The 30-Minute Ultimate Chicken Lo Mein Recipe (With Pictures)

By: Prasanna| Published: 9:24:00 AM
If you love Chinese chicken lo mein, but you only have a little time, this chicken lo mein recipe is for you. This quick, mouthwatering dish comes together in under 30 minutes. Try it soon.

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We used to have a lot of Chinese takeouts since it was more convenient, but this recipe of chicken lo mein totally changed my dinner plans.

If you are a fan of P.F.Chang's chicken lo mein or any other Chinese takeout lo mein, then please try this chicken lo mein recipe, trust me you won't regret it!

This authentic chicken lo mein recipe is customizable, plus leftovers are great for lunch boxes. 


Here I have used a method of velveting chicken / tenderizing the chicken by marinating it with a little bit of soy sauce and cornstarch. That makes the chicken when stir-fried very soft and juicy.

Most Chinese cooking techniques use baking soda to be used for velveting chicken.

a pan with authentic chicken lo mein with vegetables

Chicken Lo Mein Recipe

What is Chicken Lo Mein?

Chicken Lo Mein is a famous takeout noodles dish where vegetables, chicken, and egg noodles are tossed together in savory homemade sauce.

This chicken lo mein copycat recipe is closest to the lo mein served in most Asian restaurants, where the noodles are boiled and then tossed along with chicken or any other protein of your choice, further adding in vegetables and finally sauce.


What is the difference between Lo Mein and Chow mein?

I have found two differences between these dishes. Whenever I ordered and ate either Lo Mein or Chow mein, chow mein is mostly cooked with thin and fried noodles; in Lo Mein, the noodles are slightly thick and chewy.

Another difference is that in Lo Mein the noodles are cooked/boiled in water and then tossed along with vegetables, proteins, and sauce, whereas in Chow mein the noodles are stir-fried, along with veggies and proteins in the sauce, with noodles being slightly crunchy.

But in both dishes, there are Egg Noodles. So that is the similarity.

I have used Egg Noodles here too but the noodles that I found in the store close by were thin and not round or thick. But the noodles didn't matter as the sauce was spot on!

Best Noodles For Authentic Lo Mein:

The noodles that work for any lo mein recipe are egg noodles. These noodles are easily available in any Asian store near you.

These egg noodles are available in stores as either cooked or uncooked. Cooked noodles are easy to handle, as you can wash them with hot water and cook them.

With uncooked noodles, first, you will have to cook noodles and rinse them well with cold water. Drain the noodles thoroughly.


Chicken Lo Mein Sauce:

The sauce that goes in to make this best chicken lo mein recipe is made with Sesame Oil, Ginger, Garlic, Oyster Sauce (if you do not like this then instead use Hoisin Sauce, I love Hoisin too), Sriracha for the heat, Light and Dark Soy Sauces.

a pan with chicken lo mein along with veggies,sauces tossed together

Chicken Lo Mein Ingredients

Lo Mein Egg Noodles: Use the round, chewy thick Egg Noodles you will find in Asian stores for this recipe. Even if you can't get it, do not worry - even Ramen Noodles go well as the sauce is the important part.

Chicken: I have used tender Chicken Breast meat in the recipe. That contains less fat but tends to get dry too fast but you can also use thigh meat also. That is juicier.

Sauce Mix: The sauce mix is an important part of this recipe. I have made the sauce a little spicier to adjust to my taste but you can go ahead and make it spicier or less by increasing or decreasing the Sriracha quantity in the sauce mix.

Vegetables of Choice: I have used Cabbage, Carrot, and Bell peppers along with Scallions but you can try adding more vegetables of your choice to make it healthier.

How to make Chicken Lo Mein?

Step 1Cook noodles as per package instructions and keep them aside. the Chicken pieces with soy sauce, salt, and cornstarch. Keep this aside for a few minutes.

Step 2: Next in a large pan/large skillet/wok, add sesame oil and add the chicken pieces. There should be not much of any marinade left but if there is Do NOT use that as that will make this dish messy.

Just use a fork or pair of tongs and drop the chicken pieces in the pan and immediately stir-fry the chicken.

Once done keep the chicken pieces aside.

Step 3: In a mixing bowl add all the ingredients for the sauce mix. Stir well and keep aside.

steps to velveting chicken and making chicken lo mein sauce

Step 4: In the same pan add more oil, add ginger, and garlic, and stir-fry it till fragrant.

Step 5: Add sliced/shredded cabbage, carrot, and red and green bell pepper, and stir-fry further till tender. You can also add broccoli, zucchini, or bok choy if you have taste for it.

Toss everything further till soft, and add some salt to taste.

