Lo mein is a Chinese noodle dish made from boiled wheat noodles which are tossed with stir fried meat, vegetables and a sauce.
The word “mein” in Chinese means noodles, and “lo mein” means tossed noodles. This is how most lo mein dishes are made.
After the stir-fry is done, the wheat noodles are put over the stir-fry and mixed in.
There is often confusion between pasta and noodles. Pasta, the signature dish of Italy, is made from durum semolina, a tetraploid species of wheat with a yellow endosperm and a coarser texture than common wheat.
This Is a Plate Of Italian Pasta with Pesto Sauce – Not a Plate Of Noodles With Pesto Sauce
Where as noodles are associated with Asian dishes. They are made with flour milled from common wheat, rice flour, or starch from a tuber or bean.
Because traditional Asian noodles use softer flours and starches than pasta, most noodles employ salt as a binding agent, whereas Italian pasta typically forgoes salt.
Looking For Gluten-free Pasta – Try These Recipes Using Vegetables As Pasta – Vegetable Alternatives To Traditional Pasta – with recipes
Lo Mein Noodles & Beef Stir-Fry
These fresh lo mein noodles are mixed together with beef, vegetables and a savory stir-fry sauce. With the end result being a bowl or plate of deliciously yummy food.
The Sauce
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup hoisin sauce
2 tsp. sesame oil
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
Add cornstarch and dark soy to a medium sauce pan over medium high heat and mix until lump free.
Next add remaining sauce ingredients and mix in. Bring to a boil then simmer until sauce thickens. Set aside.
The Stir-Fry
1 pound of either flank steak, skirt steak, ribeye or top sirloin, cut into 1×1 inch strips
1-2 teaspoons sesame oil
1 16 ounce bag (fresh not frozen) of prepare stir-fry vegetables
8 ounces lo mein noodles
Using a hot skillet with sesame oil, cook beef until it’s golden brown, remove from the skillet and set aside.
Using the same skillet, add some sesame oil and sauté vegetables (do not over cook). Next add cooked beef and sauce and mix in.
Cook’s Notes
The Meat:
For added flavor, marinate meat strips in 1/4 cup of prepared sauce. After marinating, save sauce to add with rest to stir-fry.
The Noodles: We recommend using cooked lo mein noodles for convenience. You can find them in the refrigerated section of any Chinese grocery, wherever they stock the fresh noodles, rice cakes, and wonton/dumpling wrappers.
Though you can use a box of the noodles, just cook according to package instructions.
The Vegetables: A stir-fry needs crisp tender vegetables, meaning the vegetables are just cooked to the point that they are still a bit raw inside.
This not only retains their flavor, color and nutrients better, but it also prevents overcooked vegetables leeching water, which can water down the flavor of the sauce.
Next add noodles and mix in. Continue cooking until the noodles are warmed through.
Suggested to plate and serve immediately.
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