NEW ORLEANS —
Basic Lo Mein recipe
- 1 1/2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
- 2 garlic cloves, finely minced
- 10 oz. chicken, sliced 1/5" thick
- 2 carrots, peeled and cut into matchsticks
- 1 red bell pepper, sliced thin
- 6 green onions, cut into 2” lengths
- 1 lb. Lo Mein, Hokkien or other medium thickness egg noodles, fresh, prepared per packet
- 1/4 cup water
Sauce
- 4 tsp. cornstarch
- 4 Tbsp. soy sauce
- 1 Tbsp. Chinese cooking wine or Mirin
- 1 tsp. white sugar (omit if using Mirin)
- 1/2 tsp. sesame oil, toasted
- 1/4 tsp. white pepper
- Green onion, finely sliced for garnish
Sauce: Mix cornstarch and soy sauce until lump free, then add remaining sauce ingredients.
Chicken: Transfer 2 tsp Sauce into bowl with chicken. Toss to coat.
Heat oil in a wok or large heavy based skillet over high heat until smoking.
Add onion and garlic, stir 30 seconds.
Add chicken, stir until white on the outside, still raw inside - 1 minute.
Add carrot and bell peppers, cook 2 minutes or until chicken is cooked.
Add noodles, sauce and water. Use 2 wooden spoons and toss for 30 seconds.
Add green onions, toss for another 1 minute until all the noodles are slick with sauce.
Serve immediately, garnished with extra green onions if using.
Garlic - don't use jar paste or a garlic press, makes garlic watery = sputter & burns when it hits the oil. Finely chop it or even slice it.
Proteins - how to cook & cut:
• Beef, pork, turkey - slice and cook per recipe
• Ground meat - cook garlic and onion per recipe, then cook ground / mince. Once cooked, add 1 tbsp sauce, stir, then proceed with next steps in recipe.
• Hard tofu - cut into small rectangles, cook per recipe.
• Shrimp - use small peeled, cook per recipe.
• More veggies - use another 2 1/2 cups chopped veggies.
Lo Mein noodles are fresh yellow noodles (usually labelled "egg noodles") that are sold in the fridge section of grocery stores.
Dried noodles -uncooked ramen noodles or other dried noodles can be used. They will increase in volume and weight once cooked per packet.
Note - Lo Mein will always be delicious made with ANY type of noodles - thick, thin, fresh, dried, egg or rice - or ramen noodles or even spaghetti or other long pasta.