Today, I want to share a recipe that I crave when I’m sick with a cold. When my sinuses are stuffed and my body aches, I crave Chinese food. I’m not talking about excellent renditions of Cantonese, Szechwan or Taiwanese cuisines that you might find at any number of excellent Chinese restaurants.
I’m talking about Chinese-American food found in many American strip malls. Specifically, I crave chicken lo mein. I think it’s the sauce-drenched noodles that I love. The taste is strong enough to satisfy my cold-dulled taste buds. I add more flavor with dashes of Sriracha sauce or a spoonful of kimchee.
My starting point was a chow mein recipe from Food Network star Ree Drummond, aka the Pioneer Woman. The recipe lends itself to adaptation: Use leftover spaghetti instead of rice noodles, add leftover cooked shrimp or beef instead of chicken, vary the vegetables to your liking.
By prepping the vegetables and cooking the noodles in the morning, this dish can make a quick weeknight dinner.