This Authentic Chicken Lo Mein Recipe is the best you'll ever have. You'll quit every Chinese take-out once you make this easy Chicken Lo Mein at home. Today's recipe is just like P.F. Chang's Chicken Lo Mein. Perfectly cooked noodles smeared in the Best ever Lo Mein sauce tossed with veggies & tender juicy chicken bites. Don't miss the Video & the tips.
How to make Chicken Lo Mein like Chinese Restaurants?
Best Chicken Lo Mein Recipe (P.F.Chang's style)
Today's Chicken Lo Mein needs no introduction. It's one of the Chinese take-out favorites, the most ordered, the most craved & the most loved recipe ever.
At least I know none who doesn't salivate with the smell & sound of Lo Mein 😀
If you love Chinese take-out Lo Mein than do not miss today's Spicy Chicken Lo Mein recipe.
Looks just like Take -out but tastes much BETTER!
It's extremely easy, super delicious, quiet addictive & a pretty quick recipe. You can make it during busy weeknights too.
And you don't need to go out & buy a wok for cooking today's recipe, you can cook the Best Chicken Lo Mein on a large skillet pan as well.
The trick of cooking the restaurant style Chicken Lo Mein recipe lies on a few things.
- The Lo Mein sauce.
- Kind of Noodles & how it's cooked.
- The Cooking temperature.
- The Chicken.
The taste depends a lot on the Lo Mein Sauce. Once, you have that right you may move on to other factors like noodles, the veggies, the chicken & the cooking temperature.
I will cover each step in details so that you know all the right techniques & approaches to nail today's Spicy Chicken Lo Mein and make it the Best.
Cooking Chinese take-out style food is not complicated once you know the right technique & of course the right recipe 😛
With these two things it's very much doable at home and within a short amount of time & today's Chicken Lo Recipe is no different.
30 minutes is all you need to make it. Let's learn about the Easy Chicken Lo Mein Recipe together 🙂
What's Chicken Lo Mein?
Chicken Lo Mein is made of cooked egg noodles tossed or smeared in a delicious lo mein sauce & mixed with stir fried veggies & proteins of your choice like chicken, shrimp, pork or beef.
It's a delicious Chinese take-out classic that's ordered the most.
What is Chicken Lo Mein made of?
An Authentic Chicken Lo Mein Recipe is made of 5 components:
- Boiled Chinese egg noodles.
- Homemade Lo Mein Sauce.
- Stir fried Veggies.
- Protein of your Choice (chicken, shrimp, beef, pork)
Chicken Lo Mein Ingredients
- Chinese Egg Noodles: I got them from Asian store. You may also use any stir fry noodles, Lo Mein Noodles (from the regular American Supermarket) or even Udon Noodles.
- Chicken Breast: Cut into thin strips about 1.5" long.
- Veggies: Red Bell pepper, Green Bell Pepper, Carrot, Scallion, Bean Sprouts.
- Garlic
- For Lo Mein Sauce: Dark Soy Sauce, Light soy sauce, Chili Garlic sauce, Sesame oil (not in the above pic).
- For marinating the chicken: Dark & light soy sauces, cornstarch & brown sugar (marinated chicken breast pieces in a zip lock is shown in the above picture).
- Cooking oil: I used Canola oil. You may use Sesame oil for an intense nutty smoky flavor.
What is Lo Mein Sauce made of?
Lo Mein sauce is made of a few handy ingredients and you can find each one of them in your nearest Asian store.
Let's check out each ingredient that goes in this sauce to make it the Best one ever.
- Dark Soy Sauce: It's the flavor bomb for today's Chicken Lo Mein recipe. It's way more darker, thicker & concentrated than any light Soy sauce variety. It's the best & the only secret of the Chinese restaurant Lo Mein recipes. It adds tons of flavor, depth of color & body to the egg noodles & get things yummier. Do not skip adding it. I got mine from an Asian store.
- Light Soy Sauce: You can use any brand of your preference & you can easily spot a light soy sauce in the American stores as well. It's much more lighter in color, it's less concentrated as compared to a dark Soy sauce. You can use Kikkoman.
- Oyster Sauce: It adds tons of Umami to the dish. It's thick, looks brownish and has real oysters in it.
- Sesame Oil: This nutty toasty oil can change things pretty fast. Packed with great flavor that gives the best depth of flavor to any Chinese dish. You don't need much for today's recipe.
