|July 10, 2014|
It is CHOW MIAN or CHAO MIAN or CHOW MEE-AN.
When I first came to the states, I was craving Chinese food so I went to a Chinese place and wanted to order some food. I saw this huge neon sign that said CHOW MEIN COMBO – $8.99. I realised there was a spelling error before I even mouthed the word. I thought it was just a common error since people here don’t exactly speak Chinese as their first language. So I ordered a combo. I went up and told the person I wanted 炒麵 (châo mìan). The person said what? So I repeated chao mian and the person answered:
Oh… CHOW MAIN.
It was that very moment when I realised – ah Welcome to America! It’s funny how I called it chow mein now when I order food in the states. Well, as they say when in Rome, do as the Romans do. Chow Mein in North America taste nothing like Chao Mian in Singapore or even other parts of Asia. I think it is one of those fusion food – Asian American thing. It tasted surprisingly good.
All you need is the yellow noodles, some oyster sauce or teriyaki sauce if you like (it would be yakisoba if we use teriyaki sauce), some garlic and veggies (bokchoy, gailan, cabbage, beansprouts, carrots or some other asian veggies) – Fry it up and there you go! You can throw in some meat or seafood if you like.
Good dish for vegetarians and non-vegetarians.
Clarrie Noms 