Quick and Tasty Chicken Lo Mein: Perfect for Busy Weeknights
When you want Chinese-inspired food for dinner and are trying to keep expenses down, make this easy and delicious Chicken Lo Mein.
My family loves Chinese food. Okay, we just all like to eat good food! Chicken Lo Mein is one of my favorites, too.
Occasionally, we are blessed with an invitation to a friend’s house to eat authentic Mandarin cooking (his wife and mother-in-law are from there.)
Otherwise, the idea of take-out for our family of 6 with 4 hungry boys sends my frugal mind into a frenzy.
In the past, we’ve relied heavily on bulk items from Costco (egg rolls, stir fry veggies, Hiroshima’s sauce, and potstickers) to fill our desire for Chinese cuisine.
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Thanks to a recent Kids in the Kitchen class at my 6th grader’s school, we now have a new dish that can be made at home, fill hungry bellies, and tastes great: Chicken Lo Mein.
The cookbook ( Children’s Quick & Easy Cookbook from DK) where the original recipe came from calls it Chicken Chow Mein. To me, the inclusion of egg noodles makes it more of a lo mein.
I’ve been playing around with the recipe a bit and will most likely continue to do so until I get it just right.
TAKE CHARGE OF MEALTIME
Weekly Meal Planner
Meal planning can be a daunting task, but with the Weekly Meal Planner in spreadsheet format, it’s a breeze!
It comes with a list of meal ideas to help you plan breakfast, lunch, and dinner for the week ahead. Plus, you can put together your shopping list, so you can make sure you have everything you need.
The planner is the perfect way to make meal planning easy and fun!
Making Chicken Lo Mein
While this is an easy dish to make, you do need to get everything in place as once you start cooking things can move quickly.
Chop your chicken and vegetables.
Squeeze your lemon into a bowl that will also hold the soy sauce ( Bragg’s Liquid Amino’s is my preference.)
Have hot water ready for quick warming and separating of the noodles.
Ideally, this is how you should always be cooking.
I’ll admit to not always getting prep work completely done before things start getting tossed into a pan.
I usually regret it.
Questions People Ask About Making Chicken Lo Mein
While lo mein noodles are traditionally used in this dish, you can experiment with other types of noodles like spaghetti or linguine if you don’t have lo mein noodles on hand. Keep in mind that the texture and taste may vary slightly.
Absolutely! Fresh ginger can be used as a substitute for ginger paste in this recipe. Simply grate or finely chop the fresh ginger and use it in the same quantity as mentioned in the recipe. The flavor will be slightly different but equally delicious.
Definitely! Chicken Lo Mein is a versatile dish, and you can customize it by adding your favorite vegetables. Some popular choices include bell peppers, broccoli, mushrooms, or bean sprouts. Feel free to experiment and tailor the recipe to your taste preferences.
Make this gluten-free using Miracle Noodles or a Rice Noodle from the grocery store. The Miracle Noodles just need to be warmed while rice noodles need to be pre-cooked. Also, make sure to use gluten-free soy sauce or tamari to maintain the dish’s flavor while accommodating dietary needs.
es, you can make a vegetarian version of Lo Mein by omitting the chicken and adding more vegetables or tofu as a protein substitute. The recipe will still be flavorful and satisfying.
Chicken Lo Mein
Simple Chicken Lo Mein dish to make at home.
Ingredients
- 16 ounce package of noodles (lo mein or other Chinese style)
- 1 tsp. oil
- 4 carrots
- 6 ounce package of snow peas
- 4 to 6 scallions
- 1 tsp to 1 Tbsp of ginger paste (depending upon how strong you want that flavor)
- 2 cloves garlic
- 2 Tbsp. oil
- 2 skinless chicken breasts
- 2 Tbsp. soy sauce
- 1 lemon
- 1/2 tsp. salt
Instructions
- Cook your noodles according to the package directions. If you are using ready-made noodles from the refrigerator section, you'll just need to warm them in the water long enough to separate. Run cool water over the drained noodles, return them to the pan, and coat with about 1 tsp. of oil
- Preparing Ingredients:
- Peel carrots and then cut them into thin sticks (julienne.) Trim the snow peas, breaking them in half if desired.
- Trim and slice the scallions.
- Measure up to 1 Tbsp of ginger paste OR use about 1 inch of fresh ginger that has been grated.
- Peel garlic and either crush it with a press or chop it finely.
- Slice the chicken breasts into bite-sized pieces.
Cooking the Lo Mein:
- Heat the oil in a wok or frying pan. Add the garlic, ginger, and sliced chicken. Stir-fry for a few minutes until golden brown.
- Add the carrots and stir-fry for another 4 to 5 minutes.
- Add the snow peas, scallions, and noodles, mixing well and cooking for a few more minutes.
- Add the soy sauce, lemon juice, and salt, mixing to coat and cooking long enough to heat thoroughly.
- Squeeze juice from the lemon into a small bowl. Add the soy sauce and salt, stirring to mix.
Notes
You can add other vegetables to the mix such as broccoli or green beans.
To make this gluten-free, use a thick rice noodle. Additionally, use a gluten-free soy sauce like Bragg's Liquid Aminos.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
6Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 276Total Fat: 8gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 7gCholesterol: 34mgSodium: 539mgCarbohydrates: 31gFiber: 4gSugar: 3gProtein: 19g
Is Chinese cuisine something your family loves?
Do you order takeout or make dishes at home?
TAKE CHARGE OF MEALTIME
Weekly Meal Planner
Meal planning can be a daunting task, but with the Weekly Meal Planner in spreadsheet format, it’s a breeze!
It comes with a list of meal ideas to help you plan breakfast, lunch, and dinner for the week ahead. Plus, you can put together your shopping list, so you can make sure you have everything you need.
The planner is the perfect way to make meal planning easy and fun!
Want more Quick Dinner Ideas? Check these out!
This post was originally published on May 13, 2015, and has since been updated.
What an easy and delicious recipe to make for my son and daughter. We would love to try this out and have for a fun dinner! Thanks for the recipe.
We are always looking for different ways to prepare chicken!
We are living in a small town in KY now, so if we want Chinese food, we are going to have to cook it, lol. Thank you for a recipe I think I can make!
Chicken Lo Mein is a huge hit in our house too! This looks great!
We absolutely love eating Chinese. I literally cook it almost every other day. I’ definitely be trying this soon!
We love to get Chinese food! I love the idea of making it at home, so much healthier then ordering it from a restaurant.
Chicken Lo Mein is one of my favorites! Now I am wanting Chinese food LOL!
I LOVE Chinese food! Now I’m hungry for Chinese. Might have to give this recipe a try.
Our family loves Chinese food as well! This looks tasty!
Lucky to have the friend! I know someone who married a gal who speaks Mandarin, so now they’re kids sometimes do too. 🙂 Good cooking in that house, to be sure!
Yummers! This looks SO GOOD! I love all those fresh ingredients!
This looks so amazing! Oh yummy!
Yum! We love Chinese food at our house, too. But I’ve always been a little intimidated to try making it. Thanks for the confidence and a great recipe!
Lo Mein is one of the few Chinese dishes I will eat. I never thought of making it at home-I usually go out to a Chinese Restaurant to eat this–or Pepper Steak-LOVE the way they make that!!
Your chicken lo mein looks delicious, and I’d love to try the recipe.
I love making Chinese at home more than going out for it. This sounds delicious!
My family loves Chinese food, but I get take out too often. I’d much rather prepare it myself. This sounds like a great recipe that we all would enjoy.
We LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Chinese food, so I am going to add this to my list of recipes to try! It sounds awesome.