I have a tendency to become intermittently obsessed with eating lo mein from Chinese take-out places. There is something so comforting about that hot, little box of noodles. I usually devour it in the parking lot. Can't even wait until I get home. So recently I was like, Stacey - just figure out how to make them and eat them any time you want. Revelatory, I know. And so I began testing lo mein recipes and now I have this totally awesome chicken lo mein to share with you. You're going to love it! And remember - even if you skipped all the veggies and just made the noodles, sauce and chicken - this will be DELICIOUS!!
What is lo mein?
In case you've been living under a rock, lo mein is a delicious noodle dish available at most Chinese restaurants in America. In Cantonese, lo mein means "stirred noodles." The noodles used are typically a flour and egg noodle which can have a chewy texture. I love that about lo mein. The sauce used when stirring the noodles is usually soy sauce and oyster sauce which is great because these items are readily available in most of our local grocery stores.
Lo mein is highly customizable. If you only wanted to make it with the chicken, scallions and sauce it would be completely delicious. Make it with all veggies if you want or use chicken, beef, shrimp or pork.
You don't need a wok, but if you have one go for it
This is a silly dilemma, but I've never had a wok that lasts very long. I've tried a few, but ultimately I'm like Goldilocks when it comes to woks... I can't seem to find one that's juuuuuust right. Also, a lot of people don't have a wok at home so maybe using a large teflon pan will be better...?
The only down side to using a pan versus a wok is the higher sides on the wok when tossing the noodles. With a teflon pan, the mass of noodles, veggies and chicken can be a little challenging to contain. There will be sauce splatters and flying vegetables to contend with... and your stovetop might be a mess. But it's for the greater good, right? It's all in the name of making totally awesome chicken lo mein, so what's a little mess?
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Lo Mein essentials: noodles and soy sauces
The top choice to make lo mein is going to be egg noodles. For some fantastic reason, my local grocery store (go Market Basket!) carries these incredible fresh lo mein noodles. They are crazy delicious and the are always available.
I am also very lucky to have so many amazing Asian markets near where I live. Wherever you get your lo mein noodles, especially if they are fresh, be sure to check the expiration date before purchasing. I held on to some noodles for a few days and went to use them only to discover they were molded. So watch for that dates.
If you can't get the lo mein noodles, regular pasta can work in a pinch like a thick spaghetti or linguine. But I highly recommend making the extra effort to get the lo mein noodles. 🙂
With the soy sauce we're using two different varieties. You will need dark soy sauce and regular soy sauce. If you haven't tried dark soy sauce yet, you are in for a real treat. It's slightly thicker than regular soy, not as strong (in my opinion) and has a more impressive depth of flavor. You're still getting that umami, but it's richer... more sophisticated. The dark soy sauce is also providing that darker color to the dish that is one of the signatures of a great lo mein. For the "regular" soy sauce I usually go with a lower sodium version. Regular soy sauce is available everywhere. For the Dark soy you might have to go to your local Asian market.
chicken Lo mein: make it your own
I know, I know. You are very busy and don't have time to cook when you get home from work. That's fine. One of the best parts about making this lo mein is that you can make it your own.
All things considered, if you just made the sauce (which is super easy to make) and cooked the chicken this will still be AMAZING!!! So chicken, sauce, noodles and you'll be a hero in your house. I'm serious - this lo mein is totally awesome and will become a regular meal in your dinner rotation.
And if you love Asian-style cooking, don't forget to check out my spicy garlic chili noodles, General Tso's Chicken (with Trader Joe's Hack) and my chicken and eggplant stir fry. Happy home cooking!
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Totally Awesome Chicken Lo Mein
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 4-6 portions 1x
Description
You can make this totally awesome chicken lo mein right in your own kitchen. It’s highly customizable and so damn good!
