CrockPot Chow Mein Recipe

Day 204.

I made this chow mein with chicken, but you easily could keep it vegetarian, or use your favorite kind of meat---even pork!

Debbi (who doesn't have a blog, but totally needs one) sent me this recipe in May, and I made it just yesterday.

This is a good one; I'm excited to share it with you.

The Ingredients.

--1-2 lbs of meat (I used one pound of chicken breast; Debbi uses two pounds)
--2 cups of water
--2 chopped yellow onions
--2-3 cups of chopped celery

--1/4 cup cornstarch
--1/4 cup soy sauce (La Choy and Tamari wheat-free are gluten free)
--3 T molasses
--1 can (16 oz) baby corn, drained
--1 can (6.5 oz) bamboo shoots, drained
--1 cup bean sprouts
--1 chopped red bell pepper

--salt and pepper to taste
--olive oil
--spaghetti or chow mein noodles (I used Trader Joe's brown rice spaghetti)

The Directions.

If you are using meat, put it into the crockpot. I used frozen chicken breast tenderloins. Add the chopped onion and celery, and two cups of water.

Cover and cook on low for 6-7 hours, or on high for 4. Shred meat carefully with two forks.

In a glass bowl, mix the cornstarch, soy sauce, and molasses. Mix to get rid of the little clumpy balls of cornstarch. I ended up needing to use my fingers to really break them up--which reminds me that I should really make a batch of Ooblek for the kids.
set aside.

Chop up the red bell pepper, and add it to the crockpot. Open the bamboo shoots and corn, drain liquid, and add remaining content. Add bean sprouts.

Stir in the sauce mixture.

Cover your crockpot again and cook on high for about an hour, or until flavors have melded and the added vegetables reach desired tenderness.

Before serving, cook pasta according to package instructions. I heavily salted my water before adding the pasta (about 1 tablespoon of kosher salt) and added some olive oil.

When the pasta reaches the al dente stage, drain it and set aside. Heat some olive oil in a large frying pan or wok, and add some salt and pepper, if desired (I didn't add any pepper). On high heat, toss the cooked pasta in the olive oil and salt, allowing it to sizzle a bit and get a tiny crust on some of the noodles.

Serve the noodles with the crockpot vgetables and meat.

The Verdict.

Oh thank you, Debbi! This was one of the best chow mein dishes I've ever had, ever. I loved how the noodles were not squishy and gross, and how the vegetables remained crisp and the sauce was SPOT ON. Debbi totally got it right.

We will make this again and again. My three-year-old has never had chow mein, and gobbled up her portion, and then ate more off of my plate. My six-year-old was hesitant with the veggies, but ate all the chicken and pasta.

Adam ate two plates, and so did I.

My parents dropped by and I gave them each some.

Everyone really liked this meal.

I have enough meat and veggies to make another 1/2 package of pasta to feed the girls and I for lunch.

Awesome.

If you'd like to have a full Chinese-style crockpot dinner at home, you could make:

Hot and Sour Soup
Chinese Lemon Chicken
Mongolian Beef