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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They also have it at Chinatown in the US, where I have a chance to sample some of the finest foods ever made by Chinese chefs. I must say it looks very yummy until I started eating it, then everything began to feel good/okay. I guess the way that it was prepared has a lot to do the dish’s popularity, because there are several panda express stores near my home and I haven’t been to any one of them. Well, my sisters order a couple fried noodle dishes with sweet pork chops that she shared with me on one occasion and the food tastes very fatty good. Next time, I will have to order one of these chow fried dishes from the store just to feel the taste of the old-fashioned cooking in United States and Canada.
I loved the chow mien when i made it. I couldn’t help myself and got another giant plate of chow mien
1st time ever making chow mein Husband liked it as did I. We added bean sprouts, bamboo shoots, and water chestnuts was really good will make again for sure. Our last few order in from resterants have not been pleasurable so will keep this recipe for sure! 5stars all the way. I also had to use regular chow mein noodles and worked great
Can yo tell me thie ingredients ni the Yaki-Soba noodles? I am allergic to dairy, soy and gluten, and If I understand right, aren’t these made from buckwheat, which IS gluten free?
Thanks!
Unfortunately, I do not have the packaging for the Yaki-Soba noodles to list out the ingredients but it seems that these noodles are made from wheat flour. You can read more about it here.
Thank you for sharing this delicious recipe. We have been living without Panda Express for 10 years and while I have tried to recreate the Chow Mein at home, I wan’t successful until I had this recipe. I doubled the recipe for 3 hungry adults and 2 kids and we could have eaten more. Next time, I won’t invite the neighbor. 😉 Keep up the great work!
Made this for my daughter and she said it really didn’t taste like a knock-off from Panda Express. She said it had too much soy in it and it was “spicy” (I chalk that up to using fresh ginger)….and yes, I followed the recipe exactly. She did, however, say she would eat it again. Chalk that up in the W column! 🙂
I made this dish tonight and absolutely love it. When I did the grocery shopping, I was unable to find the refrigerated Yaki-Soba noodles, like most others. I opted for Udon noodles. While extremely delicious, I think next time I will hit up a local Asian food market to find the Yaki-Soba noodles. The Udon noodles are fatter and a little chewier than I prefer for Chow Mein. Also in the sauce, I added a splash or two of rice wine vinegar; after reading a comment here from a Panda Express employee that mentioned they use vinegar in their sauce.
Thank you for taking the time to create this copy cat recipe! It’s made it super easy and accessible for every night of the week 🙂
Try the Chuka Soba – found in most grocery stores in the Asian section — it worked perfectly. I couldn’t find the refrig’d Yaki Soba at any store.
I actually mentioned to my grocery store that it was something I was looking for, and they have since started carrying it! I plan to make this again this week, and was able to find the refrigerated Yaki-Soba noodles! I was so excited 🙂
Hi, thank you so much for the recipe, my daughter loves panda express chow main, today my daughter and made it by following your steps, we added a little more cabagge and sprouts and it came out delicious, please post more recipes like this, thank you…
What type of onions fo you use?
Mseve, I used white onions but you can really use any onions except for red.
Could you make this the day before and then warm in a crockpot or make it in a crockpot? Would like to take it to a potluck and have no stove there.
Unfortunately I cannot answer this with certainty as I have never tried keeping this warm in a slow cooker. Please use your best judgment.
Hi, I can not wait to try this! I also want to put chicken in this recipe. Do you have an suggestions for this addition? I was just gonna grill chicken breast and slice it on the diagonal?
That sounds like a great idea! You can add it in at the very end of the recipe but please note that it may be best to adjust the other ingredients to compensate for this addition.
I made this tonight. The variations I made were I added some vegetables and doubled the sauce. It was good but pretty dry even with the extra sauce. I think the sauce would almost need quadrupled.
I’m glad you enjoyed the recipe! But with regards to quadrupling the sauce – that would be a very salty dish!
I Actually work at Panda Express and have made the chow mein so many time this recipe is pretty spot on besides the face that all the veggies are cooked together, there’s vinegar in it and the sause is a little different than this one
I was unable to find refrigerated yakisoba noodles, so I used Kame brand Hoikken Stir Fry noodles instead (they’re pre-made, not dried). They’re a bit thicker than yakisoba noodles, but they worked very well. I added some chicken, and it was fabulous. I can’t wait to make this again!
I used Lo Mein Noodles also found in the asian chilled noodle isle. Turned out amazing. I added some fresh green spring onions while sautéing my cabbage for some added color, only because I love vibrant and fresh ingredients and topped it off with some julienne Thai Basil and Cilantro and roasted sliced duck breasts and HOT Sriracha Chili Paste on the side for a full dinner dish! Family loved, loved it!
I made this last night. My husband enjoyed it but it was really spicy for me and my noodles were much darker than what you have pictured. What did I do wrong?
There’s nothing really spicy in this recipe other than the white pepper, but that’s really mild!
Sometimes the ginger can be “hot” — next time I would try less ginger and see if that makes it less spicy for you! I used refrigerated finely minced ginger (since I didn’t want to mess with grating any) and it was REALLY strong, my 4 year old said it was too spicy, so next time i’m only going to use about 1/3 of what the recipe calls for.
Are soba japanese noodles the same as the yaki soba noodles.
No, they are actually not the same. Soba noodles are thin noodles like yaki soba noodles but they are made from buckwheat flour.
Delicious:) I added chicken to mine. Thanks for sharing this recipe!
I used whole wheat spaghetti noodles and it still came out really good. It does change the overall texture (thicker noodles), but the flavor is all there!
This dish was absolutely delicious and so easy! Before his second bite, my husband asked if there was enough for leftovers. The only change I made was adding chicken for protein.