In the Kitchen with Gram...Chow Mein!

This? One of Gram's recipes that I've NEVER made.

As in, EVER.


And I've always wanted to but been afraid to. It just seemed so...skeery. Turns out, it's a breeze! I even said that as we were cooking..."Gee...this isn't nearly as hard as I thought it was!" The hard part is in the chopping.


Beyond that? Easy peasy pie.


Here's the line up. Minus the meat. Minus the waterchestnuts. 'Cuz we're all organized like that.

And...the chopped up celery and onions. A whole dang bunch of 'em.

Here's the meat...chow mein meat (ground pork and beef) and diced up sirloin steak. Oh yeah. Gram does things right in the meat department, no cheap ol' steak for her. (Although, round steak would be okay, if you've got some layin' around...)

Oil and, of course, butter in your pot for browning your meat...

Add in the steak and brown, then add in the ground meats and brown those too.

 Next up? Your bowl 'o chopped veggies. 

Stir 'em all up together and take a big, deep breath of this glorious aroma! I wanted to stop right here and devour it just the way it was. Why do celery and onions smell so dang good together?!

Add in your sprouts, chestnuts, and Chinese veggies and stir together.

Next up...the stuff that'll make it taste like chow mein! Molasses...

Don't forget to get your hands dirty!

Here's a cute trick that I like...Gram always tosses a (clean) towel over her shoulder so that she can quickly wipe her hands while she's cooking! 

Okay, continuing on...hoisin...

Salt and sugar. And stir it all up. Then, you let it simmer away for a bit while you clip your nails or play your kazoo or weed your garden. Just remember to stir it every so often.

Now it's time to thicken it up! Cornstarch baby...add a bit, stir it together and judge it's thickness to see if you need to add more. 

And now...your wait is over! Time to dig in! Serve it over Chow Mein Noodles and/or rice and you're set.

Gram's Beef Chow Mein
Printable Recipe


2 lbs chow mein meat
1-2 lbs steak (diced fine)
4 med onions (diced)
10 ribs celery (diced)
2 cans chow mein vegetables, drained
2 cans bean sprouts, drained
2 cans sliced water chestnuts, drained
Mushroom, I guess, if you want. *gag* ;) 8 oz.
2/3 c molasses
1 T Hoisin sauce
2 T soy sauce
1 T sugar
2 tsp salt
4-6 T cornstarch mixed with water for thickening
Rice
Chow mein noodles


Heat pot with a oil and butter (couple of tablespoons of each), when hot, brown steak then add chow mein meat and brown. Add in celery and onion, stir well, add in chow mein veggies, sprouts, chestnuts and (grody) mushrooms, stir together. Add in molasses, Hoisin sauce, soy sauce, sugar, and salt and stir well. Simmer for 1 hour, stirring occasionally to prevent chow mein from sticking to bottom of pan. Before serving, add cornstarch/flour mixture in small amounts until desired thickness.
Serve over chow mein noodles and/or rice!


Enjoy!