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.
Easy Chicken Lo Mein
Easy Chicken Lo MeinAs 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!
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:
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.
Recipe
Chicken Lo Mein
- Yield: 4 Servings
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Course: Main Course
- Cuisine: Chinese
- 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
Note: click on times in the instructions to start a kitchen timer while cooking.
- Cook the egg noodles one minute shy of the directions.
Drain and toss with sesame oil in a bowl to coat.
- Heat canola oil in a large skillet or wok over medium-high heat.
Cook the chicken 3-4 minutes on each side until cooked through.
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.
Add in the water, soy sauce, cornstarch, vegetable oil and oyster sauce into the skillet.
Add in the carrot, onion and cabbage and cook for 1-2 minutes before adding back in the chicken and egg noodles.
- Add in the bean sprouts, toss all the ingredients together well and serve.
Nutrition Information
Yield: 4 Servings, Amount per serving: 281 calories, Serving Size: 1 , Calories: 281g, Carbohydrates: 10g, Protein: 26g, Fat: 14g, Saturated Fat: 4g, Cholesterol: 72mg, Sodium: 1080mg, Potassium: 599mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 3g, Vitamin A: 3515g, Vitamin C: 44.1g, Calcium: 20g, Iron: 1.2g
All images and text © for Dinner, then Dessert.
If I could give 0 stars I would. I love trying new recipes and honestly this was a waste of my time. Tasted awful and nothing like lo mein. I would have been better off buying Chinese takeout. The sauce was awful and definitely was missing something. Don’t know how this recipe received so many 5 stars. Will be looking for a better lo mein recipe
I’m sorry you didn’t enjoy it, Vanessa.
Another yummy recipe, thank you.
Yuck! No mirin, no sugar, and no honey makes for one very salty meal.
This recipe needs work.
Excellent, thank you!
Wondering if rice noodles would work as a substitute because I have Celiac Disease and am gluten free. Anyone try this?
You can really use any type of noodles that work for you. Enjoy!
These comments are insane. This tastes nothing like take out. I followed the recipe exactly, and this is like something from the frozen food section at best. Very disappointing.
Do you use fresh or canned bean sprouts? Fresh bean sprouts seem very hard to find. Looks delicious, can’t wait to try it 🙂
I used fresh as the canned versions don’t have the same texture or flavor. If you’re having an issue finding them, you could substitute with more cabbage or thinly sliced Bok choi. Hope that helps.
When you say 10 oz egg noodles, do you mean cooked or uncooked?
10 ozs of dry egg noodles.
Tried for the first time tonight I did not use the bell pepper or sesame oil. It was good for something different and will make again using the sesame oil. Thumbs up from my family.
Chinese food never tastes the same homemade but even the take-out isn’t so great now. This recipe was outstanding. It’s take-out but it’s the best take-out. Next time I want to try it without the cornstarch which is what I’m used to. Yummy!!!! Thank you!!!
Thanks for the 5 stars.
Hi Sabrina, this looks lovely so will be making it for dinner tonight. Just wondered whether you ever velvet your chicken. I simply slice it thinly then add a couple of tablespoons of cornflour (corn starch for the US peeps). Just leave it in the fridge for 30 minutes and the chicken will be the so tender, I do it every time I cook Chinese and it makes such a difference.
Thanks for the feedback, Keith. I appreciate the 5 star rating.
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 . . .
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!
This came together pretty quickly. I used coleslaw mix from a bag (I didn’t have time to run for a cabbage leaf from the garden, which was my original plan), julienned carrots and green onions sliced on bias. I had made fresh lo mein noodles which I froze a couple of months ago. The sauce… seemed to be missing something… and I can’t imagine what because I have never even had lo mein before. Lol. I thought maybe a little more salt… Or maybe some sugar/hoisin? Pepper flakes? I will make again. It was a very pretty dish.
This was delicious.Thank you! A bit of prep, because this cooks up fast. Topped with some toasted peanuts for a little extra crunch. 🙂
Wow, tastes just like take out! This is an excellent recipe! We subbed out for coconut aminos instead of soy sauce just to cut down on salt and added mushrooms. Fantastic!
This is quick, easy and awesome!
Aww thank you for the great review! I am so glad you enjoyed the recipe!
Delicious!!!! Done it again!!!
One of the best recipes, quick, easy and delicious!!
Where’s msg
I didn’t use any for this recipe.
I loved since the first time I try and it’s very easy and low cost to make it
I used wheat spaghetti noodles and add mushrooms but followed the rest of the recipe….I add extra soy sauce to my bowl but absolutely love this recipe!!! Thank you!!!
One question: when are you getting your own app? I would love an easier way to navigate this website on a table when not connected to the WiFi( when I go camping)
It’s a work in progress. Stay tuned!
My husband loves Chinese food but I’m not the greatest at cooking it at home. This recipe seemed doable even for a clumsy cook like me, with a cuisine I’m not skilled at mastering!
So it turned out great; the only reason I gave it 4 stars is because next time I’ll double up on the veggies. I ended up using the entire package I had of bean sprouts and that was great, so I realized using more veggies would make it even better.
My husband doesn’t like bell pepper or oyster flavors so I left them out. I ended up using a tbsp of sesame oil to mix with the noodles.
By the way, using those noodles really made a difference in the overall dish; thank you for using them in this recipe.
My husband asked for just a little more soy sauce flavor (added it himself) so I’ll do that with the recipe next time. It came together MUCH faster than I thought it would as well.
