17 Panda Express Recipes for Chinese Food Fans (2024)

FAQs

What makes chow mein taste like chow mein? ›

Simple sauce: While chow mein sauce is unbelievably easy to make, it still brings a complexity of flavors to the dish. The careful combination of ingredients like soy sauce, sesame oil, oyster sauce and sugar results in a chow mein sauce that has hints of both savory and sweet notes.

Does Panda Express serve authentic Chinese food? A lot of the Chinese dishes sold in Panda Express are not really that authentic because most of them are altered for the American taste. Some dishes are authentic but there are still traces of alteration within the dishes.

Panda Express entrees and sides contain zero grams of trans fat per serving and adds no MSG in their food. Panda Express uses only 100% pure soybean oil in the preparation of recipes.

The other critical ingredient that Panda Express uses in their Chow Mein is oyster sauce. Oyster sauce is a thick, dark brown sauce made from the extract of fresh oysters along with sugar, salt, and water.

Combine soy sauce, light sesame oil, oyster sauce, granulated sugar, cornstarch, and chicken broth to make the signature sweet and savory sauce that makes chow mein taste authentic.

At my local Chinese, they call this Crispy Chow Mein Noodles. It's a Hong Kong / Cantonese style dish, and there are a lot of variations but the core of it is a bed of deep fried crunchy noodles topped with a saucy stir fry.

A representative from Panda's PR team said that the five top-selling entrées at the restaurant are (drumroll please): Beijing Beef, Broccoli Beef, Honey Walnut Shrimp, Mushroom Chicken, and, of course, the Original Orange Chicken—the dish that Panda Express is credited with inventing.

Panda prepares its entrees fresh with shared cooking equipment and therefore allergens could be present in any entrée. No MSG added except for that naturally occurring in certain ingredients. *Regional Entrée, which may vary by location.

To make Panda Express white rice, simply cook your choice of long grain rice according to the package directions — no extra flavors or steps! And if you do want some extra flavor, my Asian sesame rice would pair wonderfully with any of your favorite Chinese entrees.

How does Panda Express get their chicken so tender? ›

This is a common Chinese cooking technique called velveting the meat. Basically, the meat is marinated in egg whites and cornstarch (other optional seasonings may be added, depending upon what flavor you wish to achieve), then refrigerated for about an hour before cooking.

Panda prepares its entrees fresh with shared cooking equipment and therefore allergens could be present in any entree. Panda Express does not have any vegetarian or gluten free dishes. No MSG added except for that naturally occurring in certain ingredients.

Panda Express leans heavily into the use of seed oils. Specifically: Soybean Oil: This is one of the predominant oils used, often used for frying and sautéing.

Panda express uses Stir Fried Wheat Noodles similar to these. I used these Chow Mein noodles for this recipe. You can find them in your local grocery store where they have a dedicated section for Asian ingredients.

Lo mein sauce

The sauce is what makes this dish so addictive. It's a simple umami filled mix of light and dark soy sauce, toasted sesame oil, sugar, and a hint of ginger. It's super easy to make a batch of lo mein sauce and keep it in the fridge so you can easily make lo mein whenever the craving hits.

Yes, it is possible to substitute spaghetti for chow mein noodles by boiling it with a small amount of baking soda. The baking soda alters the pH level of the spaghetti, giving it a similar texture and flavor to chow mein noodles. They can then be used in any dish that calls for chow mein noodles.

If you can't find Hong Kong noodles, boil thin wonton noodles in water until they're just barely tender (under a minute), drain and carefully dry them, and then toss them with just a bit of oil. Sometimes also labeled as chow mein noodles, these look similar to thin wonton noodles.

Largely this is a matter of personal taste since both dishes can be made to your preference. If you prefer lightly sauced noodles with some crunch and vegetables with some snap, chow mein might be the way to go. If you like a more comforting noodle with richly flavored sauce, lo mein may be the better option.