Ingredients
- ¾ pound of chicken tenderloins, chopped (about 7 tenderloins)
- 1 tablespoon garlic, finely diced/minced (3-4 med-to-large cloves)
- 2 small carrots, cut into matchsticks
- ½ of medium red pepper, cut in thin strips
- ½ cup of onion, cut in cubes (approx. half a small onion)
- 1 pound of lo mein egg noodles
- 1 bunch of scallions
- 1 small bunch of gai lan (Chinese broccoli, or reg broccoli)
- Neutral oil for cooking (canola or vegetable)
For the sauce
- 1 ½ tablespoons corn starch
- 3 tablespoons dark soy sauce
- 3 tablespoons regular soy sauce (I use low sodium kind)
- 3 tablespoons oyster sauce
- 1 ½ tablespoons Chinese cooking wine (or dry sherry or dry white wine)
- 2 teaspoons sugar
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Instructions
- Start with making the sauce. Add all sauce ingredients to a medium bowl and mix together until well combined. Reminder that after the sauce has been sitting out you should stir it again before using.
- Cut the chicken tenderloins into bite-sized pieces and put in a bowl.
- Use about 2 ½ tablespoons of the sauce and pour it on the chicken. Mix to coat the chicken in the sauce and let this marinate while you do the other prep.
- Grate the garlic on a microplane or use a knife to finely dice it. Set aside.
- Peel a couple of small carrots and cut into thin matchsticks. Alternatively, you can buy a small bag of matchstick carrots at the store and use those. Set aside on a plate or small sheet pan.
- Cut half the red pepper and slice into thin strips. Put on plate with carrot sticks.
- With the bunch of scallions we’re doing two things. First, cut a small handful of the dark green part of the scallions (about 1 inch or so in length). Set aside, we’ll add those to the stir fry. Chop the rest small so you can use as a garnish when serving. Put the larger cut scallions on plate with carrots and pepper.
- Take your half-onion and cut it into cubes.
- For the gai-lan (Chinese broccoli) you won’t need the whole bunch you bought. Just pick out 5-6 of them and cut the thick stems off so the stems and leaves are two separate things. The stems are thick – cut them in half lengthwise and in half again (depending on thickness)… similar to the matchstick carrots. You should have approximately one heaping cup when done. With the leaves you can leave them whole or chop them a couple of times to make smaller pieces.
- Transfer gai-lan stems to a pan with splash of olive oil (maybe ½ tablespoon), toss to coat, and cook a couple of minutes on their own to soften. I put the lid on the pan, but you don’t have to. Pick your own way.
- For the lo mein. There’s fresh cooked noodles and fresh uncooked noodles. I used fresh uncooked so if you’re using uncooked they need to boil about 9-10 minutes. Plan your time with getting a pot of salted water boiling.
- After the gai-lan has cooked a couple of minutes, add the matchstick carrots and mix with the gai-lan stems. Let them cook another couple of minutes so the carrots soften a bit too.
- By the time you are starting to cook the chicken, you should drop your noodles in the boiling water to start cooking. You should use about 1 ½-2 teaspoons of salt for the noodle water.
- Add some neutral oil to a pan (1-2 tablespoons) on medium heat and let it get hot. Add chicken to pan and let it cook for 2-3 minutes.
- Turn the chicken over then add the onion, red pepper, and larger cut scallion to the pan and give it a stir. This where you add the garlic. In my video I forgot to add it here and added it later. But this is where you should add that. Cook in center of pan for 30-60 seconds with a splash of oil – then mix with together to combine.
- Transfer the carrots and gai-lan stems to the pan and mix to combine.
- Add gai-lan leaves to the top and put lid on pan until leaves wilt – should just take a minute or two.
- Strain the noodles with a colander and add to the pan then pour the sauce on top, then about a ¼ cup of warm water (not the noodle water). I used my kitchen tongs and large wooden spoon to stir everything together. You want to make sure all the noodles are coated well. If you watch the video, you will see this is where I had to add the garlic because I forgot it earlier!
- Serve immediately. You can garnish the lo mein with the fresh chopped scallions.
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