– The sauce base
The sauce base we use to bind everything together is the key to this delicious egg chowmein recipe. Typically, a mixture of red and green chili sauces, white vinegar (for acidity), and dark soy sauce is used to make street style chowmein. Lemon juice can be used in place of the white vinegar, but the remaining sauces are necessary. To balance all the flavors, you can also add a teaspoon of sugar, but I haven’t done that. Toss to combine all the sauces and set aside before preparing the egg chow mein.
Important ingredients for Cantonese Soy Sauce Chow Mein
A key component of this recipe is the dark soy sauce. Not so much for the taste as for the noodles to take on that stunning dark hue. Most grocery stores carry dark soy sauce, but I’d advise visiting an Asian grocery store just to be sure.
The flavoring in this recipe comes from regular soy sauce. While it does add color, it won’t produce the same deep brown hue as seen in the photos. This is the brand and type I use:
Chinese chives in cantonese soy sauce chow mein
The flavor and texture of Chinese, also known as garlic, chives are distinct from those of ordinary chives. Chinese chives are cooked during the dish and become softer in texture compared to regular chives, which are usually used as a garnish. They are an essential ingredient in this recipe and add an incredible flavor.
The type of chow mein/egg noodles you use are important. It is recommended that you purchase pre-steamed egg noodles, also known as chow mein noodles. On the packaging, there are cooking instructions. Usually, a minute is all that is required to soak them in boiling water. This is a photo of the container my noodles arrived in.
In my opinion, there are no ideal alternatives to oyster sauce. Since oyster sauce and soy sauce are the two main flavoring ingredients in this recipe, I don’t think oyster sauce should be replaced. Nonetheless, you might attempt to omit it if there are any health issues.
Although I’m not a big fan of bean sprouts, I feel compelled to use them in this recipe. I believe it adds freshness and texture to the center of all the savory noodles—possibly because I grew up with them.
