The Foolproof Lo Mein My Dad's Made 100,000 Times
Why this recipe
Most foolproof lo mein recipes online are tested only a handful of times. My dad used to make this dish multiple times a day, every day, for 60+ years and can make this in his sleep.
I know you'll love it as much as our community does! This recipe has over 262.7K views, 7.4K likes on YouTube.
My dad recently turned 75, and in typical Daddy Lau fashion, he went ALL OUT for his birthday feast.
As he usually does, he decided to include vegetable lo mein in his epic 12 course feast.
I've had some variation of this dish at almost every Chinese birthday celebration or banquet I've ever been to.
(We also have a tasty Beef Lo Mein recipe!)
A Symbol of Longevity
In Chinese tradition, noodles are a symbol of longevity, and it’s typical to celebrate birthdays, weddings, and big life milestones with noodles. The connection is simple - noodles are long, so they’ve become a metaphor for a long life, a long marriage, and longevity.
A Brief History of the Noodle
Noodles have been a staple of Chinese cuisine for thousands of years.
The first written record of noodles appeared about 2000 years ago in a book written during the Han Dynasty, and in 2005, archaeologists unearthed a fully preserved 4000 year old bowl of noodles in northwestern China.
This marks the earliest empirical evidence of noodles to date.
It's still debated as to which culture or region started incorporating noodles into their diet first. (Was it the Italians? The Arabs? The Chinese?)
Finding a 4000 year old bowl of noodles in China makes a pretty strong case that the Chinese invented it first.
For a great write up and further reading, check out National Geographic's article.
Lo Mein vs Chow Mein
The word “lo mein” translates to “stirred noodles”, referring to the way it’s made. Even though it’s often confused with “chow mein”, or “stir-fried noodles”, they’re actually very different in how they’re cooked and how they taste.
The main difference is that lo mein is typically thickened with cornstarch, whereas chow mein is not.
Happy Birthday, Dad!
Before we dive into the recipe, I just wanted to take a second to wish my dad a happy, happy birthday.
This recipe / video will always be one of my favorites, because I was able to capture so many sweet and sentimental moments with my family. One for the ages!
If you want in on the wholesome fun, I highly recommend watching our full YouTube video.
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Ingredients
On Noodles + Mushrooms
Just to highlight a few key ingredients, we’re using three different types of mushrooms: shiitake, enoki, and king oyster.
As for noodles, there are a lot of different types out there, but we’re using fresh egg noodles.
Since we're fortunate to live close to a 99 Ranch (or is it Ranch 99?), these ingredients are pretty easy to find. If you don’t live near one, most Asian grocery stores carry these items.
My dad loves to use mushrooms for vegetarian dishes as a substitute for meat, but feel free to get creative about the vegetables and ingredients you use for your lo mein.
Finding Asian Ingredients
Some of these ingredients are hard to find in a typical grocery store.
If you don't live near an Asian market, most or all of what my dad uses in this recipe can be found on Amazon:
- Kadoya Sesame Oil
- Pearl River Bridge Superior Light Soy Sauce
- Pearl River Bridge Superior Dark Soy Sauce
- Lee Kum Kee Premium Oyster Sauce
- Dried Shiitake Mushrooms (soak for 15-20 minutes in warm water before slicing)
I've also included some other Chinese kitchen essentials, used in many of my dad's other recipes.
- Koon Chun Hoisin Sauce
- Lee Kum Kee Chicken Bouillon
- Shaoxing Cooking Wine
- Chinese Sausage - Lap Cheung
- Dried Shrimp
- Dried Wood Ear Fungus (a few options, depending on what's in stock):
These links are affiliate links, which means that if you use our links to purchase these ingredients, Amazon pays my family a small amount for the sale - at no extra cost to you. If you use these links, we really appreciate the support!
Other Supplies + Tools
You'll need a good wok, which provides a ton of versatility for the classic Chinese cooking methods: steaming, stir frying, deep frying, and etc.
You might want a food scale. It's not absolutely necessary for this recipe, but helpful if you want to get your proportions right.
Achieving Wok Hei
Wok Hei (鑊氣) is an important principle in the art of Chinese and Cantonese cooking.
It has many translations and meanings depending on who you ask, but my favorite is "The Breath of the Wok", where the wok imbues its energy into the stir fry to create an unforgettable meal.
The Cantonese word “hei 氣” is more commonly known by its Mandarin pronunciation, “chi" or "qi", the vital life force that runs through our body.
The science behind Wok Hei centers around the reactions that occur between sugars, oils, extreme heat, and rapid evaporation, which creates a fleeting, prized smoky essence that only lasts for a few minutes after cooking.
Although not impossible, it can be harder to achieve Wok Hei at home, since our stoves generally don't pack as much power as a commercial kitchen or the roaring flames that are a sight to see in Asian street food markets.
