Cook: Kiyota Family Chow Mein
Chow mein dinners held in Colorado by our local Japanese-American community are something that my family either always attends, helps out at, or purchases to bring home and eat together. Generations of volunteers gather to food prep (which includes peeling and washing thousands of shrimp), cook, and serve meals as a fundraising effort to support Meals on Wheels, Eagle View Adult Center, Almost Home, Pennock Center for Counseling, and the Platte River Medical Center to mention a few.
One year, my uncle Jon volunteered my cousin Chad and I to help out in the shrimp house. It was quite a humbling experience. The Nisei (second generation Japanese-American) women in charge were not shy on telling us what was wrong with our shrimp frying and to hurry it up, we had hundreds of people to feed! This kind of commitment and dedication to creating delicious food for the community is a great example of keeping traditions alive and passing it down to younger generations.
This recipe comes from my family’s version of chow mein. Best served with shrimp tempura on the side! It’s a very simple, one pot recipe that we love to eat with crispy, pan fried chow mein noodles and served over hot rice with mustard and soy sauce.
Ingredients:
1lb ground pork
1 onion (diced)
4-5 celery stalks (sliced)
1 bell pepper (diced)
1 small can bamboo shoots
1 small can water chestnuts
1 small can of baby corn
Handful of shiitake mushrooms (sliced)
Any other veggies you want: carrots, bok choy, green beans etc.
1 can chicken broth
1lb shrimp (peeled and deveined)
Bean sprouts and green onions (sliced) for garnish
Roux: cornstarch and water mixed together
Chow mein style noodles
1 tbsp neutral oil (Canola or vegetable oil)
Directions:
Saute ground pork over medium heat until cooked through. Remove to a separate bowl.
Pan fry your noodles in a separate pan with neutral oil. Cook them until they turn golden with bits of dark brown. Remove to a separate bowl.
Saute all your veggies (onion, celery, green pepper, bamboo shoots, water chestnuts, mushrooms and any other veggies you might want to add).
Add in chicken broth to the veggie mixture to cover everything. You might need more or less depending on how many veggies you’ve used.
Stir in the cooked pork.
Make a roux using cornstarch and water. Add this to the pot. Bring to a boil and then let it simmer to thicken. Add in salt to taste and a little bit of shoyu.
Add in the shrimp last, since it won’t take very long to cook. Once they turn colors to a nice pink, they are done.
Serve over your pan fried noodles and/or rice and garnish with bean sprouts and green onions. You can also make Asian style hot mustard for the side, mixed with a little bit of shoyu.
