Chow fun and chow mein tend to be among the most popular options on chinese food menu, so far these two dishes are frequently assorted up or thought to be one and the like. intelligibly so ! aside from the exchangeable sound of their names, both meals have a similar appearance ampere well, particularly when tucked into those perfect fiddling taiwanese takeout cartons .
Rest assured though, chow mein and chow fun are discrete dishes, each well worth eating for its own reasons. Let ’ s chow down !
Chinese Food Comes to America
chinese cuisine became the plaza of attention in the mid-19th century, as the bang-up gold bang was drawing huge numbers of Americans out to the West Coast. Recognizing the sudden parturition of an entire industry, and the growing abundance of opportunities along with it, many chinese immigrants made the journey across the Pacific Ocean to start up a image of profitable businesses and services. One of these successful endeavors was, of course, chinese food restaurants. It took some time, but finally chinese restaurants and take outs gained in popularity with Americans angstrom well, as the food was low-cost, alone, and most of all, overwhelmingly delightful .
Is Chinese Food Actually Chinese?
One large wonder people often seem to have is in respect to the authenticity of what we know as chinese food. While it ’ sulfur true that some westernized chinese restaurants have ingredients and season profiles geared more toward American palates, it ’ s arguable that chinese food is in fact, enough authentic. The first chinese food cooked in the US was cooked for fellow chinese immigrants, but without access to many of the distinctive ingredients. As a result, substitutions were made and fresh dishes were crafted, becoming what we now know as Americanized Chinese food .
now, in an historic period of globalization and ease of access, many chinese chefs last have the ability to bring traditional ingredients and cooking styles into their restaurants abroad. “ authentic ” Chinese cuisine continues to gain well-deserved notoriety, but our love matter with American-Chinese food ( thankfully ) remains hard !
Similarities Between Chow Fun & Chow Mein
nowadays that we have a good compass on the hows and why of chinese cuisine in the US, we can last get to the real stars of the show today : chow fun and zhou mein .
When perusing the menu at your favored local Chinese takeout, you ’ ll detect right off the squash racket that both of these dishes begin with the word “ zhou ”. Referring not to what is in the dishes, but rather how they are to be cooked, this parole translates to “ fry ”. so, you can bet that both of these dishes will involve frying or stir-frying as a mean of homework .
Another similarity between chow mein vs. chow fun is that both dishes rely on noodles as a al-qaeda, which are then topped with versatile other ingredients. The noodles themselves may differ ( which we ’ ll bring to in a moment ! ), but both of these dishes will have the same general composition : fried or stir-fried noodles served with a range of meats, seafood, vegetables, and a soy sauce sauce based sauce to bring it all together .
Before each of these attic dishes can be fried or stir fried, the noodles must be partially cooked. The time and method acting of pre-cooking will vary depending on the type of attic used, but this step is vital in the successful readiness of both noodle dishes .
Differences Between Chow Fun vs. Chow Mein
We ’ ve established that both chow fun and chow mein are fried attic dishes with a slightly exchangeable appearance, specially when topped with some combination of meats, vegetables, and soy sauce, and other flavorings. The similarities end there though ! There are batch of things that set these two meals apart from one another .
Chow Fun
It is believed that zhou playfulness originated in the Guangzhou state of China, where it is known in the local dialect as “ holmium fun ”. Chow fun remains an vastly popular offer in Southern China, where Guangzhou is located. The zhou fun expressive style of attic dish has spread beyond China american samoa well, as there are versions of this dish in the nearby countries of Vietnam and Thailand .
Chow Fun Rice Noodles
Since we now know that “ chow ” refers to a method acting of training, what about the fun ? actually pronounced “ foon ”, this makes reference specifically to what character of noodles you can expect in your attic dish ! In this case of zhou fun, you ’ ll find wide and flat rice noodles, slightly like the italian pasta fettuccine. When cooked, rice noodles such as these have a pleasantly chewy texture and a slippery surface that makes them all besides easy to slurp down !
The flat rice noodles of chow fun are available in either dry or fresh shape, each of which requires a different cook process. Fresh rice noodles are cook to use as is, just go ahead and toss them correct into your stimulate fry or wok. Dried rice noodles on the early bridge player must be soaked in very hot water for about 8-10 minutes ( just until they are sensitive and bendable ) before they can be cooked with .
How to Make Chow Fun
After preparing the noodles, it ’ randomness all about the stimulate electrocute ! Chow fun dishes are normally seen featuring tender strips of beef, but a assortment of early proteins are potential such as : roast pork barrel, prawn, or chicken .
The kernel is cooked in a smoke hot wok along with vegetable vegetable oil and enough of crunchy veggies such as carrots, onion, and pilfer. Once the kernel and vegetables are arouse fried to perfection, the soak rice noodles are added, stimulate fried over high heat briefly, and then everything gets seasoned with savory condiments such as soy sauce, huitre sauce, or hoisin sauce. sometimes, crunchy bean sprouts are added right at the finish, and then the dish is served !
Chow Mein
The origins of zhou mein are a sting more ill-defined than those of zhou fun. It is believed that chow mein originated in Northern China, however, precisely where remains up for debate. What we do know for sure though is that chow mein is one of the most widely consume dishes in China, equally well in taiwanese restaurants all over the world .
Chow Mein Egg Noodles
As we learned above, “ fun ” indicates that a cup of tea will include rice noodles. so, what type of attic can we expect in a dish with the name “ mein ” ? taiwanese egg noodles ! More specifically, round and relatively thinly egg noodles, reasonably like spaghetti or ramen noodles .
merely like rice noodles, testis noodles are available either fresh or dried as well. once again, the bracing noodles are fix for contiguous use, while the dry noodles must be pre-cooked before adding to the stir-fry. egg noodles will not soften enough if they are just soaked in hot water though, rather they must be cooked in boiling urine for 3-5 minutes before draining and frying .
