Panda Express Chow Mein recipe tastes exactly like the restaurant’s signature side dish. Make a healthier version of Panda at home for a fraction of the price!
Panda Express Chow Mein
Panda Express Chow Mein is one of our favorite dishes when we’re craving Chinese food but it can be inconvenient, not to mention pricey to grab take-out all the time. So why not make it at home? This chow mein recipe uses fresh, simple ingredients from right in your own kitchen and in less than 30 minutes! It’s so simple to throw together when the mood strikes, and tastes just as good (if not better) than the restaurant version.
Chow Mein vs Lo Mein
Sometimes it is difficult to tell the difference between chow mein and lo mein but after I go through the 3 main differences, you will easily know which is which. The biggest difference is simply knowing that one is stir-fried and the other is tossed in sauce.
Chow Mein:
- Translation: Translated, “chow mein” means “fried” or “stir-fried” noodles.
- Preparation: Chow mein noodles are parboiled and then stir-fried in a wok with vegetables and other ingredients until the noodles cooked through
- Texture: Because chow mein noodles are stir-fried, the noodles become slightly crispy and a bit oily. The fried texture makes it so it can’t really be “slurped”. Some think that chow mein noodles are strictly crunchy, deep fried noodles like the kind that comes in a canister but that is only one type of chow mein noodle. The most common kind of chow mein noodle is the stir-fried kind, like they use at Panda Express.
- Sauce: There is very little, if any sauce with chow mein noodles.
Lo Mein:
- Translation: Translated, “lo mein” means “tossed” noodles.
- Preparation: Lo mein noodles are parboiled until soft and then tossed with sauce and other ingredients.
- Texture: The texture is more soft in a lo mein noodle. It feels similar in texture to a spaghetti noodle. A lo mein noodle is easy to slurp.
- Sauce: Lo mein is tossed in a good amount of sauce.
Some may argue that Panda Express chow mein is a LO mein but looking over these qualifications above, you know that is actually IS a chow mein. Panda got it right. The noodles are stir-fried, they are a little oily, there is little sauce used, and they aren’t easy to slurp. In my opinion, it all comes down to that “slurp” test! Now, can you make this recipe a lo mein if you wanted to? Absolutely! It is DELICIOUS as a lo mein! Just boil up your noodles separately and double the sauce. Toss together and serve.
What Kind Of Noodles Are Best?
With chow mein, you can get away with using several different kind of noodles. As long as you stir fry them in some oil, you should be good to go! We like to use Yakisoba because I think the texture comes out just right every time but you can also cook up some dry chow mein noodles and then stir fry them in oil after they have been well drained. If you don’t have either of these on hand, you can get away with using a simple spaghetti noodle or linguini noodle and stir-frying them.
Panda Express Chow Mein Ingredients
The ingredients in Panda Express Chow Mein are simple. I love how Panda Express doesn’t complicate things. Of course if you are making this on your own you can take your own creative liberties and add extras to your liking. Here’s the basic ingredients:
- Chow mein noodles (prepared)
- Onion
- Celery
- Cabbage
- Chow mein sauce: soy sauce, brown sugar, garlic, ginger, and pepper
If you want to get creative, you can add:
- Chicken, beef, or shrimp
- Carrots
- Red bell pepper
- Snow peas
- Shitake mushrooms
- Bean sprouts
- Green onion
- Egg
Suggestions for this Recipe
- This simple recipe makes several good sized servings, so if you find yourself with leftovers, store it in a sealed container in the fridge. The noodles reheat beautifully and you can eat on this dish for up to a week!
- In this recipe you can add a shake or two of sesame oil to the vegetable oil to add a deeper flavor, but make sure to use it sparingly. The sesame oil flavoring can overpower the rest of the flavors. I have made it both ways (with and without sesame oil) and they both taste great.
- This recipe calls for celery, onion and cabbage but you could add shredded carrots, pea pods, broccoli or any of your favorite veggies to this dish.