- Chili Garlic Sauce: This is the secret sauce to make things spicy. If you prefer spicy Chicken Lo Mein add it or else skip it totally. We love spicy Chicken Lo Mein and I add it always to my Lo Mein Sauce. This gives tons of body, thickness, a garlicky kick, chili kick to the Lo Mein sauce. The sauce becomes slightly thicker and sticks better to the noodles.
What noodles are used for Lo Mein?
Chinese Egg Noodles are used for Lo Mein. They are wheat flour noodles that have egg added.
Egg Noodles are our first choice too whenever we crave for Lo Mein dishes & we source our packets from the Asian Stores.
Egg noodles are chewy, looks yellow.
However, whenever I run out of egg noodles I get a packet of Lo Mein noodles from the regular supermarket (available in most American stores).
They look flat & white. These Lo Mein noodles also make a great bowl of Chicken Lo Mein. Boil the noodles according to the package instruction always.
The boiling time depends on the thickness of the noodles.
Summary: If you cannot manage Lo Mein noodles or egg noodles than you may cook today's recipe with any Noodles meant for stir fry. It should be mentioned on the package. Do Not Use Ramen noodles (for todays recipe).
Prepping the Chicken for Chinese Chicken Lo Mein Recipe
For homemade Chicken Lo Mein recipe I always use chicken breast pieces cut into thin strips about 1" long.
You can also use chicken thighs.
Chicken breasts when cooked becomes slightly chewy & rubbery. They dry out fast as they are so lean.
In order to keep them extra soft & juicy I used a simple technique of marinating them in a soy sauce based marinade.
Soy sauce ( both dark & light varieties), cornstarch, brown sugar are mixed together to make the simple marinade.
Then the chicken pieces are given a good rub with the marinade until well coated.
They are than allowed to rest for at least 30 min and maximum over night.
I generally pop them in a zip lock bag, seal and than keep them in the fridge overnight.
Result? Absolutely tender & juicy chicken pieces just like the ones you get in the Chinese restaurant.
7 Tips to make the Best Authentic Chicken Lo Mein Recipe
- Cook the noodles just right: This is so important, you need to cook the noodles just right according to the package instruction. The cooking time of noodles varies according to their thickness. Over cooked noodles will completely ruin the whole dish. Mushy noodles is not what we want for todays recipe, the noodles has to retain enough elasticity. Cook them Al dente.
- Chop the veggies same thickness & length: This makes the dish aesthetically pretty and also helps the same veggies get cooked uniformly together.
- Do not dump all the veggies to the wok at the same time: Hard veggies requiring longer cooking time like carrots goes to the wok first and soft veggies with minimal cooking time like bean sprouts & scallions goes last. This method keeps the veggies crunchy and cooked just right. The veggies won't turn mushy & super soggy. So dump the veggies according to the order Hard to soft.
- Get things going fast once you start cooking: Get everything ready and arrange the ingredients just beside the stove before you begin cooking. Chinese dishes are meant to be cooked fast, at high heat. There's no pausing or waiting in-between ingredients. Begin stir frying and get going fast. This will ensure that each ingredient gets fried and not steamed.
- Always stir fry at high heat: You don't need a wok for cooking an authentic Chicken Lo Mein recipe. A large deep bottomed skillet would just do the job. Always stir fry at high heat. This will ensure that the veggies are not steamed but fried.
- Never cook a huge batch of Chicken Lo Mein in a single skillet or wok: Do not fill up the skillet or wok more than ⅓ rd capacity. In a large wok of 12" cook Lo Mein for only 2 persons at a time. Cooking a large batch of lo mein in a wok or over crowding the wok will result in steaming the ingredients rather than stir frying. You won't get an authentic stir fried taste ever! Cook in small batches for authentic restaurant style chicken Lo Mein taste.
- Get the Lo Mein sauce right: A great sauce recipe will definitely make a delicious chicken lo mein provided you cook the noodles & the veggies right. The sauce is quiet important for todays recipe and it imparts huge flavors to the dish. Follow the exact measures of the sauce ingredients mentioned in todays recipe.
Noodles that work great for Easy Chicken Lo Mein Recipe
- Chinese Egg Noodles.
- Lo Mein Noodles.
- Any Noodles meant for stir fry.
- Udon Noodles make a great substitute for egg noodles.