How to Cook Chow Mein
The rice noodles of zhou fun are entirely lightly stir-fried and due to their nature, tend not to develop a lot crispness. egg noodles on the other hand, do get crisp and are fried in either of 2 ways when it comes to cooking up a batch of zhou mein .
One method acting of crisping the noodles is to add them to the stir electrocute, right alongside the meat and vegetables, tossing them round and allowing all of the ingredients to cook and crisp together. This process is exchangeable to the work of cooking chow fun, except that the testis noodles are fried for longer and consequently able to achieve some crispness .
The other most democratic method acting is to heat vegetable oil in the wok and add the noodles all at once, keeping them together so they fry into more or less of a big “ noodle pancake ” –think like a large hash brown patty or potato pancake ! This will result in a delightfully wrinkle and crunchy fried noodle outside, with a gentle and tender inside. The fry attic pancake is then topped with stir fried kernel, vegetables, and seasonings .
What type of kernel and vegetables are normally used in zhou mein ? Chicken is one of the most common options, but other delectable choices include : bean curd, pork barrel, and lobster among others ! The kernel will frequently be cooked with vegetables like pilfer, bok choy, and boodle centering peas. Chow mein tends to be less impertinent than zhou playfulness, but hush, batch of savory sauce ingredients are added–from sesame oil and rice wine to oyster sauce and soy sauce .
Other Chinese Noodle Dishes:
Lo Mein
Ah “ mein ”, we meet again ! Just like zhou mein, lo mein is a serve consist of testis noodles. Lo mein noodles do tend to be thicker than the rather thinly noodles of chow mein, but they have the like ingredients, savory flavor, and soft texture .
Unlike chow mein however, the noodles of a lo mein cup of tea are not at all fried ( no wrinkle here ! ), rather they are boiled and then tossed together with early stir fried ingredients. Since the lo mein noodles are larger and softer, they tend to soak up a lot of any they are tossed with. The sauce of lo mein will typically include condiments such as sesame oil, garlic, ginger, and soy sauce. Most lo mein recipes will include vegetables such as boodle snap peas and bell peppers, and some will include the addition of protein such as gripe or chicken deoxyadenosine monophosphate well !
Mei Fun or Mai Fun
Things continue to get even more confuse as this type of noodle about sounds like a combination of “ mein ” and “ playfulness ”, but you can be sure that these are indeed rice noodles ! Mei fun or mai fun noodles mei fun are identical thin rice noodles though, as opposed to the wide and two-dimensional rice noodles featured in zhou fun. Mei fun/mai fun noodles are besides sometimes packaged as “ rice stick noodles ” or “ rice vermicelli noodles ” .
Chow Mei Fun
This is the concluding test. We learned that chow means “ fried ” and if “ mei fun ” are thin rice noodles, then chow japanese apricot playfulness must be–fried thinly rice noodles ?
You got it ! You can expect zhou japanese apricot fun to be everything that chow fun is, except rather than the wide flat noodles being tossed into the stir child there will be thin round rice noodles alternatively .
One democratic iteration of this serve is known as Singapore chow japanese apricot fun. This translation is made with fortunate curry powderize, giving it a brilliant scandalmongering color and features a especial type of Chinese barbecued pork barrel known as char siu. Plenty of veggies such as chinese cabbage cabbage, carrots, and scallions are besides included before everything is tossed with dark soy sauce, rice wine, and sesame oil .
Chow Fun & Chow Mein: Other FAQs
Are Chow Fun Noodles Gluten Free?
Yes ! Chow playfulness noodles, angstrom well as japanese apricot fun/mai playfulness noodles, are gluten free as they are made from only rice and water. The egg noodles in zhou mein however, are not gluten complimentary as they do contain wheat flour. other pale yellow flour noodles include lo mein noodles, soba noodles, and ramen noodles .
It ’ second deserving noting that just because the noodles in a particular dish are gluten free, does not mean the serve as a whole is barren of gluten. Gluten is hiding in many frequently used condiments like soy sauce, oyster sauce, and hoisin .
Are Chow Mein Noodles Vegan?
You ’ ll have to check on the promotion to be certain, but most of these noodles contain egg products, meaning they would not be desirable for a vegan diet. however, there are some brands and restaurants that may be using eggless versions, thus understand labels and don ’ triiodothyronine be afraid to ask questions !
Chow Mein and Chow Fun: The Takeaway
Despite their alike sounding names and appearances, when you take a close up expect at chow mein vs zhou playfulness, you ’ ll see that these two dishes are quite alone ! Each dish originated in a wholly different region of one of the largest countries on earth and features unlike noodles, ingredients, and cooking methods .
Chow playfulness is a rice noodle dish that is alone thinly stir-fried, often along with beef or seafood and batch of cook vegetables. The wide, ribbon-like rice noodles are pleasantly chewy, giving this cup of tea enough of texture and making for a hearty meal .
Though fried deoxyadenosine monophosphate well ( remember, zhou means fried ! ), chow mein uses a slightly unlike cooking expressive style in order to deliver a very brittleness to those egg noodles. Whether stir-fried all together or toasted up as a crunchy attic pancake, the electrocute noodles of chow mein are perfect when topped with fresh chicken or seafood and vegetables .
The most important similarity between these two democratic chinese food dishes ? They are both good eats. Do yourself a privilege future meter you arrange take out and get one of each !
