Chicken Lo Mein with Spaghetti Noodles

Looking for a quick and easy Chicken Lo Mein Recipe? This Lo Mein Spgahetti Noodles with chicken and veggies is better than takeout and ready in 20 minutes. The noodles are coated in a deliciously savoury sauce, and you won't get enough- better than Panda Express Chow Mein any day! (No cornstarch.) (No wok needed- I use a large skillet!)

Jump to:

• 🥘 Ingredients
• 🔪 Step-by-Step Instructions
• Expert Tips
• 🥡 How to Store
• 🥗 Suggested Accompanying Recipes
• Chicken Lo Mein Spaghetti Noodles
• 💬 Comments

You only need a few simple ingredients for this Chinese spaghetti recipe:

• pasta noodles: It won't be an easy recipe if you can't find the ingredients! As not everyone can easily get fresh egg noodles, I used spaghetti (in both my easy chow mein and veggie lo mein recipes) but any long pasta works. I used dried but fresh spaghetti would give you the most similar texture to the original- just reduce the noodle cooking time accordingly. (Click here for the similarities and differences between pasta and noodles.)
• red onion, fresh ginger, fresh garlic: if you can't get red onion, you can use a shallot or white/ yellow onion (these are less sweet.) I don't recommend ginger powder or garlic powder - the flavors aren't as fresh.
• Chicken: I highly recommend chicken thigh as dark meat doesn't dry out so quickly (so is easier to keep juicy if you're not a stir frying pro.) However, you can switch to chicken breast- just remember to use 100% chicken breast or 100% chicken thigh as the cooking times are a bit different. (If you mix, you'll get some slightly overcooked meat.) Make sure you cut all the chicken cubes the same size!
  • If you're on a meatless diet, you could substitute with other protein such as tofu. Remember to marinade in the lo mein sauce before stir-frying it, as tofu is quite bland on its own.
• Shaoxing wine, oyster sauce, light soy sauce: to marinade the chicken before stir frying
• Vegetables: I use the classic Chinese veggie, bok choy. Tou can substitute with the same amount of Gai lan (Chinese broccoli), snap peas, Napa cabbage, or bean sprouts but the cooking time will change. Gai Lan and Chye Sim take longer to cook than bok choy. (If you use veggies that give out a lot of water, it might make the noodles soggy.)

For the savory homemade lo mein sauce:

• light soy sauce: this adds umami and saltiness to the stir-fried noodles, as does the pasta cooking water we will add. (You'll need 2-4 Tablespoons of pasta water, depending on how saucy you want your noodles. (Lo Mein tends to have more sauce than chow mein.) If you end up using more pasta water, or if you salt your pasta water more than normal, start by adding less soy sauce than I put in the recipe (to prevent it from getting too salty) and season to taste.)
• sriracha: this gives the noodles a slight spiciness. You can omit it if you don't like the heat.
• oyster sauce: you can substitute with hoisin sauce- just omit the pinch of sugar I add in this recipe. (Click here if you want to find out more about the difference between the 2 Chinese sauces- hoisin is generally sweeter than oyster.)
• dark soy sauce: I tried the Asian noodle recipe with and without the dark soy- the conclusion of all the testers was, don't leave dark soy out!

Note: the sauce for this chicken lo mein is slightly different from my veggie lo mein recipe but even more delicious in my opinion!

Garnish the long cooked noodles with a sprinkle of sliced green onions or lightly toasted sesame seeds and serve with these lo mein side dishes.

🔪 Step-by-Step Instructions

Expert Tips

Tip #1: Mise-en-place is key for a good stir fry: you need to stir fry fast, so make the sauce is mixed and the ingredients chopped and beside you before starting.

Tip #2: If you leave the ingredients in the pan/ wok for too long, they'll get soggy so be quick (although this is less of a concern if you're using dried pasta, and not fresh egg noodles.)

🥡 How to Store

Store leftover noodles in an airtight container in the fridge quickly- never leave pasta at room temperature for too long as dangerous bacteria will breed.

Note: The lo mein pasta does not taste as great when I reheated by stir frying. The texture was good, but the taste was slightly bland and dry. I will test to see what needs to be added to make them as good as new, and update accordingly- it probably needs a bit more sauce or stock when heating again.

🥗 Suggested Accompanying Recipes

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