Chicken Lo Mein

Name: Chicken Lo Mein
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 1 h
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: chinese
Ingredients: 12 ounces fresh (refrigerated) or frozen lo mein noodles; 2 tablespoons canola oil or vegetable oil, plus extra for drizzling noodles; 2 tablespoons light soy sauce; 2 tablespoons dark soy sauce; 1 tablespoon oyster sauce; 1 tablespoon Chinese black vinegar; 1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine; 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil; 1 tablespoon turbinado or granulated sugar; 3/4 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs, thinly sliced (about ¼-inch thick) into bite-size pieces; Salt and pepper; 1 tablespoon minced garlic; 1 tablespoon minced ginger; ½ small head napa cabbage, cored and shredded (about 3½ cups); 1 small carrot, cut into matchsticks; 1 cup thinly sliced snow peas; 1 1/2 cups mung bean sprouts; 1/2 cup thinly sliced scallions, plus more for garnish

By Kay Chun

Published Jan. 23, 2025

Chicken Lo Mein — Christopher Testani for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.

Total Time: About 1 hour
Prep Time: 25 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Rating: 5(379)
Comments: Read comments

Chinese lo mein (“stirred noodles”) is beloved for its fun combination of egg noodles, veggies and protein tossed in a sweet and savory sauce. Making this popular takeout dish at home is a fantastic way to use up leftovers, as this dish is completely customizable depending on what’s available in the fridge. (No napa cabbage? Use green or purple!) Here, skinless boneless chicken thighs are thinly sliced for quick-cooking meat that remains juicy and tender. The rich sauce comes together in a flash and can easily be doubled for another stir-fry later on in the week. Go light on seasoning the veggies, since the sauce does bring a good amount of salt to the final dish.

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Ingredients

Yield:4 servings

12ounces fresh (refrigerated) or frozen lo mein noodles
2tablespoons canola oil or vegetable oil, plus extra for drizzling noodles
2tablespoons light soy sauce
2tablespoons dark soy sauce
1tablespoon oyster sauce
1tablespoon Chinese black vinegar
1tablespoon Shaoxing wine
1tablespoon toasted sesame oil
1tablespoon turbinado or granulated sugar
¾pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs, thinly sliced (about ¼-inch thick) into bite-size pieces
Salt and pepper
1tablespoon minced garlic
1tablespoon minced ginger
½ small head napa cabbage, cored and shredded (about 3½ cups)
1small carrot, cut into matchsticks
1cup thinly sliced snow peas
1½cups mung bean sprouts
½cup thinly sliced scallions, plus more for garnish

Ingredient Substitution Guide

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Preparation

Step 1
In a large pot of boiling water, cook noodles according to package instructions until al dente. Transfer to a colander and run under cold water to stop the cooking. Drain well. If noodles are sticky, drizzle them with a little neutral oil and toss to prevent sticking.
Step 2
While the water comes to a boil, prepare the sauce: In a small bowl, whisk to combine the light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, oyster sauce, vinegar, wine, sesame oil and sugar.
Step 3
In a 12-inch nonstick skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of the canola oil over medium-high. Add chicken, season with salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until chicken is just cooked through, 5 minutes. Add 1 teaspoon of the garlic and 1 teaspoon of the ginger and cook, stirring, until fragrant, 30 seconds. Transfer to a plate.
Step 4
Add the remaining 1 tablespoon canola oil to the skillet, plus the cabbage, carrots and snow peas; lightly season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, 5 minutes. Add the remaining garlic and ginger and stir until fragrant, 30 seconds.
Step 5
Add chicken, bean sprouts, cooked noodles and sauce, and cook, tossing with tongs, until mixture is well combined and most of the liquid is absorbed, about 2 minutes. Add scallions and toss to combine.
Step 6
Serve warm and top with more scallions.

Ratings

5 out of 5

379 user ratings

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Comments

CFXK4 months ago

Try balsamic vinegar for the Chinese black vinegar and dry sherry for the Shaoxing wine. These are both common subs.

Frank4 months ago

I recommend making a 1:1 slurry of light soy sauce and corn starch (1 Tbsp of each), whisking it together, mixing with the sliced chicken, and letting this sit covered on the counter for 30 minutes before cooking. It much improves the texture of chicken in stir frys, even when using chicken breast, and the residual corn starch on the chicken with help thicken sauces. Also, instead of rinsing the noodles, drain them and put them on a tray in the fridge to dry. This helps keep them springy.

J. Corby4 months ago

Shaoxing can be replaced by sherry fairly easily. Black vinegar is harder because its flavor it very unique—kind of roasted and deep. The only thing that comes to mind is balsamic but I wouldn't go that route. I think there's enough other flavors and such a small amount of it that something like cider or malt vinegar will give you the acidity and a little flavor without getting in the way or punching up flavors that might not work with the dish.

Nancy1 week ago

Loved it! Made this exactly according to the recipe. I wish people would like a recipe as read instead of all this advice and changes.

NikkiJ1 month ago

I took the suggestions of using Worchestershire and Dry Sherry as substitutes. I added diced sweet onion. I think it benefits from a little chili oil.

Liz2 months ago

This was good. Next time I will make 1.5x the sauce.

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