Guyanese Chicken Chow Mein

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.

Course Main Course

Cuisine Guyanese / Caribbean

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Prep Time 10

Cook Time 30

Total Time 40

Servings

Calories 308kcal

Equipment

Large skillet or wok
Large Bowl

Ingredients

1 Packet dried chow mein noodles
3 tablespoons oil (suitable for cooking)
1 1/2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1 small onion thinly sliced
1/2 teaspoon Chinese 5 spice
1 teaspoon garlic powder

Vegetables

1/3 Green Cabbage Thinly shredded
4 green onions finely chopped
1 carrot julienned
1/2 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

1/2 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
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon Chinese 5 spice
1 tablespoon ketchup

Optional Finishing Sauce

1/2 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.

Nutrition