Like a hot pot in snooker, the Chicken Chowmein is a hot pot of Asian Cuisine and one of the more straightforward meal dishes to cook – but you can adapt the recipes to any way you like, like this one. This goes up a level to the basic chowmein dish with a twist with Rice…
When the cue action is flowing, and the balls are entering the pocket crisply, then you know you’re in sync, and, if you get the basics right, you can’t go far wrong, and, then, it’s just about practice and adaptation!
Hot Pot Chicken Chow Mein with Pilau Rice – A Fiery Match Night Feast…
Some nights call for something simple.
Other nights… you go all in.
This Hot Pot Chicken Chow Mein with Pilau Rice is one of those dishes. Big flavours, a serious kick of heat, and enough substance to carry you through a long evening—whether that’s at the table or watching the snooker unfold.
The Idea Behind the Dish 🎱
Snooker has its moments of patience—but it also has intensity.
This dish leans into the latter.
It’s bold, a bit fiery, and not afraid to mix things up with some hot pots in between. Chowmein noodles on its own would do the job, but adding pilau rice turns it into something more:
a proper match night meal.
Ingredients
- Chicken (sliced)
- Egg noodles (In this dish I am just using Rice) (But noodles is common for chow mein)
- Pilau rice (pre-cooked or prepared separately)
- 1 onion (sliced)
- Spring onions (chopped)
- 1 red pepper (sliced)
- Green beans
- Handful of spinach
- Diced chillies (optional)
- Chow mein sauce from Waitrose (80p)
For the chicken marinade (leave to rest for a few hours before. I left mine overnight to soak up the flavours…:
- Soy sauce
- Oyster sauce
- 1 tablespoon hot naga chilli sauce
- Sweet chilli sauce
- Salt and pepper
I’m using rice this time, instead of noodles because it’s good to mix it up…
Method
- Marinade the chicken
Coat the chicken in soy sauce, oyster sauce, naga chilli sauce, sweet chilli sauce, and a pinch of salt and pepper.
Leave to sit while you prepare the rest. - Cook the chicken
Heat a wok or large pan and cook the chicken until browned and cooked through. Remove and set aside. - Stir fry the vegetables
In the same pan, cook the onion, red pepper, and green beans first.
Add the spring onions and spinach towards the end. - Add the noodles
Toss in the cooked noodles and mix well with the vegetables. - Bring it together
Return the chicken to the pan and stir everything together so the flavours combine. - Serve with pilau rice
Plate up the chow mein alongside a portion of pilau rice for a full, hearty meal.
SnookerZone Heat Rating
🔥🔥🔥🔥 – Century Heat
That hint of flamin naga chilli sauce brings serious fire, balanced by the sweetness of the sweet chilli sauce and chowmein running through the dish. You get just enough of a kick to feel it, but it doesn’t over power your tastebuds.
Match Night Tip
This isn’t a light pre-match bite.
This is one for:
- a long evening watching the snooker
- or after a session when you want something filling and full of flavour
The rice makes it a proper fuel-up meal.
Final Thoughts
There’s a bit of everything in this dish:
- heat from the naga chilli sauce
- sweetness from the chilli glaze
- depth from the soy and oyster base
- freshness from the vegetables
It’s not traditional, and it doesn’t try to be.
But it delivers exactly what a winter snooker night sometimes calls for:
something hot, filling, and packed with character and colour.