Recipe: Main Dish Mein

This recipe is a quick alternative to take-out. It is very versatile and you can change out the ingredients to fit your tastes. You can even make this VEGETARIAN by taking out the chicken and adding more vegetables.

Ingredients:
4 tsp soy sauce
2 tsp mirin wine
2 tsp corn starch
4 TBSP water
1 garlic clove, finely minced
*1-2 pounds raw chicken breast, cut into bite-sized pieces
**4oz pack of instant chow mein (we use Nissan brand) NOODLES ONLY
1-2 celery rib, sliced on a diagonal (crescent moon shaped)
1-2 carrot, sliced
1/2-1 cup broccoli flowerettes
1-2 zucchini, cubed
8-20 button mushrooms, quartered
2-4 green onions, halved lengthwise and cut in 1″ pieces
1-2 handful(s) bean sprouts

Preparation:
Combine soy sauce, wine, corn starch, water, and garlic and stir well. Skip the part in brackets if making vegetarian version. [Pour liquid over chicken and marinate for 20 minutes to overnight.] Follow directions on noodles package, EXCEPT do not use seasoning or sauce packages that come with the noodles. Add 2 TBSP cooking oil to a wok or large frying pan over medium-high heat. When oil is hot but not smoking, [add chicken and stir constantly for about 4-5 minutes, When chicken is mostly done,] add celery, carrot, and broccoli (and sauce from above if making vegetarian version) for about 3 minutes or until broccoli is cooked but still firm. Add zucchini and mushrooms and cook an additional 2 minutes. Add cooked mein noodles and stir to distribute vegetables throughout the noodles. Cook for about 1-2 minutes or heated through. Add green onions for 30 seconds, remove from heat and add sprouts.

Optional:
Add 1/4 to 1/2 cup Sweet Thai Chili sauce for a sweet kick!

*Omit chicken if making vegetarian version, of course.

**You can alternatively use regular mein noodles and prepare them according to package.

Tagged as: in-the-kitchen, International, Vegetarian