the dish.
Storage
After it has completely cooled, store leftover chow mein in an airtight container in the fridge. Consume within 5 days. Add a splash of water and reheat over medium heat in a skillet until warmed through.
FAQ
What is the difference between chow mein and lo mein?
Although the two dishes are often used interchangeably, chow mein refers to dried noodles and lo mein references fresh egg noodles.
What is chicken chow mein sauce made of?
Chow mein sauce tends to be a mix of sweet and savory flavors. Different recipes use various ingredients to achieve this balance. For this recipe, I use Coconut Secret Coconut Aminos Garlic Sauce with sesame oil and red pepper flakes. Other recipes may use ingredients like oyster sauce, chicken broth, sugar, soy sauce, and cornstarch (for thickness).
What Makes this chicken chow mein recipe Guyanese style?
Guyana is a fusion of six cultures and Chinese is one of them. Guyanese people of Chinese descent pass down their traditions and the result is delicious fusion dishes like this Guyanese chicken chow mein. This recipe includes common Guyanese ingredients like cassareep and bora beans.
Related
Pairing
Do you love this Guyanese Chicken Chow Mein recipe? Have questions or suggestions? Let me know in the comments section. Then check out my YouTube, TikTok, or Instagram for more delicious recipes.
Printable Recipe Card
Guyanese Chicken Chow Mein
Equipment
- Large skillet or wok
- Large Bowl
Ingredients
- 1 Packet dried chow mein noodles
- 3 tablespoons oil (suitable for cooking)
- 1 ½ lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs
- 1 small onion thinly sliced
- ½ teaspoon Chinese 5 spice
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
Vegetables
- ⅓ Green Cabbage Thinly shredded
- 4 green onions finely chopped
- 1 carrot julienned
- ½ head broccoli spears about 1 cup
- 1 cup petite green beans cut Into 2 Inch pieces (substitute for chinese long bean (bora) If available
- 4 baby bell peppers
To season the chicken
- ½ tablespoon dried thyme
- 1 tablespoon cassareep or soy sauce may substitute with coconut aminos for a soy and sugar free option
- 3 cloves garlic grated
- 1 teaspoon brown sugar skip if using coconut aminos
- 2 teaspoons of onion powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon brown mustard
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon Chinese 5 spice
- 1 tablespoon ketchup
Optional Finishing Sauce
- ½ cup coconut aminos garlic sauce other Chinese garlic sauce
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
Instructions
Cook the noodles
- Follow the instructions on the packet to cook the noodles, then drain and set aside. For best results try to cook your noodles so that they are finished cooking just when it is time to add them to the other ingredients
Season the Chicken
- Cut chicken into 1 inch chunks. Then seasonwith thyme, cassareep or soy sauce, grated garlic, brown sugar (or coconut aminos), salt, mustard, black pepper, Chinese 5 spice and ketchup.
- Set aside and let marinate while you are prepping your vegetables.
Cook the Chicken
- Add oil to a large skillet or wok on medium heat. When oil comes up to temperature add onions and cook until onions are translucent and soft. Then increase the heat to high.
- Next, add seasoned chicken and sauté until chicken is fully cooked, stirring once or twice to ensure it doesn’t burn. If you are using bone in chicken, you can reduce the heat to medium-low, cover and let the chicken cook for 10-15 minutes.
Add the vegetables: Two Options
- Add the vegetables (except for the pepper, green onions and cabbage) to the cooked chicken and cook for another 5 minutes, constantly tossing for even cooking
- Then add the peppers, granulated garlic, pinch of salt and remaining Chinese Five Spice and sauté for 2-3 minutes, then add the green onions and the cabbage.
or
- Remove the meat from the pan and place in a clean bowl, then add 1 tablespoon of oil to the pan.
- Next add the vegetables (except for thepepper, green onions and cabbage) and sauté on high heat for 3-5.
- Then add the peppers, granulated garlic, pinch of salt and remaining Chinese Five Spice and sauté for 2-3 minutes, then add the green onions and the cabbage.
- Next add the chicken to the sautéed vegetables
Add the noodles
- Add the cooked noodles to the sautéed chicken and vegetables and stir-fry for a few minutes on high heat, mixing together well.
For the finishing sauce
- Combine all the ingredients for the sauce, then drizzle over individual portions of chow mein as you serve them.
- Serve your chow mein hot and enjoy!
Notes
- The key to good chow mein is to have a bit of sauce in the cooked meat and vegetables so that once you add the noodles, it soaks all that goodness up.
- You could substitute the protein in this dish for any protein of choice or eliminate it altogether
- It takes about 30 minutes to cook this dish if you have good time management. Cut up the chicken first, season, and set aside, put noodles on to boil, while the noodles are cooking prep veggies.
- After writing this post, I wanted to go make some more chow mein. I seriously love this stuff.
- CASSAREEP is a Guyanese dark sauce (similar to soy sauce) made from cassava/yuca juice. It’s traditionally made by the indigenous peoples (Amerindians) of Guyana and makes stews and almost any dish you would add soy sauce to, taste amazing.
- You can also cook this dish in a wok.
Ayana says
Hi Altee I bookmarked this since last week to read. I'm just on my lunch break and reading this. Beautiful pictures and clear instructions. I felt like I was right there watching you cook up this delicious dish. I'll definitely give this recipe a whirl. And I'm looking at your blog design and taking notes. Metamgee.com is of course bookmarked in my Favourites on Google Chrome. I look forward to more pictures and recipes- a delicious reminder of home!
Metemgee says
So glad you are inspired. I typically post recipes every Wednesday and Sunday. Stay tuned.
joel bunbury says
I love the way everything is used thanks a lot
Vincent says
For the spicy people, chop up some marie wirri pepper or bird pepper 5 mins before end and stir up!
Metemgee says
You can even season the chicken with some wiri wiri pepper for extra heat, or put pepper sauce at the end 😉
Amrita says
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Metemgee says
Thanks for the love.
J says
I cooked this tonight and the flavors were wonderful. Thanks for sharing. I also made your roti, and your bake and saltfish. All meals were outstanding :0)
J says
Love your recipes,,, this was delicious. Thanks so much :0)
Cash P. says
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Bella says
Awesome awesome although I'm born guyanese! Its never too late to put lil more guyanese spice in my life!
Dave says
Think your cooKing instructions are wrong?
Althea Brown says
You are absolutely right. Looks like the recipe card got corrupted and is jumbled. Just fixed it. Thank you for pointing this out.
Wyoming CBD says
Great piece of content.
Un says
Great!
Blithe says
I really enjoy your site. I would like to ask if you have experimented cooking with any of the gluten free chow mein noodle brands
Sharon R. says
I’ve never considered marinating my chicken with ketchup and mustard, but it produced a great flavour and my chowmein turned out wonderfully today! Guyanese chowmein has always been at the top of my fave foods although I rarely cook it for myself at home. Thanks for the recipe!
Cristina says
Loved this recipe
Erica P says
I was so happy when my sister told me to follow your account. Your posts are lively and have easy to follow instructions. Well done!
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