Summary: You can make a cheat recipe with ramen noodles but the recipe will be different. Do not try making it with today's recipe. If you are gluten intolerant you may even use rice noodles but the cooking time will vary a lot and also the instructions. Not meant for today's recipe.
Best Vegetables that work well for Spicy Chicken Lo Mein
Here's the list of veggies that work well for today's recipe. You can add them all or add what you prefer.
- Carrots
- Bell Peppers.
- Mushrooms.
- Broccoli.
- Baby Bok Choy.
- Snow peas.
- Bean Sprouts.
- Scallions both white and green part.
Here's what I used to cook today's authentic chicken Lo Mein recipe.
Pro Tip: Slice them thin. Also same length and same thickness preferred for even cooking.
Left over easy Chicken Lo Mein storing tips
You can store this easy chicken Lo Mein recipe in an air tight container for 4 days in the fridge.
You can also freeze it in proper freezer safe bags or containers for 2 months.
Reheating tips
From the fridge: Reheat in the microwave oven until warm. The veggies might wilt.
From the Freezer: Thaw over night in the fridge. Than grease a wok and toss until warm. You may also reheat in the microwave oven.
Note: The veggies will wilt when reheated. They won't retain the original crunch.
What is the difference between Chicken Lo Mein and Chicken Chow Mein?
I tried to bring together the differences between Lo Mein & Chow Mein under one roof in the form of a small table. Hope it's helpful to you 🙂
This is the difference that I noticed whenever I order these dishes in the restaurants of USA.
| Comparison Factors | Chow Mein | Lo Mein |
|---|---|---|
| Intro | Crispy stir-fried Chinese noodles with veggies or protein of your choice. | Tossed soft noodles with stir-fried veggies and protein of your choice |
| Texture | Crispy | Soft |
| Meaning | Stir Fried | Tossed |
| Method | Par boiled Noodles are fried first sometimes into a noodles pancake and then topped with veggies or protein. | Noodles are boiled and then tossed in with veggies or protein and sauces. |
| Literal Meaning | Chow = Fried Mein = Noodles | Lo = Tossed Mein = Noodles |
| Type | Egg Noodles with added egg | |
Spicy Chicken Lo Mein - FAQs
Chicken Lo Mein is not gluten free. It's made with wheat noodles that contain egg.
Chicken Lo Mein has a slightly spicy, sweet & salty taste with a mild garlicky kick, and tang from the soy sauces. The soft chewy noodles, the crunchy veggies & the soft juicy chicken pieces makes a great combo and a very filling meal.
Yes, Chicken Lo Mein is dairy free.
Chicken Lo Mein is nut free.
Homemade Chicken Lo Mein contains no msg at all. But, the dish when ordered from a Chinese take-out might contain msg. It varies from restaurant to restaurant actually.
Chicken Lo Mein is not always spicy. But, today's recipe is slightly spicy because I added chili garlic sauce to my homemade Lo Mein sauce. You may skip it if you don't prefer a slight chili kick. Or you may add more if you love spicy food.
We love quick recipes. How about these from Foodies Terminal.
How to make Chicken Lo Mein? Step by Step
Steps in words below pictures
How to make Chicken Lo Mein? Step by Step
- Toss in the veggies that require longer to get cooked
Set the wok over high heat. Add oil & throw in the hard veggies like carrots & the white part of scallion. Toss them for a few seconds.
- In goes the veggies that are tender
Throw in the red & green bell peppers & toss quick stirring vigorously. Tossing the veggies in right order will ensure that they are all cooked right & have the right amount of crunch left. Remove the veggies on a plate. Set aside.
- Toss the marinated chicken
Add the marinated chicken to the wok & toss for about 4 mins or until just done. Remove the chicken from the wok on to a clean plate.
- Add the Garlic & toss
Throw in the garlic & toss for a few seconds.
- Toss back the cooked chicken to the wok
Throw back the cooked chicken pieces to the wok & toss them with the garlic just for a few seconds.
- Add the cooked Noodles to the wok & the Lo Mein sauce
Toss the noodles with the lo mein sauce & the chicken.
- Throw in the veggies
Give everything a quick toss.
- Finally mix in the scallions & the bean sprouts
They are the softest among all the other veggies. Hence, they go in last. Give everything a quick toss, mix & serve hot. The scallions & the bean sprouts will wilt with the residual heat.
