Granny’s Guyanese Chicken Chow Mein
If there’s something you want Granny to make for a special occasion, a family reunion, birthday party, holiday or even just a regular Sunday dinner, it’s her Chicken Chow Mein and right alongside it? Her fried rice. Hopefully we’ll get to that recipe one day.
My mother, Sparkles and Granny have similar techniques but they each have their own specialties. Mom is a beast when it comes to vegetable chow mein and Granny is a beast when it comes to chicken chow mein.
Chow mein is one of those popular Guyanese dishes with Chinese influences that became part of our own food culture. It’s a dish that looks simple but there’s a lot happening in the pot. The noodles need to have a little bite, the vegetables need to stay crisp and the chicken needs to be flavorful. Most importantly, everything has to come together without turning into one big soft pile of noodles, chicken and vegetables.
Like I’ve said before in Granny’s curry chicken recipe, I always watched Granny while she cooked in the kitchen. I’ve always enjoyed the process. This is the kind of cooking I grew up learning. I learned to cook without measuring cups and spoons. I learned by looking, making mental notes, paying attention to the pot and eventually trusting my own hand and heart.
So I’m sharing another recipe from Granny the way I honestly prefer sharing all recipes. I’m listing the ingredients, but I’m not giving you measurements for everything. I truly believe that’s part of what made the recipes we grew up on so damn good. Everything wasn’t always measured, recipes were guides and they should continue to be guides. Taste your food, look at your food, pay attention to your pot and eventually learn to trust your own hand.
Ingredients
For the Chicken
- About 3 large skinless chicken leg quarters, cut between the joints and then chopped into another 2–3 pieces depending on size
- 2 tsp Guyanese Casareep
- Fresh garlic, minced or grated
- Fresh ginger, minced or grated
- Fresh thyme
- Lime, lemon or vinegar, if this is part of your family’s traditional meat cleaning method
- Dash of Dacy Adobo Mojo
- Dash of Dacy Garlicky Onion Herb
- Dash of Dacy Salt & Pepper Blend
- All Purpose Seasoning Blend
- Accent Seasoning
- Guyanese wiri wiri pepper
For the Chow Mein
- 2 packs Lams Chow Mein Noodles
- 1 bunch baby bok choy, cut into thirds with the white stems separated from the leaves
- ½ red or orange bell pepper, chopped
- ½ yellow bell pepper, chopped
- ½ green bell pepper, chopped
- ½ red onion, chopped
- ¼ white onion, chopped
- 2 ribs celery, chopped
- 1 carrot, chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1–2 scallions, chopped
- 1–2 teaspoons fresh grated ginger
- 1–1½ tsp Chinese five spice powder
- 2 tsp fresh thyme
- 1 tbsp Casareep
- 1 packet Chief Chow Mein Seasoning
- Neutral cooking oil, as needed
- Dash of Dacy Salt & Pepper Blend
- Accent Seasoning, to taste
Method
1. Cut and Season the Chicken
Granny starts with skinless chicken leg quarters. Remove the skin, trim away excess fat and cut away impurities and anything you don’t want on the chicken.
For the leg quarters, cut between the joints so you have a drumstick and a thigh. Cut the drumstick in half, then cut the thigh into up to three pieces if it’s large. This smaller cut is very much in line with the way we grew up eating chicken in Guyanese cooking. You’re not looking for giant pieces of chicken. You want pieces that can season well and cook evenly.
For the meat cleaning step, use the method your family is accustomed to. In my family, that has traditionally meant fresh lime, lemon juice or vinegar. Using a large bowl, squeeze it over the chicken and rub the pieces well and rinse with water. For food safety, avoid rinsing raw chicken directly in the sink because it can spread bacteria.
Pat the chicken dry really well and then season it. When you season the meat first, the seasoning will do some of the work before you start building the rest of the dish. Add the fresh garlic, ginger, thyme, wiri wiri pepper, Dash of Dacy Adobo Mojo, Dash of Dacy Garlicky Onion Herb, Dash of Dacy Salt & Pepper Blend, All purpose seasoning, Accent and Casareep.
Granny adds Casareep at this stage and I love that. It seasons the chicken while giving it that beautiful deep color that you’ll see once it starts cooking. Marinate for at least 30 minutes to 1 hour. If you have more time, even better. Granny seasons her chicken well, I don’t mean the chicken needs to look buried in seasoning. That’s one of the things I learned from Granny, she trusts the power of her hand.