Main Dishes to Serve with Panda Express Chow Mein
Pair this Chow Mein with some of our other Asian inspired recipes and you can have a full-on family style Chinese take-out night at home for a fraction of the price of going out.
- P.F. Chang’s Mongolian Beef
- Panda Express String Bean Chicken Breast
- Jared’s Gerenal Tso’s Chicken
- Orange Chicken
- Crock Pot Cashew Chicken
- Kung Pao Chicken
- Lettuce Wraps
- Chinese Barbecue Pork
- Ham Fried Rice
How to Make Panda Express Chow Mein
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon fresh ginger grated
- ground black pepper to taste
- 2-3 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 3 5.6 oz packages refrigerated Yaki Soba noodles (Found in the produce section of the grocery store. Usually the 3 packages are sold together in one 17oz. pack)
- 2/3 cup chopped celery chopped diagonally
- 1 medium-sized onion thinly sliced
- 2 cups chopped cabbage
Instructions
- In a small bowl combine soy sauce, brown sugar, garlic, ginger and black pepper. Set aside.
- Remove Yaki Soba from packages and discard included flavoring packets. Rinse noodles well, drain, and set aside.
- Heat oil in a large wok or skillet. Add celery and onion and saute for about 1-2 minutes or until onions start to become soft and transparent. Add cabbage and saute an additional minute.
- Add Yaki Soba noodles and soy sauce mixture with the vegetables and stir-fry over medium-high heat for an additional 2-3 minutes or until noodles are heated through.
Lynne says
Loved this recipe! Next time will add peanuts and sesame seed. We had it for lunch and it only served 3 of us.
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Chanel says
Can I use spaghetti instead of yakisoba?
Favorite Family Recipes says
Sure!
Jules says
We just made this tonight! Very delicious! We will make it again!!!
Sue Kehoe says
Made this the other night as a side dish for an amazing sweet and sour pork recipes. It is excellent. Loads of flavour
Glory says
I’ve been making this recipe for 3 years, and everyone loves it!! It is such a simple recipe to follow and it comes out great every single time! I have also boiled the noodles a bit to separate them and that works well.
Favorite Family Recipes says
I am so glad you like this recipe! Thanks so much for the 5-star rating! I will have to try boiling the noodles next time I make it!
Angela says
This was so flavorful! I added an extra splash of sesame oil and soy sauce at the end and threw in some left over pork and sugar snap peas and it was Awesome! Thank you so much!
Erica Walker says
Those sounds like wonderful additions! Thanks for sharing and for the 5-stars!
riley says
THIS WAS SO GOOD! YUM! THANKS! I couldn’t find the right noodles so I used linguini. Turned out great!
Favorite Family Recipes says
Awesome! I am happy to hear that linguine noodles work well for this recipe. I will have to try it that way next time! Thanks for the 5 stars!
Jolie Perez says
Thank you so much for this recipe! I didn’t have sesame oil that other recipes required so this worked out great! The sauce was delicious & this is definitely a keeper! 😊
Alli says
Why does this recipe call for yakisoba (Japanese wheat flour noodles) instead of Chinese egg noodles for an essentially Chinese dish?
People can use whatever they like (it seems in the comments that people are even happy using Italian pasta), but I feel the recommendation in a copycat recipe for people interested in making chow mein at home should at least be the same Chinese egg noodles that chow mein is made with in restaurants.
Anita says
I’m from Kentucky and can’t find the Yaki Soba noodles here. So we use the Chinese Egg Noodles(dry). Just have to boil for 5-10 minutes and they are great with this recipe. Can buy at Amazon & Ebay.
Tekesha says
Made this tonight! We LOVED it! I added a bit of white ground pepper and onion powder and used cappellini noodles because I couldn’t get my hands on yakisoba noodles. Served it with Trader Joe’s Mandarin Orange Chicken. Ay yi yi. So good! 🙂
Erica says
So glad you liked it! 😀
Marilee says
I make this pretty consistently for my kids. They LOVE it! Sometimes I’ll add chicken or BBQ pork to make it a full meal. Thank you!