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Authentic Chicken Lo Mein Recipe
Print Recipe Pin RateWatch Recipe Video
Ingredients
- 0.268 pounds Chinese Egg Noodles (I used 3 noodle nests from the packet as shown in Pic) (122 gms)
- ¾ cup carrots cut into 2" sticks
- ¾ cup red bellpepper cut into 2" sticks
- ¾ cup green bellpepper cut into 2" sticks
- ¾ cup scallion cut into 2" lenghtwise
- ½ cup bean sprouts
- ½ tbsp Minced Garlic
- 1 tbsp scallion white parts chopped into rings
- ½ cup Canola Oil
Chicken Marinade Ingredients
- ¾ cup Chicken breasts cut into 1.5" thin strips (0.42 pounds or 192 gms)
- ½ tbsp dark soy sauce
- ½ tbsp light soy sauce
- ¼ tsp brown sugar
- ¼ tsp cornflour
Lo Mein Sauce Ingredients
- 1 tbsp dark soy sauce
- 1 tbsp light soy sauce
- ½ tbsp chili garlic sauce
- ½ tbsp oyster sauce
- ½ tsp sesame oil
Instructions
How to marinate the Chicken?
- Begin by marinating the chicken breast strips with all the ingredients mentioned in the "Chicken Marinade Ingredients". Once the chicken breast pieces are well coated with the marinade pop them in the fridge & allow them to rest while you chop the veggies and prepare the Lo Mein sauce. I generally store them in a zip lock bag. You may even marinate the chicken the previous night.
How to make Lo Mein Sauce?
- Next, mix all the sauces together mentioned in the "Lo Mein Sauce Ingredients" and prepare the Lo Mein Sauce. It should yeild about a little more than 50 ml Lo Mein in total. Set aside.
How to make Authentic Chicken Lo Mein Recipe restaurant style?
- Now, Cook the Chinese egg noodles according to the package instructions. Once the noodles are done strain them immediately & rinse with cold water. Drain the water completely than rub a few drops of oil with the noodles. This will prevent them from sticking to each other. Set aside.
- Set a wok or deep bottomed skillet over high heat. Add oil. We will be tossing the veggies in the order hard to soft. The veggies that have a longer cooking time goes in the wok first followed by the veggies that are comparitively tender. This method will ensure that the veggies are cooked just right & still have a good amount of crunch left.
- When the oil becomes moderately hot immediately throw in the chopped white parts of the scallion & the carrots. Toss them just for a few seconds.
- Next, add the green & the red bell peppers & toss them for a few seconds. Remove the veggies from the wok and set aside.
- In the same wok and in the same hot oil add the marinated chicken pieces and saute them for about 2-3 mins or until cooked. They will remain nicely juicy & tender. Bring out the cooked chicken from the wok and set aside.
- Next, throw in the chopped garlic to the hot oil & sauté for a few seconds. Immediately add back the cooked chicken. Give them a good mix.
- Next, add the cooked noodles & the Lo Mein sauce. Give eveything a good mix either with the help of a tong or the spatula. The Noodles should be well coated with the Lo Mein sauce.
- Add back the cooked veggies & mix well.
- Turn off the heat and add the softest veggies like the scallions & the bean sprouts. Toss them with the Chicken Lo Mein. The residual heat will slowly wilt the scallions and the bean sprouts.
- Serve hot. Enjoy!
Notes
- Measuring Units Used, 1 cup = 240 ml & 1 teaspoon = 5 ml.
- Very Imp : Keep everything ready just beside the stove and the wok before cooking the Chicken Lo Mein. This recipe goes fast and meant to be cooked on high heat. There's absolutely no waiting or scope of pausing any step.
- Chop the veggies in the same length. This makes the dish aesthetically pretty and also ensures that the ingredients are cooked evenly.
- Always add the veggies to the wok according to their cooking time & in the order hard to soft (veggies). For instance carrots have a longer cooking time as compared to bellpepper so the carrots goes in the wok first. This simple technique will ensure that all the veggies are cooked uniformly and still have the right amount of crunch left.
- Always cook on High Heat stirring or tossing the ingredients briskly. This will ensure that each ingredient gets fried and not steamed.
- Cook the noodles always according to the package instructions. Cooking time of noodles varies according to their thickness.
- Once the noodles are done, strain immediately and rinse with cold running tap water. This will stop the cooking process from the residual heat. Also drain the water completely and rub the noodles with a few drops of oil. This will prevent them from sticking with each other.
