Easy Chicken Lo Mein Recipe
Whip up our Easy Chicken Lo Mein for a flavorful, satisfying meal perfect for any weeknight. Quick, delicious, and sure to be a hit at your table!
Servings: 6
Ingredients
Noodles
- 1 pound Chinese Mein Noodles or spaghetti
- dash Sesame Oil
Meat
- 1 pound Chicken Thigh Chicken Breast, Pork, or Steak
- 2 tbsp oil peanut, canola or grapeseed oil
- 1 clove garlic lightly crushed
Seasonings
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp sugar
- 2 tsp soy sauce
- 1½ tsp sherry
- 1 tsp corn starch
- dash pepper
Vegetables
- Onions Bean Sprouts, Cabbage, Celery, Peapods, Beans, Carrots, Chinese Cabbage, Napa Cabbage, or whatever vegetables are in seasson.
- 2 ½ tbsp oil
- 1 slice ginger quarter size
- 1 tsp salt
Thickening sauce
- 2½ tbsp corn starch
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tbsp oyster sauce
- 1 cup water
Finishing
- 3 stalks green onions sliced diagonally
- 1 tsp sesame seeds white or black
Instructions
Noodles
- Cook noodles as directed. Cook al dente, do not overcook.
- MIx drained noodles with a dash of sesame oil to prevent sticking together.
- Spread into a large greased serving platter.
- A little soy sauce, sesame oil, pepper, hot sauce, and salt may be added to the noodles if desired.
- Keep warm and uncovered in an oven, at 200℉.
Meat
- Slice meat into long strips on the diagonal. How you cut meat should reflect the rest of the ingredients in the dish. Since this is a long noodle dish, the meat should be cut also into long strips.
- Velvet Chicken Option: At this point, if you want to have extra juicy tender restaurant style chicken, you can velvet the chicken according to this blog post on "How to Velvet Chicken"
- If NOT velveting the chicken, heat up 2 tbsp oil, add garlic, meat, and stir-fry until just done for several minutes.
- Set aside in a small bowl.
Vegetable Prep
- Slice vegetables on the diagonal into long thin strips. How you cut the vegetables should reflect the rest of the ingredients in the dish. Since this is a long noodle dish, the veggies should be cut also into long strips.
- Vegetable Chopping Lesson: To learn step-by-step how to cut vegetables, according to this blog post on "How to Cut Vegetables for stir-fry.
- Separate vegetables into piles in order of the length of cooking time required. Vegetables such as broccoli, celery, mushrooms, beans, and onions take longer. Cabbages, asparagus, and peapods, and bell peppers take less time.
- Heat 2½ tablespoons canola or other cooking oil until hot, add ginger and salt, and heat for 30 seconds until ginger is fragrant.
- Add longest-to-cook vegetables first and stir-fry over medium heat. Gradually add all the vegetables, and stir-fry until crisp tender. Do not overcook.
Thickening Sauce
- Mix 2 ½ tablespoons corn starch, 2 tablespoons soy sauce, and 2 tablespoons oyster sauce into 1 cup of water.
- Stir until the cornstarch has dissolved into the liquid.
Finishing
- With the heat on medium, add the meat to the vegetable mixture in the pan. Stir-fry and combine.
- Add the thickening sauce.
- Stir fry the vegetables, meat and sauce until the liquid of the sauce thickens and coats everything.
- Place the vegetable and meat stir-fry over the noodles.
- Finish the noodles with diagonally sliced green onions and sesame seeds.
Notes
- Tender Chicken Tips: For the juiciest chicken, consider velveting it before stir-frying. This involves marinating the chicken in a simple mix to keep it moist and tender. This technique is key to recipe quality chicken for stir-fry!! Get the recipe, video and directions here.
- Flexible Ingredients: No Chinese Mein Noodles? No problem. This recipe is all about adaptability, so feel free to use spaghetti, linguine or any other pasta as a substitute!
- Storage Solutions: While it’s better fresh, this Lo Mein can be stored in an airtight container and reheated for a yummy lunch the next day
- Vegetarian Options? Easily substitute tofu for the chicken or add more veggies for a plant-based twist.
- Alternative Noodles? Spaghetti, Linguine, Gluten-free or even Zoodles from Zucchini can replace the Chow Mein noodles in this dish!
- Spice it up? Add more ginger or a sprinkle of chili flakes for an extra kick. Or, I often add Spicy Chili Crunch. My favorite brands are Lao Gan Ma, or Fly By Jing.