Basic Lo Mein

June 11, 2008

This recipe, from Pam Anderson’s How to Cook Without A Book, is a tasty, easy recipe that is great for using up the random meat/poultry and vegetables that you have lying around. This version is kind of like stir fry with noodles – which is not necessarily bad, as you can learn one recipe for the stir fry, adjust the proportion of vegetables and protein, then just add noodles.

Grab a small portion of meat or poultry – I am using a single chicken breast. You’ll also need around 8 ounces of vegetables, 2-3 cloves of minced garlic, 1 1/2 teaspoons minced ginger (frozen works great so you can keep it on hand), an onion, 1-2 tablespoons of soy sauce, a few tablespoons vegetable oil, 8 ounces of cooked spaghetti, and a serving of lo mein flavoring sauce (see below).

Begin by chopping your vegetables into reasonably small pieces, your protein into small slices, and preparing your mise en place. Halve your onions and cut them into wedges (why? I don’t know, this is what the recipe suggests. Slices would work fine too). Keep your vegetables in separate bowls, as you’ll be adding them to the pan at different times. Add a tablespoon or two of soy sauce to your sliced protein to marinate.

For the sauce, you’ll need a 1/4 cup of chicken brother, a 1/4 cup of soy sauce, 2 teaspoons each of rice wine vinegar and sesame oil, and 1 teaspoon each of red pepper flakes and sugar. Simply combine these and mix.

Once your mise en place is in place, heat a large skillet to a hot temperature. I say hot temperature, because, as you may have already read, you need to know your pans and stove. I only mention this again because I messed this up! I had the heat at about a 4 out of 8, and it still got way too hot. The only good thing is that I was smart enough to test the pan first with a drop of oil, so I didn’t completely smoke up the kitchen. Anyway, with a hot skillet add a tablespoon or two of vegetable oil and your onion. Stir fry these for a minute or two, until the onions start to brown.

Then, add your protein and cook for a couple minutes, also until nicely browned. It doesn’t have to be cooked through because it will keep cooking as you add your following vegetables.

When the meat is browned, add your first vegetable (in my case broccoli), and cook until still crispy, but a little bit tender.

Do the same thing for your second vegetable (peppers).

Once your veggies are tender but still crispy, quickly mix in the ginger and garlic, then dump the whole batch into a separate bowl.

Re-oil your pan with a couple tablespoons of vegetable oil and toss in your spaghetti.

Stir fry it until it is hot, then add back in your protein/vegetable mix, pour your lo mein sauce on top, toss, and serve.

Preferences and Tips

• This could be made pretty quickly if you have your meat thawed and some vegetables on hand. It’s all about getting the timing down.
• I love pasta but usually make it with some sort of Italian tomato or garlic sauce, so this was a nice change of pace.
• Don’t hesitate to mix and match your vegetables and meats – this recipe can take a wide variety.
• Make sure you have your mise en place ready or you’ll run into trouble once you start cooking.
• Surprisingly this tasted even better as left overs.

Printable Recipe

Equipment:

• Large skillet
• Many bowls of all sizes
• Wooden spoon or spatula
• Cutting board
• Chef’s knife
• Measuring cups

Ingredients:

Lo Mein

• 6 ounces of protein, sliced into bite size pieces (beef, chicken, pork, fish, tofu)
• 8 ounces of vegetable, bite size, can use one or more
• 1 onion, sliced into wedges
• 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 1/2 tsp. fresh ginger, minced
• 1-2 tbsp. soy sauce
• 2-4 tbsp. vegetable oil
• 8 ounces (dry weight) cooked spaghetti
• 1 batch of lo mein sauce (see below)

Lo Mein Flavoring Sauce

• 1/4 cup chicken broth
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 2 tsp. rice wine vinegar
• 2 tsp. toasted sesame oil
• 1 tsp. hot red pepper flakes
• 1 tsp. sugar

Recipe:

Lo Mein

1. Perpare your mise en place, chopping your vegetables, protein, garlic, ginger, and mixing the flavoring sauce. Let the protein marinate in a tablespoon or so of soy sauce while you prepare the other ingredients. If you have to cook the spaghetti, do so.
2. Make your skillet hot and add a tablespoon or two of oil with the onion. Cook for a minute until the onion browns slightly.
3. Add your protein and cook until it is browned all over (a couple minutes).
4. Add your first vegetable and cook it for a couple minutes, until it is crispy/tender.
5. Repeat the previous step with your second vegetable if you have one.
6. Mix in your garlic and ginger.
7. Remove your food from the skillet and place it in a bowl. Add a couple more tablespoons of vegetable oil to the empty pan, then put in the spaghetti. Stir fry the spaghetti until it is hot.
8. Put your protein/vegetable mixture back in the skillet, then pour the lo mein sauce over the whole thing and mix well. Serve and enjoy.

Lo Mein Flavoring Sauce

1. Mix the ingredients.

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