- Never skip marinating the chicken pieces. You may even marinate them the night before. This simple step will keep the chicken pieces tender and juicy even after getting cooked.
- Always turn off the heat before adding the scallions and the bean sprouts. They are the softest of all the veggies hence the residual heat would be enough to just wilt them. They won't turn mushy & you can still feel them.
- The Lo Mein Sauce: Today's measurement will yield just a little more than 50 ml of Lo Mein Sauce.
- Skip adding the Chili garlic sauce if you do not prefer spicy food. It does not make todays recipe super spicy but does give the Lo Mein a slight chili kick. We love it. If you skip this sauce than do add ½ tbsp. each dark & light soy sauces.
Nutrition
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Eve says
This was delicious… I doubled the sauce recipe because of the amount of chicken I had…and we still did not have leftovers.
Foodies Terminal says
Thanks so much for the amazing feedback. So glad you enjoyed the recipe 🙂 - Meghna.
Barbara says
This was delicious and no added salt , a big plus there! This is definitely a repeat recipe . And so healthy too with lots of veggies. Thanks much
Foodies Terminal says
So glad you enjoyed this recipe Barbara! Thanks so much for the amazing feedback, totally appreciate it:) - Meghna xoxo.
Abby says
Just made this it was amazing! I was grateful there was a video cus I’m new to cooking. Super easy to follow! Only tweaks I made was more marinade, substituted green peppers for yellow and added sriracha for an extra kick. Will make again!
Foodies Terminal says
So glad you loved this recipe Abby 🙂 Thanks much for your lovely feedback, appreciate it 🙂 - Meghna xoxo
Emily C. says
My husband raved about this recipe! One question though, it’s corn flour, not corn starch?
Foodies Terminal says
Hey Emily you can use either just don't use Masa Harina which is the pale yellow color powder, at some places they call it corn flour as well 🙂 Corn starch is also known as corn flour in Britain. Let me know if you have any more questions regarding the recipe 🙂 So glad you guys love the recipe so much 🙂 - Meghna xoxo
Nena says
This is the BEST Lo Mein recipe floating in the web. I mean the taste is crazy good and I'll give it a 1000 points, far far better than take-out, I mean absoluteley fantastic. I won't be making any other LO MEIN recipe. This is it 🙂 Thanks so much for the great recipe.
Foodies Terminal says
Hey Nena thanks a bunch for such an amazing feedback 🙂 We are so glad that you loved the recipe so very much 🙂 Hope you give our other recipes a try as well. Take care Nena 🙂 - Meghna.XOXO
Iain James says
Hi Meghna. I made this dish last night for my wife and I. I could not find any egg noodles in our local Asian shop, probably as a result of the lockdown period. I used udon instead. Very nice indeed. Another of your lovely recipes 😊. Simple to make with lots of flavour. Needless to say there was none left over😁! Thanks again. I love your recipes.
Foodies Terminal says
Thank you so much Iain for your wonderful feedback 🙂 I am so glad that you loved the recipe and it came out so well with Udon noodles...a great sub to regular egg noodles I must say...do keep coming back Iain and take care 🙂 - Meghna.
Joanie says
I will never order Lo Mein out again! So delicious and easy to make!
Foodies Terminal says
That's awesome Joanie 🙂 I am so glad that you loved the recipe, thank you so much for your wonderful feedback! Keep coming back for more such delicious and easy recipes and take care Joanie 🙂 - Meghna.
pam says
Loved It! I added chopped water chestnuts and corn and doubled the sauce.
Foodies Terminal says
Hey Pam that's awesome, I am so glad that you loved the recipe 🙂 Thank you so much for your lovely feedback, keep coming back for more such delicious recipes. Take care Pam 🙂 - Meghna.
danielle sigler says
bout to make this for the homies. hope it taste good
Foodies Terminal says
Hey Danielle that's awesome 🙂 People love this Lo Mein so much and some of them were too kind to say that it's the best Lo Mein they ever tried...Lol!, share your thoughts with us once you make it 🙂 Thank you for stopping by and take care. - Meghna.
Jamie Harkcom says
This was so good and easy to make. Sharing it with my friends. You really could add any vegetables you want.
Thank You.
Foodies Terminal says
Thank you Jamie 🙂 So glad that you loved the recipe. - Meghna.