Chicken Lo Mein

Last week, we were in the mood to try something new for dinner. I was thinking about something Asian-inspired, but didn't want stirfry. I wanted something different.

First, I did some blog searching, but didn't find anything that sounded quite right. So I turned to my trusty-dusty allrecipes.com. A couple of clicks and I landed on this recipe for Chicken Lo Mein.

This ended up being exactly what I was looking for. Simple, and the ingredients required (aside from the veggies) were mostly things we already had on hand. I didn't want to have to buy a bunch of new ingredients that aren't used for very many recipes.

The only things we changed about the original recipe were the veggies we used, and the proportions. Since we used a lot of vegetables and additional pasta, so we had to increase the sauce ingredients a bit to make sure we had enough to coat everything. We also didn't have any bouillon granules, so I used a bit of extra chicken broth instead. It worked out perfectly. The changes we made are reflected in the recipe below.

I wouldn't call this "fake-out take-out," because it really doesn't taste like any lo mein I've ever had at a restaurant. But this dish has great flavor, and you wanna know the best part? I thought the leftovers a couple days later were even better tasting than the night we made it. Give this one a try!

Chicken Lo Mein
(Source: Adapted from Allrecipes.com)

Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 tbsp. corn starch
- 1 1/2 tsp. ground ginger
- 1/3 cup reduced-sodium soy sauce
- 1/4 cup sherry or reduced-sodium chicken broth + an additional 1/4-1/2 cup (we used the chicken broth)
- 1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into small chunks
- 1 box uncooked linguine or spaghetti
- approx. 1/2 lb. broccoli florets
- 1 large sweet red pepper, chopped
- 1/4 large onion
- a bunch of green onions, cut into 2 inch pieces (use however many you like, depending on preference)
- 3 tbsp. canola oil, divided.
- 2 tsp. sesame oil

Directions:
1. In a large bowl, combine the cornstarch, ginger, soy sauce, and sherry or broth until smooth. Add chicken and stir to coat; set aside.

2. Cook linguine or spaghetti according to package directions.

3. In a large nonstick skillet or wok, stir-fry vegetables in 1-2 tbsp. canola oil for 3-5 minutes, or until crisp-tender. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.

4. In the same skillet, stir-fry chicken mixture in remaining canola oil for 4-5 minutes, or until no longer pink. Add in 1/4 - 1/2 cup additional sherry or chicken broth (depending on how much sauce you want/need), and bring to a boil. Cook and stir for 1-2 minutes or until thickened. Return vegetables to skillet.

5. Drain pasta; add sesame oil and pasta to skillet. Toss to coat. Cook 1-2 minutes longer or until heated through.