Chow Mein Sandwich

The chow mein sandwich, invented in 1930s Massachusetts, consists of crispy noodles tossed in a typical New England style gravy, served either ‘strained’ or ‘unstrained’, meaning with or without vegetables, slopped on top of a hamburger bun and enjoyed.

Done in 30 minutes

Serves 4

Dish by Spencer Lengsfield

Ingredients

You'll need:

150gegg noodles

1shallot, sliced

3ribs celery, sliced

3garlic cloves, sliced

100gmixed mushrooms, roughly chopped

250gpork mince

Handfulbeansprouts

250mlchicken stock

210mlchicken gravy

1 tspdark soy sauce

2 tbspcornflour

1 tspsugar

Vegetable oil, to fry

Brioche buns, toasted

The idea was to turn Chinese food into a form that European and Canadian immigrants would recognise - a sandwich.

Because the state of the world at the time could only be described as ‘economically depressed’, the ‘sandwich’ gained popularity fairly quickly. Because of the utilisation of simple, accessible and cheap ingredients, the sandwich would only set you back a nickel, or one dollar in today’s money.

I’ve kept mine pretty traditional with gravy, pork mince, onion, celery, and crispy noodles, but I’ve added some extra additions like mushrooms, soy, and garlic black bean paste.

Method

Start by whisking together the sauce ingredients, then setting aside.

Preheat the vegetable oil to 180 C. Cook the noodles according to the packet instructions, then lay out on a tray to steam dry and cool.

Fry the noodles in batches until they’re crispy, then remove. Let drain on paper towels.

Crisp up the pork mince in a pan, then remove with a slotted spoon.

Add the shallot, celery, garlic, mushrooms, and beansprouts. Once softened, add the crispy pork back in and the sauce

Add the crispy noodles, quickly toss, then serve in toasted buns with extra sauce.

Enjoy!

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Spencer Lengsfield

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Spencer has been cooking since she got her first Easy-Bake oven at four years old, and began recipe developing professionally whilst completing her Master’s degree in 2020. Born in Los Angeles, she has an inherent love for all things Mexican, Japanese, and Korean, but is also heavily influenced by her family's Louisiana heritage. Spencer loves bright flavours, spice and fusion food. If she were a food, she'd be kimchi - versatile, spicy and funky.