Steps to make Chicken Lo Mein

Keep the veggies and chicken that's cooked aside.

Step 6: In that same pan, add noodles and sauce mix, and toss well so that the noodles get coated well with the sauce mix.

Step 7: Next add all the cooked veggies and chicken, toss well to mix, and adjust the salt.

Serve hot immediately.

steps to make chicken lo mein recipe
chinese takeout style chicken lo mein

What variations of this chicken lo mein copycat recipe are possible?

Shrimp Lo Mein: Cook cleaned Shrimp by marinating it with salt and pepper powder. Finally, toss everything together to make this amazing dish.

Try adding scrambled eggs to this along with shrimp too.

Vegetable Lo Mein: Add vegetables of your choice tossed in salt, and pepper powder in this sauce mix along with egg noodles.

What are the best vegetables to go in a restaurant-style authentic chicken lo mein recipe?

You can add the following vegetables:

Red and Green Bell Peppers
Broccoli
Snow Peas
Sliced Onions
Sliced Carrots
Sliced Cabbage
Zucchini
Scallion / Spring Onion
a bowl with chinese chicken lo mein

Tips for Spicy Chicken Lo Mein

  • When adding the chicken to the wok to fry, do not add the marinade to the pan, Use tongs or a fork to pick chicken pieces and fry them. If the marinade is added then the whole dish will get messy.
  • To get the smoky restaurant flavor for the dish use toss noodles on medium to high heat which gives a nice flavor to the final dish.
  • Do not overcook the veggies or make them very soft, keep them crunchy to get the combination of chicken and vegetables together in the dish.
  • Serve the dish immediately after preparing, reheating works well too but a fresh dish gives the best flavor.
  • If you like more spice in lo mein then increase the sriracha quantity too.
  • Use low-sodium soy sauce.
  • Add beans, bean sprouts, zucchini, bell peppers, bok choy, snow peas, green onions, or even mushrooms as per your choice.
  • You can use skinless chicken thighs instead of chicken breast meat.

  • a top look of a pan with delicious chicken lo mein copycat recipe

a pan with delicious chicken lo mein with veggeis,chicken












More Chinese Recipes for you:

You can try some of my easy Chinese food recipes :


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Best takeout style  Chicken Lo Mein


Hi, I'm Prasanna!

I will be the first one to admit that I am an accidental food blogger. I love trying out new recipes and giving them a twist of my own. Hope you enjoy trying out the recipes ... do leave me your valuable feedback 😊

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    Comments

    1. This was delicious. I was too lazy to marinate the chicken and it turned out fine :)

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    2. it would be nice to have a smaller printable version

      ReplyDelete
      Replies
      1. I will update recipes soon with proper recipe card.Thanks for patience.

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    3. Just to clarify, when cooking the chicken are you using sesame cooking oil and not the pure sesame oil? Or pure oil for both the cooking and the sauce?

      ReplyDelete
      Replies
      1. I am using cooking sesame oil.Its readily available in most grocery stores.Thanks.

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    4. I made this with leftover turkey after Thanksgiving and my family loved it! Very flavorful. Also, I doubled the amount of sauce. Can't wait to make it again.

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    5. Any suggestions on how to print this recipe? My system won't work, there are so many pages - it just keeps running. I'd really like to try it. TX.

      ReplyDelete
    6. Could I just use PF Chang’s sauces making this recipe much easier?

      ReplyDelete
    7. So so very good. Loved making this, easy and quick and delish...A definite keeper...thank you for sharing

      ReplyDelete
    8. I would also like to be able to print this recipe.

      ReplyDelete
    9. is it ok to marinate chicken overnight?

      ReplyDelete
      Replies
      1. Yes you can marinate chicken.But this recipe works well without marinating chicken too.

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      2. No need of overnight marination,marinating chicken for few minutes is just fine.

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    10. Hello! This looks great! Are you able to update so we can print it?

      ReplyDelete
    11. Please update so we can print, thanks so much!!

      ReplyDelete
    12. Can this recipe be made with zucchini noodles

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    13. Hi, your recipe is so good and tasty! I am the queen of substituting items if I don't have them on the spot. no egg noodles, No chicken, no cabbage, no bean sprouts and no cornstarch. Instead: chinese low mein, shrimp, mushrooms and added chili garlic sauce. It was soooooo yummy! can't wait to make it for my girls. You see, the secret is on the seasoning ingredients and the sauce. Bravo!

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    14. The only way to print this is to copy the recipe part, paste it to Word and then edit in word. It takes some time because the spacing is strange when copied over.

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    15. This recipe was so good! Thank you so much. The sauce is absolutely delicious.

      ReplyDelete

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