Thank you again for sharing it; it’s great to know I can recreate something he loves here at home!
I’m so glad you decided to give it a try!
Decent base recipe but it could use some additional seasonings/spices because otherwise it’s pretty bland
Oh God Sabrina! Do you know how long I’ve been looking for you? I love you, and I don’t even know you!..haha…. Do you know all the gazillion places I had to look to find all I wanted and needed in one website!? All your recipes look amazing! I love the combinations of different ethnic groups! Indian, Mexican, Thai (among my very favorite..surely must have been Thai in another life!) and the copycat stuff….wow! Where were you in my 6 years in Mexico where I missed home food! All ingredients are non-boring and reading them just makes my mouth salivate! I can almost taste the finished product! You have NOOOOO idea how happy I am to find you! Wow! THANK YOU! YES! Weeeehooooo! I think I just spent 2 hours of a busy day stuck on your website…what the matter with me?!
You just made my day!! Thank you so much for your kind words.
Why can’t I print this. I am old and need to make big print to read. I hit print button but it does not work.
I just checked the print button on this recipe and it’s working. If you’re still not able to get it to work, you can print from the browser as well.
Substitutions for oyster sauce? I have a seafood allergy. Thanks!
You can also use Worcestershire sauce instead. Enjoy!
Worcestershire sauce with some sugar would work.
They make a vegetarian mushroom oyster sauce. I buy Wan Ja Shan brand. Amazon sells it, Chinese grocery stores sell it, and probably more.
This was a great meal! I used the vegies I had in the fridge and didn’t end up needing the additional vegetable oil. My husband doesn’t like “noodles” but had 2 helpings of this!
Very good. The only issue I ran into was step 6 when I dumped the cornstarch directly into the pot and it immediately clumped up. If I’d thought about it for a second, I would have made a slurry with it and the water. In the end it was still really good though, and my super picky family all went back for seconds.
I liked this however I felt that all the veggies should have been added at the same time and the garlic and ginger should have been added after the veggies were softened to avoid them burning. The onion was a bit underdone and I feel if it was added at the beginning it would have been more to my liking. I ended up adding some chili garlic sauce and a pinch of 5 spice to add a little more flavor. I also added a splash of chicken stock since the sauce was a bit thick. It helped stretch it to coat the noodles. Overall it is a good recipe and fun to personalize it to your liking. Thanks!!
My local chain grocery no longer carries fresh bean sprouts because o reports of bacterial contamination. I refuse to use the canned ones…they’re HORRIBLE. I LOVE bean sprouts—-what do I do?
Oh no!! That’s a bummer. Do you have a sprouts around you or possible a farmers market? Good luck on your search.
Google your local Asian market!
We made this Lo Mein, we couldn’t find the bean sprouts anywhere, but we added broccoli and some spicy Szechuan sauce at the end. It was SUPER good and had a little kick to it!
Bean sprouts can be found in a can and fresh in the produce section in the grocery store
The lo mein noodles shown on pic is different (Coarser) than from the hyperlink Lo mein noddles sold on amazon, can i get clarification on this?
You can use whatever you prefer. I was just trying to offer a link to those who might have an issue finding them. I hope you enjoy it!
If you think Kikkoman has the beat flavor, you must not have tried Aloha brand.
I snapped the Instructions on my phone and didn’t look at the ingredients or amounts. My store didn’t have these noodles, so I substituted with normal wide egg noodles. I cut some chicken thighs into small pieces and marinaded in Teriyaki sauce. Also added some salt and pepper. After the chicken was cooked and set aside, I stir-fried some broccoli and mushrooms for a few minutes. Then I added the red bell peppers, ginger and garlic. I more than doubled the oyster sauce because it needs the sweetness. I left out the bean sprouts and green onions because it was too many vegetables. Once everything is done, mixing it all together is important, as I’m sure someone tried to eat those noodles covered in sesame oil. lol. All-in-all, I give this 5 stars, even if I did modify it into a Teriyaki Stir-Fry Chicken Lo Mein.
This is delicious. My only complaint is that it didn’t specify to salt the chicken before cooking, and the sauce isn’t enough to flavor it alone. But otherwise, fantastic. I added two tablespoons of oyster sauce and it’s wonderful!
Pretty bland. I would say it’s more stir fry than lo mein, but even then it would be missing some key ingredients.
Very good!
This is my favorite noodle recipe/guide! While I often adjust what veggies go into it, (usually based on what’s available), this is always my starting point. Thank u for sharing!
Thanks, Angela!
The pictures look like there are both green onion and white onion, but unclear on if white onion. Is the 1/2 cup onions green onion? Or are there white onion too?
Sorry about that, yes, it’s 1/2 cup green onions.
Could I replace the oyster sauce with fish sauce?
Sure 🙂
You could, but it would be nowhere near the same. Meaning they are not an equal swap. Oyster says is rich and sweet, a thick syrupy sauce. Fish sauce is like water and has the taste and aroma of fish. They would not be relatable. You could add fish sauce, but it would not be a substitute.
This looks so easy and delish! The pic makes it look like there are both large, thicker noodles and skinny ramen-like noodles. Is there both, or are the skinnier ones just the bean sprout tails?
Those are the bean sprouts, sorry it looks so confusing. It’s just the thicker noodles.
It was good. A little different flavor than the typical stir fry. I will make it again.