Some great resources:
- Kenji López-Alt, a popular science-based chef and author, recently posted a great write up on the New York Times about the elements of Wok Hei.
- Kenji also created his own version of Lo Mein noodles, replicating Wok Hei with a blow torch at home. Check out his video!
- Read Grace Young's award-winning book "The Breath of a Wok", which chronicles the rich legacy of the Chinese wok as told by artisans, chefs, and experts alike.
(We're not affiliated with Grace or Kenji, just thought they'd be great resources for you to have!)
Instructions
Cook noodles
Cooking our fresh egg noodles (10 oz) should take about 10 minutes in total. There's a lot of waiting involved, so we'll be doing this in tandem with chopping our veggies and mushrooms.
- Set your stove on high heat, and boil at least 4 cups of water in a pot. The amount doesn't need to be exact, as long as it's enough to eventually submerge your noodles.
- When the water is boiling, add the noodles to the pot and stir constantly for 30-60 seconds to prevent the noodles from sticking to the bottom of the pot. Cover the pot, and wait for it to boil again (about 3 minutes).
- When the noodles are boiling, remove the lid, set the stove to a simmer, and stir the noodles for about 30 seconds. Cover the pot again, and cook for another 5 minutes.
- Once the noodles are done, drain the pot into a colander, and rinse the noodles in cold water for 10-15 seconds.
Wash vegetables & mushrooms
In a bowl of water, gently scrub all of our mushrooms and veggies to wash away the dirt and impurities.
For our enoki mushrooms (3 oz), we'll chop off the roots before we wash them. All we need to do prepare is separate them from one another.
Chop vegetables & mushrooms
Slice the shiitake mushrooms (3.5 oz), king oyster mushrooms (2 oz), carrots (1.5 oz), broccoli (2.5 oz), celery (2.5 oz), red bell pepper (2 oz) into thin strips, 1-2 inches long. Chop the green onion (1 piece) into pieces around the same length, and mince the garlic (1 clove).
Heat wok, add oil when hot
Set the stove to its highest heat, and let the wok heat up for 2-5 minutes (depending on the strength of your stove). It should just start to let off a bit of smoke, and we should be able to feel the heat holding our palm 2-3 inches above the surface.
When it's hot enough, add vegetable oil (2 tbsp), and swirl it around the wok.
This step is important to help us get closer to that Wok Hei essence. If our wok isn't hot enough, the dish won't turn out as flavorful. My dad says it's almost like you'd be boiling your food.
If you want to save a bit of time while you wait, you can start boiling water for later.
Cook garlic, vegetables
Add the garlic, and cook for about 20-30 seconds until you start to smell the garlic's aroma.
Then, add the vegetables and cook for about 2 to 3 minutes.
Add boiling water, cover wok, prepare slurry
Add boiling water (1 cup) to the wok, and cover for 2-3 minutes until it starts boiling again. While we wait, we'll mix cornstarch (1 tbsp) and water (3 tbsp) into a slurry.
This step is one of the things that differentiates lo mein from chow mein. For chow mein, we don't need to do this at all. For lo mein, the cornstarch helps tie all of the flavors together, and gives the dish a slightly creamier texture.
Add flavors, noodles, cover wok
Uncover the wok, and add light soy sauce (0.50 tbsp), dark soy sauce (0.50 tbsp), oyster sauce (1 tbsp), sugar (1 tsp), and salt (1 tsp) into the wok.
As we explain in our Shrimp Chow Fun recipe, the dark soy sauce gives noodles a slightly darker color, as well as a subtly different taste profile.
Stir the flavors around with the vegetables for a few seconds, then add the noodles.
Cover the wok for about 3 minutes, just until it's about to boil again.
Add cornstarch slurry
Stir the cornstarch slurry for a few seconds, in case it has settled, and slowly pour it into the wok. Mix everything together as we let the noodles cook for another 60 seconds.
This step is what differentiates my dad's lo mein recipe from a lot of other chefs, who would typically add the cornstarch to the vegetables before adding the noodles.
By letting the noodles stew in the juices and flavors for a few minutes, we're essentially marinating the noodles and allowing the noodles to absorb more of the flavor internally. If you add cornstarch early, it acts as a thickener and binding agent that prevents the noodle from absorbing the flavors.
Add bean sprouts, green onions, sesame oil
Add bean sprouts (3 oz), chopped green onions, and sesame oil (1 tsp). Stir everything around for 60-90 seconds.
Plate the noodles!
We're ready to eat! Plate the noodles into your favorite dish and call your loved ones over.
Made with love ❤️
We started Made With Lau to celebrate Cantonese culture and honor the legacy of our wonderful parents, Jenny and Chung Sun Lau.
Our hope is that these recipes and stories help you spread the joy, love, and nostalgia that I felt growing up.
