Chicken Lo Mein Recipe - Chinese Take-Out at Home (2024)

Published: · Modified: by Igor · This post may contain affiliate links · 14 Comments

If you love Chinese takeout, this Chicken Lo Mein recipe is for you. Easy and quick to make (requires only 25 minutes of your precious time), it makes a perfect healthy weeknight dinner!

Chicken Lo Mein Recipe - Chinese Take-Out at Home (1)

Let me start by saying that I am not a huge fan of take-out food. I grab it few times a month and that's pretty much it. Actually, I kind of like it, but my wife is a fantastic cook and I love cooking myself too, so we always end up preparing something at home. However, when we do order stuff, in most cases it's from our favorite Chinese place. The taste of their stir-fries, soups, dumplings, spring rolls, and other culinary creations is crazy good and I can't resist it!

Chicken Lo Mein Recipe - Chinese Take-Out at Home (2)

BUT. Being huge culinary enthusiasts, we decided that even this awesome place is not worth ordering from, because we can replicate all their dishes at home. Oh well. You can call us crazy and I won't even deny it. Just chill on the couch, watch some TV, relax after a long day of work and games with your baby, and order some Chinese takeout... A perfect evening, right? Not for us, the fanatical couple. We will rather stay in the kitchen until wee hours cooking stuff and then eating it in the middle of the night. Maybe someday it will change, ha ha!

Yesterday we made this fantastic Chicken Lo Mein. It's one of our Chinese take-out favorites, so we were excited to replicate it in our kitchen. Lo mein is a Cantonese term meaning stirred noodles. Basically, it's a stir-fry featuring egg noodles, chicken (or any meat you like), marinated in soy sauce and vinegar, and a bunch of veggies.

Chicken Lo Mein Recipe - Chinese Take-Out at Home (3)

Every single chicken lo mein recipe I found uses a different set of veggies, meaning you can throw in whatever you like. The most popular options are bok choy (Chinese cabbage), carrots, scallions, broccoli, snow peas, bell peppers, celery. Some recipes also add mushrooms to the mix.

The result exceeded our highest expectations. I would even dare to say that it was better than the original chicken lo mein from our favorite place... And it's so easy and quick to make! You should spend less than 30 minutes in the kitchen. Plus it's easy to customize: you can change the meat, the veggies, or even add something like mushrooms or whatever you like.

Chicken Lo Mein Recipe - Chinese Take-Out at Home (4)

That's what I call a perfect weeknight dinner. After such a success I plan to recreate more take-out dishes in the nearest future. As the proverb popular in my country says, "it is good everywhere, but it is the best at home." Chicken Lo Mein Recipe - Chinese Take-Out at Home (5)

Chicken Lo Mein Recipe - Chinese Take-Out at Home (6)

Chicken Lo Mein Recipe

CookingTheGlobe

This Chicken Lo Mein recipe is a homemade version of a popular Chinese takeout dish. Really easy and quick to make!

5 from 4 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 25 minutes mins

Cook Time 15 minutes mins

Total Time 40 minutes mins

Cuisine Chinese

Servings 4 people

Calories 541 kcal

Ingredients

  • 12 oz (340g) skinless, boneless chicken breast , cut into bite-sized pieces
  • 6 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
  • 4 teaspoons sugar
  • 10 oz (280g) dried Chinese egg noodles or linguine
  • cup chicken broth
  • 2 teaspoons cornstarch
  • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
  • 1 tablespoon sesame oil
  • 4 cloves garlic , minced
  • 1 carrot , julienned
  • 1 red bell pepper , cut into strips
  • 1 stalk celery , thinly sliced
  • chopped scallions , for sprinkling

Instructions

  • Combine 2 tablespoons soy sauce, rice vinegar, and 2 teaspoons sugar in a medium bowl. Add the chicken and toss to coat. Let marinate for 20 minutes at room temperature.

  • Cook the noodles according to package directions and set aside.

  • In a small bowl, combine the broth, cornstarch, remaining 4 tablespoons soy sauce, and remaining 2 teaspoons sugar. Set aside.

  • In a wok or a large skillet, heat the vegetable and sesame oil. Add the garlic and cook for about 30 seconds, stirring. Add the carrot, bell pepper, celery and cook for 2-3 minutes more, stirring. Remove the veggies from a skillet.

  • Drain the chicken, discarding the marinade, and add it to the same wok / skillet. Add more oil, if necessary, and cook for 3-4 minutes until no longer pink. Stir in the broth based sauce and cook, stirring, until thickened. Add the cooked noodles and prepared veggies. Toss the mixture using two spatulas until combined. Serve sprinkled with some chopped scallions over the top. Enjoy!

