Beef Lo Mein

BEEF LO MEIN

The flavor of this home-cooked Beef Lo Mein is identical to that of a Chinese takeout order (or better, because it uses more vegetables than your typical takeout). It’s also quite simple to put together. Those who enjoy lo mein should definitely give this recipe a go!

FAVORITE CHINESE TAKEAWAY DELICIOUSNESS

On busy weekends at our family’s restaurant, my parents occasionally worked straight through closing without having any time to eat before they closed.

To save time and eat in front of the TV, we ordered Chinese food from the drive-thru and heated it up in the microwave. Fried chicken wings, garlicky broccoli over white rice, and beef lo mein were some of our favorite dishes.

As Sarah’s go-to late-night college meal, we can all agree that Beef Lo Mein is a family favorite. Your typical takeaway menu will also have it as a popular option.

MUCH LIKE TAKEOUT, BUT BETTER!

In terms of flavor, you can’t beat the restaurant version, but the greatest part is that anything in your refrigerator will do as far as vegetables go. Adding more vegetables to your lo mein will also make it more nutritious.

This beef lo mein recipe is a lot more satisfying than ordering takeout when you don’t have time to cook.

What are you waiting for? Just give it a go!

WHAT THE LO MEIN NOODLES DO

The choice of noodles for lo mein meals is sometimes a source of uncertainty. Let’s get this straightened out. What kind of noodles should you buy, and how to prepare them before cooking, so that they don’t form a single, hard-to-pull-apart noodle brick?

For the sake of simplicity, cooked lo mein noodles are highly recommended. Fresh noodles, rice cakes, and wonton/dumpling wrappers can be found in the refrigerated department of any Chinese grocery store.

INGREDIENTS:

BEEF AND MARINADE:

• 12 ounces of flank steak
• 1 teaspoon of cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon of soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon of vegetable oil
• 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda

SAUCE:

• 2 teaspoons of dark soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon of light soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon of oyster sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon of sesame oil
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt
• 1/4 teaspoon of sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon of white pepper

COMPLETE DISH:

• 1 pound of fresh lo mein noodles
• 2 cups of mung bean sprouts
• 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil
• 1 tablespoon of Shaoxing wine
• 2 julienned scallions
• 2 cups of shredded Napa cabbage
• 1 clove of minced garlic
• 1 julienned carrot
• 1/2 julienned red bell pepper
• 1/2 cup of sliced mushrooms
• 1/2 cup of strips or sliced bamboo shoots
• 2/3 cup of snow peas

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Make thin strips of meat by slicing them against the grain. Mix together the cut beef, corn starch, soy sauce, and olive oil in a small bowl until everything is well combined. As a result of this velveting process, the beef will be tender, delicious, and visually appealing. For 30 minutes, let the meat marinade.
2. Soy Sauce, Oyster Sauce, Dark Soy Sauce, sesame oil, salt and sugar, and ground white pepper are the ingredients for the lo mein sauce.
3. When using precooked lo mein noodles, rinse them under hot tap water to release them and completely drain them before using in the recipe. Use al dente noodles if you’ve got them; otherwise, follow the package directions and drain completely. Set aside for later. Prepare all of the ingredients for cooking, including the garlic and all of the other vegetables. Put them in the sequence in which you intend to cook them.
4. Place the wok on a high heat and let it smoke for a few seconds. Add 1 tbsp. of vegetable oil to the wok and arrange the beef in a single layer on the hot wok surface. Add salt and pepper to taste. Browning the meal should take no more than 30 seconds per side. The beef should be taken out of the wok and placed aside.
5. Add the garlic, carrots, peppers, and mushrooms to the pot along with the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil and stir well to combine. For 30 seconds, stir-fry the ingredients in a pan.
6. Add the bamboo stalks and scallions’ white portions. After another 20 seconds of stirring, add the napa cabbage. For the final 30 seconds of cooking, make sure your heat is on the maximum setting.
7. Noodles are ready to be added here! They should not be frozen, they should be at room temperature or slightly warmed.
8. Toss the veggies and noodles together in a scooping motion with the addition of the Shaoxing wine around the outside of the wok. Once the noodles and pre-mixed sauce have been warmed (approximately 30 seconds to 1 minute), you may begin assembling your dish.
9. Keep the noodles from sticking by scraping the pan’s bottom often and continue stirring until the sauce is equally distributed. In addition to high heat and a well-seasoned wok, this should help prevent any scalding.
10. Add the snow peas, mung bean sprouts, and meat to the pan. Stir-fry until the noodles, then remove from the heat and garnish with green onions.
11. Taste the lo mein after adding the scallion greens. Take a taste and adjust the seasoning to your liking (feel free to add more salt, soy sauce, oyster sauce, sesame oil, or white pepper according to your own palate). Serve with chile oil or hot sauce on the side!