#3 Chowmein (炒麵, "fried noodles") from China

So this was an easy choice last night. We always like our noodles. Chow mein which has many variations is, in my opinion, best when cooked with crisp vegetables, not soggy and not too salty.

Here's my recipe for our own version of chāu-mèing

garlic

green onions

celery

red bell pepper

bean sprouts

toasted sesame seed oil

olive oil ( you can use peanut oil, we're allergic)

dark soy sauce

chicken base

skinless chicken breast

cornstarch

chow mein noodles

chili sauce (optional)

1. In a ziploc, put a spoonful of cornstarch. Add the slices of skinless chicken breast. Shake to mix and coat the chicken.
2. Saute´ garlic in olive oil in medium high heat. Add chicken.  Then add the  dark soysauce. Let it cook. Set aside without removing from the pan.
3. Add the chow mein noodles in a large pot of boiling water and let it cook for 3 minutes. Careful not to over cook it. Remove the noodles from the water once cooked and then quickly drain it.
4. Microwave half a cup of water  in high for 1 1/2 minutes, then add the chicken base. Stir well.
5. Put the chicken back to medium heat. Add the noodles to your garlic & chicken.
6. Add the chicken base liquid to your chicken and noodles.
7. Mix well but gently.
8. Turn off heat.
9. Add your vegetables, mix well and then cover. If you are using an electric stove, take the pan off the stovetop after 1-2 minutes if you want your vegetables to be crisp.

I like eating vegetables raw, crisp and crunchy. Over cooking kills the natural flavors for me. This dish is very similar to the Philippines' Pancit Canton. I like this one, especially because it's very simple, light and every one finished a plate full :)

Chow Mein noodles

We like using organic chicken 

Green Onions

Celery & Bell Pepper

I love celery.

I like buying my oils & spices from Trader Joe's

I love the store. It's inexpensive & very easy to eat healthy

Crisp veggies lay on top

Somebody was busy drawing again :)

"Ni- hao", she writes.

She asked me to find Chinese writings, we read about 10 short sentences and it's translation.

We learned where The Peoples' Republic of China is.

It's population, it's languages and dialects. 

They have a great history that we will learn in the near future.

We saw pictures of it's amazing cities and of the Great Wall.

We also thought the Giant Panda Bears are too cute.

And that chow mein is actually an English Speaker's pronunciation of  'chāu-mèing' ,

as pronounced by the Taishanese immigrants from China to America.

We also learned that on the East Coast, the term "Chow Mein" refers to crispy noodles or "Hong Kong Style". The steamed style noodles is called "Lo Mein".

On the West Coast, the term "Chow Mein" is always the steamed style, while the crispy style is called  "Hong Kong style". I would love to get a feedback on this :)

Here's our Chinese dinner.

And here is a picture of us dining outdoors somewhere in Beijing. And we both wore purple. (^.^)