Recipe
🍽️ DINNER
Guyanese Chicken Chow Mein
Seasoned noodles tossed with cassareep-marinated chicken, bora beans, and crisp vegetables in a savoury five-spice and soy sauce.
Guyanese · easy · serves 4
prep 25 min · cook 20 min
~732 cal · 59g protein · 62g carbs · 26g fat · 12g fiber · 7g sugars · 5g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
↓ Jump to Recipe
AI-generated illustration
Chow mein is of how many worlds meet on a Guyanese plate. Brought by Chinese indentured labourers in the nineteenth century, the stir-fried noodle dish was adopted into the national kitchen and made unmistakably Guyanese with local touches: bora, the long yard-bean, and a hit of cassareep, the dark, bittersweet reduction that also colours the country's famous pepperpot.
The noodles are seasoned in their own right, tossed with sesame oil, black pepper, garlic, and Chinese five spice so they never taste bland, then combined with chicken marinated in cassareep or soy and green seasoning, and a tumble of carrots, cabbage, bora, and peppers cooked quick and crisp. It is a fusion balanced between Chinese technique and Caribbean seasoning.
Found at every Guyanese celebration, roadside shop, and Sunday table, chow mein is fast, colourful, and endlessly adaptable to whatever is in the kitchen. It is the kind of dish that says party and family at once, a plate of Guyana's layered history you can twirl on a fork.
Saved recipes and passport stamps are kept on this device. Sign in to keep them across your devices and leave reviews.
Make it yours
✓ Naturally dairy-, nut- and pork-free. No swaps needed.
Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
🥕 Vegetarian
🌱 Vegan
🌾 Gluten-Free
🥛 Dairy-Free
🥜 Nut-Free
🥚 Egg-Free
🐖 Pork-Free
Dietary labels are a cooking guide, not allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish; we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, read the label on every product you use, and note that a kitchen can cross-contaminate in ways a recipe cannot control.
Ingredients
US
Metric
Serves 4
12 oz dried chow mein egg noodles
1.5 lbs boneless chicken, in strips
1 tbsp cassareep (or soy sauce) to the chicken
3 cloves garlic, grated
1 tsp fresh thyme
1 tsp Chinese five spice
2 tbsp toasted sesame oil
3 tbsp soy sauce
2 carrots,
1 cup bora (yard-long beans), cut in pieces
Hard to find? green beans, cut in pieces - bora are longer and a touch chewier; green beans give the same fresh snap
2 cups cabbage, shredded
1 red bell pepper, sliced
3 , sliced
2 tbsp vegetable oil
to taste black pepper and salt
Instructions
1
Season the chicken strips with the cassareep (or soy), grated garlic, thyme, and a little salt, and set aside to marinate while you prep everything else.
2
Boil the noodles until just tender, drain, rinse under cold water, then toss them with the sesame oil, five spice, black pepper, and a little salt so they are seasoned through.
✎ Chef’s note
Seasoning the noodles themselves, not just the meat and vegetables, is what keeps a Guyanese chow mein from tasting bland.
3
Heat the oil in a wok over high heat and stir-fry the chicken until cooked through and lightly browned, then set it aside.
4
Add the carrots, bora, cabbage, and pepper to the hot wok with the soy sauce (or tamari) and stir-fry 3 to 4 minutes so they stay crisp.
5
Return the chicken, add the seasoned noodles and scallions, and toss everything together over high heat until hot and well combined. Serve at once.
Guyanese-Chinese home cooking.
Ratings & reviews
Cooked it? Rate this dish:
No account needed. Sign in to leave a full review with a comment.
Cooked it?
Kept on this device, no account needed. Sign in to leave a review and keep your passport across your devices.
No reviews yet, be the first to cook it.
🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Demerara (Georgetown). Demerara, around Georgetown, simmers pepperpot from Christmas Eve into the new year, a dark meat stew preserved by cassareep, the bitter reduced cassava syrup inherited from Indigenous cooking. Indian, African, and Portuguese lines meet in curry, roti, and cook-up rice.
🗺️
Guyana. Guyana is culturally Caribbean but geographically South American, and its food shows it, pepperpot (an Indigenous cassava-based stew), curry and roti, and cook-up rice. Indian, African, and Amerindian roots meet in one pot.
🌍
South America. South America's cooking follows its dramatic geography, potatoes and quinoa in the high Andes, cassava and river fish in the Amazon basin, and grass-fed beef on the pampas. Indigenous ingredients like maize, ají peppers, and cacao meet Spanish, Portuguese, African, Italian, and Japanese influences brought by five centuries of migration. Ceviche, feijoada, arepas, and the smoke of the asado are its most beloved icons.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
More from Guyana
Guyanese PepperpotMeat slow-simmered in cassareep, cinnamon, and hot pepper until glossy black, the Amerindian-rooted Christmas classic.
Sada Roti with Tomato ChokaSoft griddled flatbread torn and dipped into smoky fire-roasted tomato choka sharpened with garlic and onion, a vegan Guyanese classic.
Cook-up RiceA one-pot of rice and peas simmered in coconut milk with meat and herbs, Guyana's Saturday-night comfort dish.
Browse all Guyana recipes →
Good to know
You’ll need: Wok.
Storing it: Best fresh. Leftovers keep 2 days refrigerated; loosen with a splash of water or oil as you reheat so they do not clump.
Make it a Guyana meal
MaubyDrink
Cassava PoneDessert
Cook-up RiceLunch
Similar dishes from around the world
Khao SoiThailand
Dapanji (Big Plate Chicken)China
Pancit BihonPhilippines
Mine FriteMauritius
Shan Noodles (Shan Khauk Swe)Myanmar
Khao PoonLaos
Cuisine
Diet
Frequently asked questions
What is Guyanese Chicken Chow Mein?
Seasoned noodles tossed with cassareep-marinated chicken, bora beans, and crisp vegetables in a savoury five-spice and soy sauce.
Where does Guyanese Chicken Chow Mein come from?
Guyanese Chicken Chow Mein is a Guyanese dish from Demerara (Georgetown), Guyana.
Can Guyanese Chicken Chow Mein be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Guyanese Chicken Chow Mein recipe includes substitution suggestions for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, and pork-free versions, including several at once such as gluten-free and dairy-free together. Treat them as a starting guide rather than a guarantee, and see the allergen note below.
Is Guyanese Chicken Chow Mein safe for people with food allergies?
Our dietary labels and substitutions are a cooking guide, not medical or allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish, but we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, always read the label on every product you use, and remember a home or commercial kitchen can cross-contaminate ingredients in ways a recipe cannot control.
How long does Guyanese Chicken Chow Mein take to make?
About 45 minutes total (25 minutes prep, 20 minutes cooking), serving 4.
Get the Sunday Spin
One dish from somewhere in the world, in your inbox every Sunday. No spam, just dinner inspiration you can cook that day.