I have a cookbook, Desperation Dinners, that I pull out every once in a while when I need a meal in a hurry. Although some of the recipe titles are eye-rolling, to say the least, the meals come together FAST and are really, really good. Every time I use the book, I’m reminded I need to use it more! This meal, Lazy Lo Mein, is wonderful. I love Asian noodle dishes, and this did not disappoint. The ingredients are fresh and delicious and I am definitely adding this to my meal planning rotation.
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons oyster sauce
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar or distilled white vinegar (I used white since I had it on-hand)
- 1 tablespoon ketchup
- 2 teaspoons chopped ginger (I omitted since my husband doesn't like fresh ginger)
- 1 teaspoon dark sesame oil
- 12 ounces Chinese Lo Mein noodles or linguine pasta (I used linguine cooked until barely al dente)
- 2 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 large onion
- 1 1/2 cups shredded carrots
- 1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
- 1 cup broccoli florets, steamed until just barely tender (they will cook longer in the stir-fry)
- Unsalted dry-roasted peanut halves (optional)
Stir-Fry Sauce
For the lo mein:
Directions
- For the sauce, whisk all of the ingredients together in a 1-quart bowl.
- For the lo mein, cook the noodles according to package directions. Meanwhile, continue with the recipe, and when the noodles are done, drain and set aside.
- Make the stir-fry sauce and set aside. Heat the oil in an extra-deep 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat. Peel and coarsely chop the onion, adding it to the skillet as you chop. Stir from time to time. While the onion cooks, slice the chicken into strips about 1/4-inch wide. Add the chicken to the skillet. Raise the heat to medium-high and stir occasionally.
- While the chicken cooks, add the carrots, broccoli and mushrooms and stir to mix. Stir-fry the mixture until the chicken is no longer pink. Immediately add the stir-fry sauce and noodles. Raise the heat to high and cook until the noodles and chicken are heated through and coated with sauce, 2-3 minutes, stirring constantly. Serve, garnished with peanut halves (if using - I did not).
Printed from Mel's Kitchen Cafe (www.melskitchencafe.com)
Looks great- I’m always looking for quick and easy for little league nights.
Yes, to all of you – this IS a great meal for a quick, desperate, weeknight meal. If anyone has an authentic Lo Mein recipe, send it my way. Eventually I’d like to try out the “real” thing.And grace, the difference is that your titles are clever and that isn’t so much the case in this book. Keep up the alliteration, cleverness, and cheese.
What a delicious desperation dinner!
I’m rolling to my computer to write this review-stuffed with chicken lo mein. YUM. I did double the sauce for it (I like sauce!) and cut the chicken into bite sized peices (figured I’d have to do it then or as I put it on the kids plates. It was fast, easy and YUMMY. Can’t wait for lunch tomorrow! The kids each ate their plates. DH is out of town (which is why I picked tonight-he’s not a fan of Chinese food) So I’d say it would feed 4-6. Thanks for the great recipes!
Margaret – I’m so glad you liked this. It is a family favorite with us for sure. Thanks for letting me know!
i’m a big fan of alliteration, so my titles often end up being really cheesy too. i’m also a big fan of cheese, so it all works out.
That sounds pretty simple and yet tasty.
I love Chicken Lo Mein, and I’ve always been too intimidated to try to make it at home. This recipe looks totally do-able! Can’t wait to give it a try!
Brian doesn’t like fresh ginger? Lame! I love recipes that call for fresh ginger. I’ll give this recipe a try. Especially since it calls for oyster sauce and I seriously need ideas of how to use up this bottle!
I made it tonight, it was very tasty. Yummy! Thanks Mel!
I just made this last night. I left out the oyster sauce; it’s not kosher, but it was really yummy!!! DH loved it too!
Anonymous – glad you liked this, thanks for checking in to let me know!
Made this tonight; excellent. I didn’t have oyster sauce, so I used about 1 tsp hoisin sauce. I have no idea if those two things taste anything alike, but, oh well! Still tasted good. Thanks for another winner.
Julianne – hoisin sauce is more like a BBQ sauce whereas oyster sauce is definitely more “fishy” – either way, I’m glad you liked it!
I made this and it was super easy and super quick! The only sesame oil I could find was labeled hot, and let me tell you it was HOT!! I doubled the sauce recipe, but only added 1/2 teaspoon of the sesame oil and it still had a strong heat to it. But we really liked it. Something in the sauce smelled like “seafood sauce” that you eat at Japanese restaurants… do you have a good recipe for that? I’ve been trying to find one for months now. Anyway, we really liked this meal, thanks Mel for another awesome recipe!
Thanks, Kensi! To be honest, I didn’t know there was such a thing as hot sesame oil. Yikes! I better be careful what I’m buying! I don’t have a good recipe for seafood sauce – at least one that is tried and true. Have you tried googling it? I’m sure you have. If I come across one that looks perfect, I’ll let you know!
I find that, first coating the chicken in cornstarch and browning it helps. It keep the chicken juices in. A trick I picked up watching a chef in China cooking in his kitchen.
first, brown cornstarch coated chicken. set aside. (need to take out the chicken and rinse the pan of any left over starch, as you dont want that in your final dish…)
then I usually do as your steps say regarding the veggies, then throw chicken back in.
then add the sauce mixture, followed right away with the noodles or rice…
…btw , your site is awesome…makes me hungry.
What a neat lo mein sauce! I just may need to try that!
I normally just use the normal Chinese ingredients of oyster sauce, soy sauce, sesame oil, hot sauce, and some oil… gotta try it with ketchup now! 
[...] Chicken Lo Mein [...]
Once again, Mel hits a home run. I didn’t have fresh garlic on hand (gasp!), but I made do with some garlic powder. I can tell by the ginger that aromatics work wonders in this sauce, so I can’t wait to try it with the fresh garlic. I also had a surplus of rice noodles on hand and subbed that for lo mein noodles. Added bonus–no boiling involved!
Regardless, this is easy and fantastic. Thanks for another great meal, Mel! I can always count on you for something quick, budget-friendly, and super delicious.
We love this!!! But, I think my tree nut allergic son may have a sensitivity to sesame oil. He got a hive under his eye shortly after he started eating. He was mad when I took it away from him. I know there is so much flavor in that oil – is there a good substitute or would it completely alter the dish if I left it out? Thanks!
Katie – I definitely think if it is allergy related, I’d just leave it out. You’ll miss that little pop of flavor but honestly, I think the dish will still be delicious.
I’m making this tonight! It’s interesting your husband, too, doesn’t like ginger. The women in our family all LOVE it and the men despise it. Something in our hormonal makeups maybe?