I love this deceptively simple dish. If you have all the ingredients, you can have a plate of delicious noodles on the table within 15 to 20 minutes, with prep included. There really isn’t such a thing as a “lo mein” noodle, so don’t try to find it on the shelf. 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. Spaghetti or fettuccini cooked al dente and rinsed in cold water and drained in a colander will also make a great lo mein. The traditional difference between lo mein and chow mein is that lo mein is a soft noodle with some gravy, and chow mein is a crispy fried noodle tossed with or smothered in sauce. This has become very convoluted over the 200 years Chinese food has existed in America, with regional evolutions. Another tip: Although sesame oil is a fat and you would assume it should be used to start the stir-fry, I want you to treat it like a sauce. Sesame oil has incredible aroma and flavor but burns at a low temp. Add it to a sauce instead and use a high-temp oil like canola or peanut for cooking.
| Level: | Easy |
| Total: | 20 min |
| Active: | 20 min |
| Yield: | 4 to 6 servings |
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons (45 ml) oyster sauce
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon (15 ml) soy sauce
- 1/4 cup (60 ml) chicken stock
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 3 tablespoons (45 ml) cooking oil, such as canola or peanut oil
- 2 teaspoons (10 grams) minced garlic
- 1 1/2 tablespoons (11 grams) thinly sliced ginger
- 1/2 pound (250 grams) boneless, skinless chicken breast or thigh, thinly sliced
- 3 cups (750 grams) fresh lo mein noodles (see Cook’s Note)
- 1/4 pound (125 grams) baby bok choy, bottoms removed
- 3 scallions, cut into 1 1/2-inch (4-cm) pieces
Instructions
- To make the sauce, stir together the oyster sauce, sesame oil, soy sauce, chicken stock and cornstarch in a small bowl and reserve.
- Heat a wok or large, heavy-bottomed skillet over high heat and add the cooking oil. Once you see wisps of white smoke, add the garlic and ginger and cook, stirring, until light brown and fragrant, about 20 seconds. Add the chicken and cook, stirring, until medium, about 1 minute.
- Stir in the noodles and bok choy and cook, stirring and tossing, until the bok choy starts to soften and turn bright green, about 1 minute.
- Stir in the sauce; allow the sauce to coat all the ingredients and start to simmer, about 1 more minute.
- Cook, stirring and tossing, until the chicken is cooked through, about 1 more minute, and the sauce starts to bubble into a glaze. Top with the scallions and serve hot.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 6 servings |
| Calories | 617 |
| Total Fat | 14 g |
| Saturated Fat | 3 g |
| Carbohydrates | 94 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 5 g |
| Sugar | 3 g |
| Protein | 27 g |
| Cholesterol | 133 mg |
| Sodium | 458 mg |
Reviews
It was so good and authentic! The flavor was subtle so I would suggest using more garlic and ginger. I seasoned my chicken with salt and white pepper. I’m impressed. I’m looking for more Jet Tila’s recipes now!
The recipe is simple to follow and tastes amazing. I added a bit of garlic chili crisp and a bit of red pepper flakes and it was amazing. Thank you Jet!
I wasn’t sure how good it was gonna be as I’ve never had hoise or oyster sauce but its very good. Will defiantly make again.
I changed nothing about this recipe. I absolutely love the flavor of making it. The flavor was authentically Asian and I loved every bite.
Yes, easy. Much easier with leftover rotisserie chicken. I used much less oyster sauce (sometimes too salty). I thought it needed a little more stuff – so added celery, mushrooms and cashews.
Pretty good, though I’d recommend marinading the chicken in teriyaki sauce beforehand to tenderize it and add some flavor to the chicken.
Thank You Jet! My first attempt at Lo Mein. I did double the sauce per the comments, I also added shrimp with the chicken and water chestnuts. Had a little left over and it was better the next day! Definitely a keeper for me!
Delicious!
He says not to use spaghetti but I did anyway because we don’t have Lomein around here. And it was just fine. No reason not to. I always use Angel hair for everything. But thin would work also. Do not recommend using the regular spaghetti. To much noodle. Anyway. You don’t have to use the cornstarch but I like to. Makes the sauce stick to the noodles. Some said it was goey well thats the cornstarch they probably didn’t cook the sauce. You have to cook the sauce. I always cook ingredients then add the sauce for a minute or two then add noodles last. When using cornstarch you don’t have much time before it thickens to the point where you can’t cook it so adding the noodles would just make this process harder. So cook your veggies and meat then add your sauce cook for a minute or two then add your noodle stir let it come together you’re done.
This turned out pretty good even without a wok. Used my cast iron. I doubled the sauce. Halved the corn starch. Used up a random assortment of veggies from the fridge, added the longer cooking ones before the noodles and the fast ones with the noodles. Protip watch his video, I learned some helpful knife tricks to cutting the chicken. Next time I might go a touch lighter on the oyster sauce, it has a linger after eating.