Chicken Lo Mein

Chicken Lo Mein with chewy Chinese egg noodles, bean sprouts, chicken, bell peppers and carrots in under 30 minutes like your favorite Chinese takeout restaurant.

Lo Mein is a fantastic Chinese takeout option if you’re looking for something a bit thicker than the traditional Chow Mein.

Chicken Lo Mein
 Easy Chicken Lo Mein

As a kid growing up my mom was not very well versed in making Chinese food (she once made chow mein with angel hair noodles). I wanted to know how to make lo mein like in Chinese restaurants but despite her best efforts we’d end up with were soy sauce flavored noodles with all the veggies she thought she could hide in the pot.

It was a valiant effort, but it never really tasted like Chinese food from a Chinese Restaurant.

Since watching my favorite Daytime talkshow make their version of The Chew chicken lo mein (I’m a huge Micheal Symon fan), I had a craving to make some lo mein.

What you’re looking at is my quickly thrown together lo mein with the ingredients I had on hand and it was as delicious as my favorite takeout spot. My husband was watching along with me but he didn’t understand the difference of lo mein vs chow mein until he saw the difference in these noodles!

Easy Lo Mein

What is the difference between lo mein and chow mein?

A traditional chow mein has noodles that are boiled, then stir fried until having a slightly crisped exterior while lo mein is boiled then tossed in a sauce without cooking the noodles an additional amount. The noodles are roughly the same, both egg noodles, but lo mein noodles are normally thicker and chewier.

What kind of sauce is in lo mein?

Lo Mein sauce is made with a sesame oil base that the noodles are tossed in with garlic, ginger, oyster sauce and soy sauce to round out the slightly sweet and slightly spicy sacuce.

Lo Mein Recipe Variations:

  • Shrimp Lo Mein: Cook the shrimp after the veggies instead of before and remove them reserving them to toss with the pasta at the end. Undercook the shrimp by about 15 seconds before cause they will keep cooking in with the pasta.
  • Beef Lo Mein: Flank steak is the best beef for lo mein. Slice the beef against the grain and cook in on a high heat for just 30 seconds on each side.
  • Vegetable Lo Mein: The easiest of all the varieties, add in your favorite vegetables cooked until just softened but still with a crisp bite.

Best Vegetables for Lo Mein:

  • broccoli
  • red and green bell pepper
  • snow peas
  • green onions
  • sliced baby bok choy
  • sliced zucchini
  • julienned carrots
  • thinly sliced onions

More Easy Asian Recipes:

Chicken Lo Mein in skillet

Tools Used in the making of this Chicken Lo Mein:
Lo Mein Noodles: Authentic and flavorful for the perfect lo mein.
Soy Sauce: Nothing much to say here except Kikkoman has the best flavor overall and I always recommend reduced sodium.
Wok: The best way to cook quickly and over high heat for Asian dishes, this wok is the perfect stir fry pan.
Sesame Oil: The flavor of sesame oil in this dish is unmistakeable and not really able to be substituted. Some Asian grocery stores will try and sell less expensive options that aren’t actually sesame oil, so just be sure the one you’re buying is authentic sesame oil.

Chicken Lo Mein
4.97 from 31 votes
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Chicken Lo Mein

Chicken Lo Mein with chewy Chinese egg noodles, bean sprouts, chicken, bell peppers and carrots in under 30 minutes like your favorite Chinese takeout restaurant.
Course Main Course
Cuisine Chinese
Keyword Chicken Lo Mein
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Servings 4 Servings
Calories 281 kcal
Author Sabrina Snyder

Ingredients

  • 10 ounces Chinese egg noodles
  • 1 teaspoon sesame oil
  • 2 tablespoons canola oil
  • 2 chicken breasts sliced thinly
  • 1 red bell pepper thinly sliced
  • 1 teaspoon minced ginger
  • 2 cloves garlic minced
  • 3/4 cup water
  • 1/4 cup lite soy sauce
  • 2 tablespoons cornstarch
  • 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
  • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
  • 1 carrot thinly sliced
  • 1/2 cup onion slices
  • 1/2 cup shredded cabbage
  • 1 cup bean sprouts

Instructions

  1. Cook the egg noodles one minute shy of the directions.
  2. Drain and toss with sesame oil in a bowl to coat.

  3. Heat canola oil in a large skillet or wok over medium-high heat.
  4. Cook the chicken 3-4 minutes on each side until cooked through.

  5. Remove from the pan and add in the red bell peppers, ginger and garlic and cook them for 1-2 minutes, stirring frequently until just softened.

  6. Add in the water, soy sauce, cornstarch, vegetable oil and oyster sauce into the skillet.

  7. Add in the carrot, onion and cabbage and cook for 1-2 minutes before adding back in the chicken and egg noodles.

  8. Add in the bean sprouts, toss all the ingredients together well and serve.
Nutrition Facts
Chicken Lo Mein
Amount Per Serving (1 g)
Calories 281 Calories from Fat 126
% Daily Value*
Fat 14g22%
Saturated Fat 4g25%
Cholesterol 72mg24%
Sodium 1080mg47%
Potassium 599mg17%
Carbohydrates 10g3%
Fiber 1g4%
Sugar 3g3%
Protein 26g52%
Vitamin A 3515IU70%
Vitamin C 44.1mg53%
Calcium 20mg2%
Iron 1.2mg7%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Chinese Chicken Lo Mein collage

About the Author: Sabrina Snyder

Sabrina is a professionally trained Private Chef of over 10 years with ServSafe Manager certification in food safety. She creates all the recipes here on Dinner, then Dessert, fueled in no small part by her love for bacon.

Dinner, then Dessert, Inc. owns the copyright on all images and text and does not allow for its original recipes and pictures to be reproduced anywhere other than at this site unless authorization is given. If you enjoyed the recipe and would like to publish it on your own site, please re-write it in your own words, and link back to my site and recipe page. Read my disclosure and copyright policy. This post may contain affiliate links.

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Comments

  1. Delicious! I made it without any meat (I’m a vegetarian) pretty much as written – but used hoisin sauce instead of oyster sauce. My husband added some thin slices of grilled pork to his. Several times he said “this is REALLY good!” The recipe is so easy, so versatile and so tasty we will make permutations and combinations of it many times in the future, experimenting with different veggies, tofu and other different proteins. Thank you . . .

  2. This was delicious!! I added some brown sugar to it just to give it a little more sweetness but the recipe is still good as is! Thank you so much for posting this recipe!

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