Panda Express Chow Mein Copycat
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Tastes just like Panda Express except it takes just minutes to whip up and tastes a million times better!
I love recreating take-out recipes at home. You know exactly what’s going into your dish, and the homemade version is ALWAYS better without a doubt. And this Panda Express copycat is no exception. Best of all, you can make this in less than 20 minutes! How easy is that?
I kid you not. This is one of the easiest recipes I have ever made. It requires such few ingredients and this recipe is practically foolproof. And there really is no comparison to Panda Express because it’s just that much better. We didn’t even have a main dish to pair this with but we still devoured this on its own like there was no tomorrow!
TOOLS FOR THIS RECIPE
WHAT IS YAKI-SOBA?
Yaki-Soba is ramen-style noodles and can be found in the refrigerated aisle of your local grocery store.
Panda Express Chow Mein Copycat
Ingredients
- 2 (5.6-ounce) packages refrigerated Yaki-Soba, seasoning sauce packets discarded*
- ¼ cup reduced sodium soy sauce
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar, packed
- 2 teaspoons freshly grated ginger
- ¼ teaspoon white pepper
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 onion, diced
- 3 ribs celery, sliced diagonally
- 2 cups shredded cabbage
Instructions
- In a large pot of boiling water, add Yaki-Soba until loosened, about 1-2 minutes; drain well.
- In a small bowl, whisk together soy sauce, garlic, brown sugar, ginger and white pepper; set aside.
- Heat olive oil in a large cast iron skillet over medium high heat. Add onion and celery, and cook, stirring often, until tender, about 3-4 minutes. Stir in cabbage until heated through, about 1 minute.
- Stir in Yaki-Soba and soy sauce mixture until well combined, about 2 minutes.
- Serve immediately.
Notes
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Hello:) I do not have have white pepper, is regular black ok?
Yes!
Hi! This recipe looks awesome, just one question though, can I use black pepper? Or does it have to be white?:)
Yes, black pepper can be used.
I love Panda’s chow mein and while this recipe is good, I wouldn’t call it a “copy cat.” That implies they taste almost the same and I don’t think these do. Over all a good recipe!
I sadly did not like it at all. I felt it was bland and even added hot oil to my plate and still thought it lacked… I am so disappointed as it looks exactly the same but maybe I had built it up more in my mind
I was excited to try this recipe, as my children & I love Panda Express Chow Mein, and I was making Orange Chicken to go with it. However, we were very disappointed. It did not taste anything like Panda Express Chow Mein at all, and my kids would not eat it. I ended up finishing it over the next couple of days, because it did taste okay, just not like Panda’s. I don’t think Panda Express uses ginger in their recipe. I followed the recipe exactly as written. 🙁
I didn’t think this tasted like Panda Express either! It’s a good recipe, but not what you’re expecting based off the name and photos. I even made it a second time with less ginger and still no. The flavor profiles aren’t similar at all.
The pictures also don’t really depict much sauce or ingredients in it, not sure how it would taste better than Panda.
Hi,made this recipe last week,and it was really good.But thought that the yakisoba noodles were too soft.And I didn’t cook the yakisoba,either.Just put them in the boiling water long enough for them to separate,and then into the collender.I made it to do 1 1/2 times the recipe.In ounces,how much dry angel hair pasta would I use to make a pound of cooked angel hair?
Here is a great guide to estimating pasta yield. Hope that helps!
http://www.thekitchn.com/ounces-to-cups-a-guide-to-estimating-pasta-yield-179180
Super yummy!!! Thanks for posting.
I really want to try this recipe,but have looked all over for these noodles,and cannot find them anywhere! Would DeCecco dry angel hair pasta #9 be a good replacement for the Yakisoba fresh in here? It looks like the exact same size.
Yes, absolutely.
If you’re sensitive to ginger, I would def recommend adding 1 tsp. I would also recommend adding in the garlic a minute/two after the onion instead of adding it to the sauce. Chung-ah has good base recipes but I always feel like something is lacking when following her recipes exactly. I usually tweak the recipes to suit my taste buds.
I enjoyed the recipe, for the most part, however, I feel like the taste of ginger is a little overpowering. I think next time I do this recipe I will add much less of the ginger! Thank you for the recipe!
This was really really good. I could not find fresh Yakisoba noodles at my grocer so used the dried Manchurian brand. The noodles were just okay but I bet the fresh noodles are the best complement to this dish. Flavor wise, though, it was fantastic!! I added shrimp (for the hubby) and am definitely going to make this again and often. Will go to the local Asian market for the noodles next time though. As others have said, your blog is amazing! Love your thoughtful recipes and mouthwatering pictures.
Is this recipe dry like panda express I hate wet noodles,that’s why I like pandas so much
Yes, this is a Panda Express copycat! 🙂
Can I use traditional rice noodles for this recipe?
Yes, absolutely.
Just made this for dinner and LOVED it! I’ve never been to Panda Express, but I’m assuming it’s similar to Manchu Wok (Canada). I’m a starving student (and it’s finals) so my dinners need to fit 3 pieces of criteria: quick, easy, and inexpensive; this dinner hit all 3 marks. 10/10 would make again! I added chicken, chopped carrots and snow peas to make it more substantial.
Great recipe!! Tried it tonight but substituted Ramen Noodles and it worked fine. My 9 year old was not too keen on it but my husband and I loved it. Thank you for an excellent recipe.
I was wondering the difference between chow mien and low mien, and do you have any recipes for low mien? The few I have found have so many ingredients, that I can’t afford to go out and buy all of that. Is there an easier way?
The difference between the two lies in the way that they are prepared. You can read more about it here. I do not have a specific lo mein recipe but feel free to try out any of these quick-fix Asian noodle recipes – you can use any type of noodles you have on hand – spaghetti, linguine, fettuccine, etc.
Can you use Udon instead?
Yes, absolutely.
Wow, what an absolutely delicious recipe! I made this along with your sesame chicken potstickers, and we had a feast! I’m definitely adding this to my culinary repertoire, especially since we have so many leftover to freeze! Thanks so much! I’m a fan of this blog 🙂
Made this as the recipe said except added chicken. This was super tasty, but for me came out too salty. Guess I will need to track down reduced-sodium soy sauce next time. Otherwise it was awesome!
This is a great recipe! Super cute and made perfect bowls for the 5 of us. I will say, as my husband and son are avid chow mein lovers and constantly get it for lunch.. It did not taste anything like Panda Express. Though it was great, we couldn’t compare the two. So unfortunately it wasn’t able to satisfy their panda needs but they still ate it. So success in my eyes hah