Teriyaki Chicken Lo Mein

I love Cook's Country Magazine. It's my all-time favorite cooking magazine. It's from America's Test Kitchen (on PBS) and I love that because they go through all the trial and error to get the "just-right" recipe so I don't have to. In the center of the magazine they have 30-minute meal recipe cards. I wanted an extra vegetable with our Teriyaki Chicken Lo Mein so I tried making garlic green beans and they were delicious! I also bought some wonton skins (wrappers for egg rolls) and cut them into strips and fried them. They gave the dish some extra crunch. Yumm! Makes great leftovers, too!

Teriyaki Chicken Lo Mein
(from Cook's Country February/March 2009)

3/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup rice vinegar (I just used white vinegar since I didn't have rice)
1 1/2 tbsp grated fresh ginger (I used ground ginger and taste-tested as I added)
1/3 cup sugar
1 tbsp cornstarch
3 1/2 cups water
4 (3-oz) pkgs ramen noodles, broken into large pieces, seasoning packet discarded
1 (16-oz) bag cole slaw mix
2 whole boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut crosswise into 1/4-in-thick slices
1 tbsp vegetable oil

1. Simmer soy sauce, vinegar, ginger, sugar, and cornstarch (whisk in the cornstarch so you don't get lumps) in a large saucepan over medium-high heat, whisking often, until thickened, 2 to 3 minutes. Tranfer half of soy sauce mixture to large bowl and reserve. Add water to saucepan with remaining soy sauce mixture and return to boil. Add ramen and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 4 minutes (maybe a little less than 4 minutes because they'll soften as they set). Off heat, stir in cole slaw and mix. Cover and keep warm.
2. Pat chicken dry with paper towels (season with salt and pepper). Heat oil in large skillet over medium-high heat until just smoking. Add chicken and cook until no longer pink, about 1 minute per side. Transfer chicken to bowl with reserved soy sauce mixture and toss to coat. Transfer noddles to platter and top with chicken. Serve.

Garlic Green Beans

1/2 tbsp vegetable oil
4 garlic cloves, finely minced or pressed
1/4 cup water
large bunch of green beans

Use the same skillet you cooked the chicken in and add vegetable oil. Heat on meiumm-high until smoking then add the garlic and sautee until fragrent, about 1 minute. Pour in water and add green beans, mix to coat. Cover for 2 minutes, toss, and cook uncovered another 2 minutes. Serve.


That's it. And it was delicious! As good as any Chinese take out, I think. And it only took 30 minutes!! Fry up some wontons to give this meal an extra crunch. Enjoy.