I’ve been searching for a good chicken lo mein recipe for quite some time. Like a GOOD one. One that tastes like it’s from your favorite Chinese takeout restaurant. Unfortunately, I could only find recipes that were close, but not quite there. I just couldn’t get that restaurant quality I was looking for. Almost everyone I tried was either too heavy on something, or too light on something else. So, as with most things in life, I just had to figure it out on my own. It took me about six tries to get this chicken lo mein recipe just right, but I finally got it! This is just as good as any takeout I’ve had and I really loaded up on the fresh vegetables as they’re my favorite part!
So What’s the Secret to Chicken Lo Mein?
There’s not just one, but TWO must have ingredients, to make a great chicken lo mein. The first is chicken stock. Only one other recipe I tried called for chicken stock. That particular recipe wasn’t great, but I could see how the chicken stock really brought together all of the other flavors. The second is sesame oil. Just a teaspoon of this stuff gives a nice toasted, slightly nutty flavor to the noodles and really homes in on that restaurant flavor.
What Else Do We Need?
- You’ll need either a wok or an extra large skillet
- Some good lo mein noodles. I like the fresh vacuum packed ones like these (click on the picture for link):
- Chicken Stock – I like to keep a jar of this in the refrigerator so I can make up exactly what I need whenever I want:
- Last but not least is some sesame oil! In my opinion you can never go wrong with kikkoman products and their sesame oil is no different:
Is this meal quick and easy to make?
Yes and no. It’s fairly easy to make but it takes a little bit of time to prepare all of the ingredients. I’d give yourself about 45 minutes from start to finish.
Is this meal kid friendly?
Absolutely! My kids love this meal and I get asked for it at least once a month.
Do I have to use chicken?
Nope. You can use whatever you want. Beef, Vegetable, Tofu. Just substitute the appropriate broth, beef broth for beef, vegetable stock for vegetable or tofu.
Chicken Lo Mein
Description
Fresh vegetables, delicious chicken and savory noodles all combined with a restaurant quality lo mein sauce.
Ingredients
Lo Mein Sauce
Lo Mein Ingredients
Full Instructions
Prep Instructions
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Prep the Onion and Pepper
Slice the onion the long way from top to bottom into 1/4" wide strips. Do the same to the pepper. Set both aside in the same bowl.
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Prep the Bok Choy, Broccoli, and Sno Peas
Wash everything under cool water thoroughly, especially the bok choy, as it tends to hold dirt inside it.
Cut the bottom off the bok choy bundle and separate the stalks. Discard any of the outer ones that don't feel crisp. Cut off the green leafy tops and then slice into 1/4" pieces.
Cut the stalks off the broccoli until only the florets remain.
Trim the ends of the sno peas off and then cut in half.
Set all of these ingredients aside in the same bowl.
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Prep the Chicken
If you're a chicken washer, then go ahead and wash your chicken. I prefer not to wash, but to each their own! Remove and gross chewy bits from the chicken, membrane, fat, tendons, it's all got to go. Then cut the chicken into 1' strips the long way and then slice those strips into 1/8" thick pieces across. You should end up with pieces of chicken approximately 1" x 1" square and 1/8" thick. For all of my metric friends out there, that's about 25mm x 25mm square and 3mm thick.
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Prep the Garlic and Ginger
Cut each end off of three garlic cloves and then down the middle the long way. Peel away the skin from each half. Lay the blade of your chef's knife flat on top of each piece (one at a time) and give it a good SMASH with the heel of your palm. Then chop it finely across the direction that it split.
Cut and peel a 1" length of ginger root, then grate it on a microplane grater. Continue until you have 1 TBS.
Set both aside in the same bowl.
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Prepare the Sauce
Combine all of the stock ingredients together, except for the corn starch, in small bowl and mix thoroughly. Set aside.
Combine the corn starch with 1 TBS water in a small bowl. Set Aside.
Cooking Instructions
-
Preheat
Preheat the wok over medium high heat.
-
Cooking
-Add the oil and swirl around the pan. Add the garlic and ginger and cook until aromatic ~60s.
-Add the chicken, flip and/or stir occasionally until cooked about halfway through.
-Add the peppers and onions. Continue stirring until chicken is cooked about 3/4 of the way through.
-Add the broccoli, bok choy and sno peas. Continue stirring and cook until the sno peas and broccoli are bright green in color.
-Reduce heat to medium low.
-Add the noodles and cook for about 2 minutes until the noodles separate and combine into other ingredients.
-Add the sauce to the pan. Then give the cornstarch/water a good mix and add that as well.
-Cook for another 2 minutes until sauce thickens a bit. Remove from heat and serve immediately.
Equipment
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Nutrition Facts
Servings 4
- Amount Per Serving
- Calories 261.38kcal
- % Daily Value *
- Total Fat 3.47g6%
- Saturated Fat 1.23g7%
- Sodium 1052.01mg44%
- Potassium 317.26mg10%
- Total Carbohydrate 49.12g17%
- Dietary Fiber 5.15g21%
- Sugars 9.02g
- Protein 9.13g19%
- Vitamin A 2521.87 IU
- Vitamin C 81.17 mg
- Calcium 75.73 mg
- Iron 3.34 mg
- Vitamin E 0.73 mg
- Vitamin K 40.28 mcg
- Thiamin 0.11 mg
- Riboflavin 0.11 mg
- Niacin 1.35 mg
- Vitamin B6 0.31 mg
- Folate 59.85 mcg
- Pantothenic Acid 0.39 mg
- Phosphorus 78.92 mg
- Magnesium 26.79 mg
- Zinc 0.5 mg
- Selenium 1.73 mcg
- Copper 0.11 mg
- Manganese 0.3 mg
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily value may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
