One Pot Wonder: Chicken Lo Mein

You’ve probably seen the one pot meals floating around the internet, praised for the simplicity of cooking everything in one pot (even the pasta, gasp!), and touted as being simply delicious. Well, I’ve seen them, and they did seem simple – pasta, tomatoes, and basil – for example. Almost too simple. So I wasn’t really intrigued until I saw the lo mein version. (Ok, it’s not truly lo mein because it’s a different type of noodles, but it’s a pretty good fakeout.) I thought it looked delicious with lots of fresh ingredients, and very easy and accessible. So I decided to get on the one pot bandwagon.

I liked this so much I might just try some other one pot recipes. I have made this multiple times now, and it’s a hit every time. The starches that come out of the pasta while it cooks makes the sauce so rich and creamy without any added fat. I use whole wheat linguine to bump up the fiber content. Sometimes I add sugar snap or snow peas to this, and sometimes I don’t. I make it pretty mild since I want our two year old to be able to eat what we eat, but my husband adds extra red pepper flakes because that’s the way he rolls. A little fresh cilantro on top just brightens the whole thing up!

This is great for a weeknight meal because you just chop up the ingredients, put them in the pot, and let it go!

One Pot Chicken Lo Mein

adapted from The Wholesome Dish

• 1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into small chunks
• 1 – 13.25 to 16 oz. box of linguini or fettuccini pasta, broken in half (I used whole wheat)
• 4 medium carrots, peeled and cut in thin 3 inch long strips
• 1 medium red bell pepper, cut in thin 3 inch long strips (or any color you like)
• 1 bunch green onions, white part sliced and green part cut in 3 inch long strips
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon corn starch
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 3 1/2 cups chicken stock
• 2 Tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
• 1-2 cups sugar snap or snow peas (optional)
• 2 Tablespoons of fresh chopped cilantro

Directions:

Add the chicken, then the pasta, then the remaining ingredients except cilantro and peas to a large stockpot and cover. Bring to a rolling boil over high heat. Stir and reduce the heat to medium-low. Cook covered, stirring occasionally, until most of the liquid is gone and the chicken is cooked through (about 15 minutes). If you are using sugar snap or snow peas, add those in the last 5 minutes of cooking so they retain some of their crunch. Remove the lid and let the dish rest for 5 minutes before serving. Top with cilantro and serve.

Enjoy!