As a Chef, I really enjoy tinkering with restaurant foods at home. During life in the time of Covid-19, I experimented with this Lo Mein recipe over and over, and also studied some take-out a couple of times. This has become one of my very favorite meals and my family agrees. It has worked its way into a fairly constant rotation, and I'm not sad about it!
What's the difference between Chow Mein and Lo Mein?
Let's start at the top so we can knock the confusion out from the get-go. The most basic difference between Chow Mein and Lo Mein is that Chow Mein is fried noodles and Lo Mein is sauced noodles.
Both include noodles that have been boiled, but Chow Mein has its noodles cooked in a hot, oiled, wok, then gets a sauce on them. Lo Mein is cooked noodles added to vegetables and/or meat that have been cooked in a sauce and then simply tossed in it.
How do I make Lo Mein at Home?
The first step in making a restaurant-quality Lo Mein at home is finding just the right noodle. This was a search that was a little harder than I expected it to be. Finding a simple Asian style egg noodle took me a minute, but I found one I love, and it was as good, probably better (as my family says), than the restaurant dish we usually order.
These are THE NOODLES, click here to get them!
If you have a hard time getting your hands on these noodles, you can always swap them for spaghetti noodles in a pinch.
Next assemble all the basic veggies, or your favorites to eat with you Asian food. The joy of cooking at home is that you can customize your dinner to your liking. This would be good with snap peas, or broccoli added, or even green onions swapped out for cilantro.
I have even added peanuts a time or two for a pad thai sort of twist too. But I ALWAYS include bean sprouts, every TIME!!
Wok it up!
As far as the cooking process goes it is pretty quick and easy. In a wok or large skillet, first cook the chicken, then take it out. Next start by cooking the veg that will take the longest to cook. From here we will layer in ingredients to build flavor in the pan until the dish is done.
Cooking the aromatics like ginger and garlic at this early stage will also help to permeate the entire dish with its flavor. Plus it makes the whole house smell amazing! Next, add in the remaining vegetables and the sauce, cook until everything is tender, then add the chicken back to the pan.
This is the time to make this YOUR Lo Mein. If you like it extra saucy, add more sauce now. If you want more veggies, add them in. Finish it all off with the noodles, work them in and get them all saucy, and get the veggies and chicken evenly dispersed.
And that is it! This dinner really comes together in just about 5 minutes after you prep your veggies and chicken. Getting everything ready before you start is really important with this dish because of its quick cooking time.
I serve it over more bean sprouts and with a generous sprinkle of fresh cilantro on top!
More Asian Inspired Dishes
Easy Lo Mein at Home
This is my version of a quick and easy at-home Lo Mein. It takes a few minutes to prep the veggies and the chicken, but once you have this ready to go dinner is ready in about 10 minutes or less.
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon Vegetable Oil
- 2, 6oz Chicken Breasts, pounded and sliced
- Kosher Salt
- White Pepper
- 1 teaspoon Sesame Oil
- 1 lg Carrot, shredded
- 1 Red Bell Pepper, julienned
- 1 inch Ginger, grated
- 2 cloves Garlic, grated
- ¼ head Cabbage, shredded
- 1 bag Mung Bean Sprouts
- ¼ cup Oyster Sauce
- ½ -¾ cup Soyaki Sauce, from Trader Joe’s, or Veri Veri Teriyaki
- Asian Egg Noodles, or spaghetti
- 1 tablespoon Soy Sauce
- Sriracha Sauce, as needed
- Cilantro, chopped
Instructions
- Set a pot of water on the stove and bring it to a boil.
- Prepare all of the aromatics and vegetables and set them up on a platter. Using a meat mallet or tenderizer, pound out the chicken and slice it very thin. Slice and season with a light sprinkle of kosher salt and white pepper. Set aside. Once you start cooking this dish comes together super fast, having every prepared and ready is key!
- Heat a wok or large skillet over medium heat. Add the vegetable oil to the pan, and when it begins to smoke, gently add the sliced and seasoned chicken. Cook the chicken until slightly browned and cooked through, 4-5 minutes. Remove the chicken from the pan and reserve for later use.
- Add the sesame oil to the hot pan, along with the carrots, bell peppers, and ginger. Cook 2-3 minutes until warm and cooked through.
- Place the garlic, cabbage, and bean sprouts in the pan along with the oyster sauce and half the Soyaki sauce. Toss everything together and coat evenly in the sauce. Return the chicken to the pan and toss until it is well coated in the sauce. Add more sauce at this time if you like it saucy.
- Cook the noodles, if using Asian noodles they cook in about 2-3 minutes, I do this just before I add the chicken to the pan.
- When the chicken and veggies are all cooked and saucy, turn off the heat and add the noodles to the pan with the soy sauce, and sriracha. Toss to coat.
- Serve with cilantro on top and extra bean sprouts. And extra Sriracha on the side for those who like it spicy!
Notes
If you can't find the Asian-style noodles you can swap them for spaghetti noodles in a pinch.
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