20-Minute Vegetable Lo Mein Recipe - The Recipe Critic (2024)

FAQs

What is the sauce in lo mein made of? ›

Most commonly, lo mein involves chicken, beef, pork, turkey, shrimp or tofu. Sauce components: Lo mein sauce is mainly composed of sesame oil, light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, garlic, ginger, oyster sauce and a dash of sugar. If you like your noodles to have a little heat, you can sprinkle in some red pepper flakes.

Chow mein: thin, dried noodles that are parboiled for 5-6 minutes, and fried alongside veggies and meat. Lo mein: fat, chewy noodles that are boiled for a few minutes, then added to stir-fry after veggies and meat is cooked.

Vegetable lo mein, which typically consists of spaghetti-type noodles and vegetables with a soy-based sauce, can fit into a healthy diet if you watch your portion size. The vegetable version is lower in calories than the house version, which can have as many as 1,100 calories per order.

Refrigerate leftover lo mein in an airtight storage container for up to 5 days.

Cornstarch! In his book How to Cook Everything Vegetarian, Mark Bittman recommends mixing 1-2 tablespoons of cornstarch with the same amount of water, and tossing this into the stir fry just when it's almost done. It thickens in seconds, picking up the flavors of everything already in the dish and coating evenly.

If you find your lo mein noodles to be bland and want to add more flavor, here are some ways to spice them up: I bring a quart of unsalted chicken stock to a boil, I add soy sauce , a dash of fish sauce and just a bit of sambal bajec.

Lo mein is also made of various stir fried veggies, fresh garlic and ginger for lots of flavor, and a simple sauce made with soy sauce, sesame oil, sugar and sriracha for spice!

Safe to say, you may not always have the right noodles on hand for when a craving strikes, but luckily enough, it's easy to swap them around, especially if it's lo mein that you're making. The best substitute for lo mein noodles are chow mein noodles because they are both essentially the same thing.

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.

Healthier choices include steamed brown rice, sautéed or steamed vegetables, spring rolls, or soups like egg drop soup or hot and sour soup. Veggie-based items like edamame, lettuce wraps, braised bamboo shoots, or cucumber salad are a few other great options you can try.

Is McDonald's or Chinese healthier? ›

A McDonald's Big Mac contains just 2.3g of salt, which is around a third of the recommended healthy limit. Chinese food should come with a health warning, campaigners warn today as research shows some dishes contain five times more salt than a Big Mac.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), leftovers stored in your refrigerator can last about three to four days. This is a general rule for Chinese food and any other leftovers you may have.

Discard all perishable foods, such as meat, poultry, eggs, side dishes, or casseroles, left at room temperature longer than two hours; one hour in room temperatures above 90 °F. Once leftovers are stored safely, they will remain safe three to four days. For more information please visit Safe Handling of Takeout Food.

Also, don't eat any leftovers that have been in your fridge for more than three or four days, or in your freezer for more than three or four months.

There are many Chinese sauces that are brown just a few most common, soy sause, oyster sauce, sweet bean, Hoisin…

Chicken Broth Version: Combine 1 cup chicken broth (or chicken stock), 1 1/2 tablespoons oyster sauce, 2 teaspoons dark soy sauce, 1/2 teaspoon brown sugar, and 1 tablespoon cornstarch (or potato starch) in a saucepan. Mix evenly and make sure there are no lumps. Bring to a boil and keep stirring during cooking.

Soy sauce (jiàng yóu, 酱油), the most common of Chinese sauces, sounds simple, and for the most part, it is.