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Panda Express Chow Mein - BEST copycat recipe ever that tastes EXACTLY like Panda Express. So good and easy, healthier, cheaper, and takes 15 mins!!
Chinese Takeout
When it comes to Chinese food in the United States, no restaurant is more iconic than Panda Express, who has over 1650 stores here.
How does it sound if you could make all the things you get at Panda Express for a fraction of the price, and even healthier as well?
Look no further, as I am going to share a series of popular and super easy Chinese recipes with you all.
Getting The Best Panda Express Copycat Recipe
Panda Express is famous for its Chow Mein and I am sharing the copycat recipe with you today. Everyone loves Chow Mein, greasy Chinese noodles tossed with lots of vegetables, stir-fried over very high heat in a wok.
Furthermore, to make sure that I do justice to the real deal, I recently went to Panda Express twice. I made sure to talk to the cook and drill down the recipe, and I got it down to a T.
Ingredients To Make This Copycat Recipe
- Noodles
- Onion
- Cabbage
- Celery
- Soy sauce
- Oyster sauce
- Oil
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients.
Tips For The Best Chow Mein
- A perfect chow mein should be loaded with lots of wok hei (breath of wok)—the ingredients should be flash cooked over high heat in a wok, so the noodles and vegetables are slightly burned and charred
- I am sure you have seen the cook at Panda Express tossing and cooking the noodles behind the counter, all done in a matter of minutes. To get good wok hei, you need lots of oil and a wok (but skillet will do).
- The chow mein should never be soggy or wet, and no water should be added during the cooking process.
See It For Yourself
So, below is the real Panda Express on the left and my version on the right. The chow mein tastes exactly like Panda Express, the only difference is the noodles used.
Panda Express noodles are specially made for them only and not available at the stores. For the closest replacement, use yakisoba.
This is a super easy recipe to make at home and you can get all ingredients from regular stores. Make a big batch of Panda Express Chow Mein—it’s so good, so easy, healthier, cheaper, and you can have as much as you want!
Frequently Asked Questions
This recipe is only 362 calories per serving.
What To Serve With This Recipe
For a wholesome meal and easy weeknight dinner, I recommend the following recipes.
I hope you enjoy this post as much as I do. If you try my recipe, please leave a comment and consider giving it a 5-star rating. For more easy and delicious recipes, explore my Recipe Index, and stay updated by subscribing to my newsletter and following me on Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram for new updates.
Other Recipes You Might Like
Panda Express Chow Mein Copycat
Ingredients
- 1 lb. (500g) yakisoba
- 3-4 tablespoons oil
- 1/2 yellow onion, sliced
- 8 oz. (230g) cabbage, sliced
- 2 oz. (60g) celery, cut into small pieces
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 1/2 tablespoons oyster sauce
Instructions
- Discard the seasoning packages of the yakisoba noodles. Loosen up the yakisoba and set aside.
- Heat up a wok or skillet over high heat, add the oil when it's heated. Add the onion, cabbage, and celery into the wok, stir fry and toss continuously until the vegetables become soft and some of them are slightly charred.
- Add in the noodles and stir a few times before adding the soy sauce and oyster sauce. Stir continuously to combine all the ingredients in the wok. Dish out and serve immediately.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
The down side of Asian cooking is, there’s usually a ton of sodium in the recipes making them NOT heart heathy and bad for anyone with high blood pressure/ on BP medications. You can substitute coconut amino‘s.
Thanks for your suggestion, appreciate it!
Aren’t you suppose to cook the noodles first
No, if you cook the noodles and then stir-fry they will be mushy. During the stir-fry the noodles will be cooked completely!
Is the cabbage you use Chinese bok choy or napa cabbage?
It’s neither. It’s regular cabbage.
WHAT KIND OF OIL DO YOU USE TO MAKE THIS?
Any cooking oil is fine.
I couldn’t find Yakisoba noodles, so I bought Philippine style noodles (pancit kanton). Do you think they will work?
Yes!
This recipe looks super easy and full of ingredients my family loves. Looking forward to trying soon.
Thanks, please check out all my Chinese food and recipes here: https://rasamalaysia.com/chinese-food-recipes-chinese-recipes/
Hi Rasa, may I ask which brand and variety of soy sauce did you use in this recipe? I can’t wait to try. Thanks!
Thanks for sharing this, spot on to the original. I used frozen (but thawed) Yakisoba noodles and they were perfect.
Thanks David, for trying my Panda Express Chow Mein recipe.
Thank you so much for publishing your recipes, I’ve enjoyed reading them and your notes about each one. It’s obvious you have a love for food and for teaching others. For this particular recipe, which I’ve made my own version of a few times (always looking for Panda Express clones), I was surprised you didn’t have some type of thickener for the sauce. In the restaurant the sauce definitely has something (most likely corn or potato starch) to tighten things up, doesn’t the sauce as you make it stay too watery?
There is no sauce in Chow Mein. Chow Mein is supposed to be dry. Panda Express Chow Mein is also dry, there is no sauce and there is no need to have thickener.
I can’t wait to try this. Do you think you can re -create mushroom chicken from panda express? One of my fave that i always get when im craving for panda. Thanks!
Of course, it’s very easy! I will try.