2. Prep the Vegetables
Before Granny starts cooking, everything gets chopped, minced and separated. She lightly seasons the vegetables with Dash of Dacy Salt & Pepper Blend and a little Accent, then sets everything aside.
This is important because Granny sautés her vegetables separately. I love that about her cooking. She takes her time, she doesn’t throw everything into the pot at once and hope for the best. Each vegetable gets the attention it needs and that’s how you keep the vegetables cooked but still crunchy.
3. Cook the Chicken
In a large Dutch pot, add enough neutral oil to lightly cover the bottom and bring it to medium heat then add the seasoned chicken. Granny cooks the chicken slowly for about 15 minutes, stirring regularly. No lid needed because the chicken is cut into smaller pieces, it cooks relatively quickly. The chicken starts to develop a beautiful deep brown color that’s when you know the Casareep doing its thing.
4. Cook the Noodles
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add about 1 tablespoon of Casareep to the water. Cook the chow mein noodles according to the package directions, stirring regularly so they don’t stick together.
Once cooked, drain immediately and rinse with cold water. This part matters because you want to stop the cooking process. Let the noodles drain really well then drizzle with a small amount of neutral oil and set them aside.
5. Granny’s Way of Cooking the Vegetables
Now comes one of my favorite parts. Granny doesn’t throw all the vegetables into the pot together, she cooks them in stages because every vegetable cooks differently.
Start with the red and white onions. Sauté them over medium high heat for about 1 minute or until the onions start to develop a little color. Add the garlic toward the end, cooking just long enough for it to become fragrant. Granny is looking for a little char and color without turning the vegetables soft. Remove the onions and set them aside.
Next, add the bell peppers, celery, carrots and fresh thyme. Sauté for about 1–2 minutes, adding a little more oil if needed. You want the vegetables cooked but still with a nice crunch. Remove and set aside. Next, Granny cooks the bok choy. She starts with the white stems because they’re thicker and need a little more time. Give them about 30–45 seconds then add the leafy greens and fresh grated ginger. Cook just until the leaves start to wilt then get them out of the pan. Don’t overcook them.
This is why I love watching Granny cook, she knows that vegetables don’t all need the same amount of time. She lets each one be what it is.
6. Bring the Chow Mein Together
Turn the heat to low in the pot where you cooked the chicken, add the cooked chow mein noodles. Then add all of the sautéed vegetables and chicken. Now season with the Chinese five spice powder and Chief Chow Mein Seasoning and add the scallions. Toss everything together gently so the noodles get coated with all that flavor from the chicken, Casareep and vegetables. You want to make sure you taste the chicken chow mein and decide what it needs. If it needs a little more Salt & Pepper Blend, add it. Need a little more Accent, add it. Trust yourself because this is the part where you stop following the recipe and start cooking.You should have noodles that are coated and flavorful, chicken that is well seasoned and vegetables that still have some life and crunch to it!
Granny’s Chow Mein Rule
Chow mein should never feel mushy. That little bite in the noodles and the vegetables is part of what makes good chow mein good. If the vegetables are soft and the noodles are soggy, you’ve cooked it too far. The goal is not to cook everything until it gives up, the goal is to get everything cooked just enough to come together.
A Little Guyanese Food History
Chow mein is one of those dishes that shows just how much Guyanese food has been shaped by different cultures. Chinese immigrants came to British Guiana in the 19th century and Chinese culinary traditions became part of the country’s food culture alongside African, Indian, Portuguese, Indigenous and European influences. Over time, dishes like chow mein became distinctly Guyanese and that’s what I love about Guyanese food.
From Granny’s Kitchen
This is one of those recipes that reminds me why I love documenting Granny’s cooking! She doesn’t cook with a stopwatch, she doesn’t need ten measuring spoons lined up on the counter. She watches, she pays attention, she tastes and she listens to her pot. She knows when a vegetable has had enough heat and when a noodle needs a little more time and those are the things I hope you learn from these recipes. The measurements can get you started, the technique will teach you more but eventually, you have to trust your own hands.
A Note on Storing Chow Mein
Because chow mein contains cooked noodles, chicken and moisture rich vegetables, it’s important to handle and store it properly. For the best texture, especially when preparing it ahead for a gathering, keep the cooked noodles, vegetables and chicken separate until you’re ready to combine and serve. Once everything is cooked and combined, refrigerate leftovers promptly in shallow containers and keep them properly chilled.