Nutrition

Calories: 541kcal

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

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Comments

  1. Claire

    Chicken Lo Mein Recipe - Chinese Take-Out at Home (7)
    Oh dear please make Taiwanese beef noodle 🙂

    Reply

    • Igor

      I will! 🙂

      Reply

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Chicken Lo Mein Recipe - Chinese Take-Out at Home (2024)

FAQs

What is chicken lo mein sauce made of? ›

Mix the Lo Mein stir fry sauce

Premix the stir fry sauce by combining soy sauce, oyster sauce, dark soy sauce, Shaoxing wine, sesame oil, white pepper, sugar, water, cornstarch and msg if using.

How to make homemade Chinese food taste like takeout? ›

Blogger Tips: How to Make Homemade Chinese Food Taste Like Takeout!
  1. Roll It Up With Spring Roll Wrappers. Spring roll wrappers are essential when it comes to Chinese Takeout. ...
  2. Use Tender Meat Substitutes. ...
  3. Using Tofu To Create Eggy Dishes! ...
  4. Make Your Own Tso Sauce at Home. ...
  5. Make Spicy Sweet Hoisin Sauce.

What makes lo mein taste so good? ›

The defining feature of any lo mein dish is the sauce, so make sure you take the time to get it right. Using dark soy sauce will give the lo mein color and a bolder taste while adding light soy sauce will give the dish some extra saltiness and flavor without staining the noodles darker.

What are the best noodles to use for lo mein? ›

You want to buy an egg noodle or pasta that's relatively thin and has some tooth. Some common names will be lo mein, chow mein, egg noodles or pancit noodles. Most markets have Japanese yaki soba noodles in the cold case, and those would work perfectly.

What does lo mein usually have in it? ›

Made with just soy sauce, sesame oil, a pinch of sugar, ramen noodles or spaghetti noodles, and any veggies or protein you like. SO YUMMY! Hel-lo-lo-mein! This 15-minute wonder is absolutely my new go-to for a quick Asian noodle stir fry.

Can you use spaghetti noodles for lo mein? ›

Cook and stir celery, carrots, onion, and green onions in hot oil until slightly tender, 5 to 7 minutes. Add spaghetti and soy sauce mixture.

What sauce gives Chinese food its flavor? ›

Soy sauce is a must (both light and dark), but you'll need these other sauces and spices to get your wok on, anytime. These five spices make up the often-used Chinese five-spice powder.

What spice gives Chinese food its flavor? ›

Popular herbs like ginger, garlic, scallions, star anise, cinnamon, and Sichuan peppercorns are frequently used in Chinese cooking because of their therapeutic properties, in addition to their ability to improve the flavour, aroma, and texture of food.

Why does Chinese takeaway taste so good? ›

What do they put in Chinese food that makes it taste so good? In Chinese food, we usually use following ingredients for seasoning. Oil:cole oil, sunflower seed oil, peanut oil, lard, sesame oil, chilly oil, Sichuan pepper oil. Common: salt, sugar, Shaoxing wine, monosodium glutamate, vinegar, starch.

How to make bland lo mein taste better? ›

Give your lo mein a quick taste and adjust the seasoning to your liking. Add more salt, soy sauce, oyster sauce, sesame oil, or white pepper according to your preference. Plate your lo mein and serve with homemade chili oil or hot sauce on the side!

What gives lo mein its smoky flavor? ›

The best kind of restaurant-style stir-fried lo mein is subtle in flavor, with plenty of wok hei, the smoky flavor that results from the powerful flame of a restaurant wok burner licking up and over the back of the wok, singeing the oil and noodles.

How do you thicken lo mein? ›

Cornstarch! In his book How to Cook Everything Vegetarian, Mark Bittman recommends mixing 1-2 tablespoons of cornstarch with the same amount of water, and tossing this into the stir fry just when it's almost done. It thickens in seconds, picking up the flavors of everything already in the dish and coating evenly.

What are lo mein noodles called in the grocery store? ›

3. Lo Mein noodles are fresh yellow noodles (usually labelled "egg noodles") that are about 3mm / 1/8" thick, sold in the fridge section of grocery stores. Dried noodles - use 200g/8oz uncooked ramen noodles or other dried noodles. 4.

What is hoisin sauce used for? ›

Hoisin sauce is a thick, fragrant sauce commonly used in Cantonese cuisine as a glaze for meat, an addition to stir fry, or as dipping sauce. It is dark-coloured, sweet and salty. Although regional variants exist, hoisin sauce usually includes soybeans, fennel, red chili peppers, and garlic.

What is vegetable lo mein sauce made of? ›

Lo mein sauce is made of sesame oil as the base. You can then make it fancy by adding garlic, ginger, and oyster sauce too. Or you can keep it super simple and only add some soy sauce and olive oil. Vegetables.

What is inside oyster sauce? ›

Traditionally, oysters are slowly simmered in water until the liquid caramelizes into a viscous, dark black-brown sauce. But to speed up the process, some commercialized versions are instead made with oyster extracts, plus salt, sugar, corn starch and caramel coloring.

What is inside hoisin sauce? ›

Hoisin is made with sugar, water, soybeans, salt, sweet potato, sesame seeds, cornstarch, garlic, wheat flour, chili pepper and spices.

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