I have to be honest and say that chow mein is definitely not a favourite meal of mine. But, my hubby loves it... so I make it occasionally (just to be nice!!). I usually make my chow mein on the stovetop, but really wanted to try it in the Thermomix. I'd checked out a few recipes on the recipe community and most of them had comments about it being too watery or the mince not being chunky enough.
Let's face it, when you're using mince in the Thermomix, it really does tend to cook into a bit of a mush. There's not really any way around that. The only ting you can do, is to mince your own beef and leave it really chunky. For this recipe, I used bought mince and so of course, it was quite a fine texture.
If you're going for a chunkier texture, you might also like to chop your vegetables by hand, rather than using the Thermomix. I wasn't too fussed and chopped all of mine (except for the cabbage) in the Thermie and it was fine! Just a few quick presses of Turbo is all it needs though.
I prefer chow mein to be quite thick and so I reduced the amount of water that a few of the other recipes had used. If you like yours to be a bit more watery then perhaps add in a little extra water. But if you're like us and serve it on toast, then thick is the way to go... because no one likes soggy toast!
But the main trick to getting your Thermomix chow mein to thicken up is to pop it into the ThermoServer for 10-15 minutes before serving it up. This made a HUGE difference to ours. It's a little bit like Thermomix risotto - it really comes into it's own after sitting in the ThermoServer for a little while.
And so while I still don't particularly love chow mein, this Thermomix version got the thumbs up from my hubby.
Thermomix Chow Mein
Ingredients
- 1 brown onion , halved
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 1 tbs ginger , finely minced
- 2 carrots roughly chopped
- 2 tbs oil
- 500 g beef mince
- 300 ml water
- 2 tbs cornflour
- 2 teaspoon curry powder (more or less depending on your taste preferences)
- 1 teaspoon veg stock concentrate
- ⅓ cup oyster sauce
- 2 tbs soy sauce
- ½ cabbage , shredded
- 350 g Singapore noodles or thin hokkien noodles
Instructions
- Place the garlic and brown onion into the TM bowl and chop on Speed 6 for 5 seconds.
- Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
- Add the carrot and chop by pressing Turbo 4-5 times (or until it's the chunkiness you desire).
- Add the minced ginger and the oil.
- Saute on Varoma, Reverse Speed 2 for 4 minutes.
- Add the beef mince and cook on Varoma, Reverse Speed 2 for 4 minutes.
- Mix the cornflour and water together until no lumps remain.
- Add the cornflour mixture, curry powder, vegetable stock, oyster sauce, soy sauce and the cabbage to the bowl.
- Cook on 100 degrees, Reverse Speed 1 for 4 minutes (you'll need to use the spatula to push the cabbage down).
- Meanwhile place the noodles into the ThermoServer and cover with boiling water (time will be specified on the packet).
- Drain the noodles and add to the TM bowl.
- Mix on Reverse Speed 2 for 1 minute (using the spatula to help mix everything together).
- Place into the ThermoServer and leave for 10-15 minutes to thicken.
- Serve with a little extra soy sauce, sesame seeds or chopped peanuts.
Angela says
Hello!
I doubled all the sauce ingredients (except the water which I kept at 300ml), cooked the sauce for 4mins on 100 degrees and cooked the meat and veg in the frypan. Added the thick sauce, stirred in noodles and it was delicious - thank you 🙏
Keely says
Delicious, easy to make and a new family favourite ?
Chez says
Can I use this recipe (Chow Mein) in a TM31 please.
Lucy Mathieson says
Absolutely - just make sure you don't fill past the max line. xx
Holli says
I've tried a few chow mein recipes but never been able to replicate the stove top recipe in the thermo. This one has come very close! I think next time I will use a tin of tomatoes as an alternative to the water and I did have to cook it for 4 more minutes as the cabbage wasn't cooked through (I like chunky cabbage) thank you, will make again.
Lucy Mathieson says
Thank you so much xx
Alice says
I found it wasn’t great...
Mince meat was ground up so much that it tasted like gritty dirt. The cabbage also needed cooking for longer like another person mentioned (even though I chopped it finely). Despite this, the flavour was great. I think next time I would use this recipe on the stove.
Bronwyn says
Carrots were a little hard and cabbage needed a little extra cooking but the taste was awesome. Any suggestions on how I could soften and cook the cabbage more.
Lucy Mathieson says
Hi Bronwyn, if you'd like the cabbage to be softer, I would chop it more finely. Hope that helps! xx
Alice Gadijean says
Hi!
I was just looking for a yummy recipe to use the rest of defrosted beef mince my husband used to cook Pho. I gave this recipe a try, just skipping the noodles and using zucchini instead of cabbage.
I think I added more water, so it looked more like a sauce and we really loved to have it on our rice.
We both really enjoyed the taste of it and I like the flexibility of the recipe - I can think of a hundred ways of cooking it with other ingredients.
For sure, this recipe will be one of our favorites. Thank you for sharing 🙂
Lauren Matheson says
Hi Alice, Oh thank you so much, you've made or day! I love the idea of using zucchini instead of noodles and will definitely try that. We really appreciate your feedback, thank you xx
Naomi Nation says
Not bad...can understand why it's a family comfort food, I love that it is one pot....I used kangaroo mince...won't eat beef for climate change reasons...roo is richer than beef, so added more curry powder...definitely a recipe to be relied upon...will add red capsicum, and likely tomato and see how it goes...used spring onion...my stomach disagrees with strong onions without caramelising.
Lauren Matheson says
We're glad you enjoyed it Naomi, your substitutions sound great 🙂
Maureen says
Thoroughly enjoyed this recipe thx, as did
my husband. This will be on regular rotation for sure! It's very flexible, hot or mild to taste, and so filling. Thx for this great version.
Lucy says
Yay! I'm thrilled to hear that!!
Narissa says
My husband has always turned his nose up at chow mein, but just said how awesome this dish is....my nearly 3 year old fussy eater also ate a whole serve despite me thinking she wouldnt as it was a bit spicy (which I love) tbanks for a great recipe!
Lucy says
That is SO great to hear! Thank you for your lovely feedback!
Alice says
This was awesome. The kids and I loved it!
Lucy says
So glad you liked it!! x
Shelley B says
Another delicious meal, thank you so much ladies ? Simple to follow, easy to make (& and easy to devour ??)
Lauren says
Oh thanks so much Shelley, we're so glad you enjoyed it 🙂
Gai says
Wow fantastic easy mid week dinner
Lauren says
Thanks Gai, we hope you enjoy it.
Jussi says
This was really yummy. My husband and toddler devoured it! After letting it sit for 10 mins in the thermoserver, it was definitely thickened... probably a little too much so I will probably do as you suggested and add a little more water next time. Really delicious and easy to make. Thanks very much.
Lucy says
Fantastic!!! So glad you and your family enjoyed it! xx
Kat - The Organised Housewife says
Ooh i just love Chow Mein! I will have to give it a try in my thermomix.