This chicken lo mein is bold and full of flavor without being overly sweet. A perfectly satisfying one-dish meal!
When I was young, many of my classmates were Sephardi and their mothers cooked some of the most memorable Middle Eastern dishes—my favorite was salade cuite, a “cooked salad” much like matbucha. Those families guarded recipes closely, and I always felt a little hesitant borrowing from other culinary traditions. Over time I realized my hesitation was more about respect than capability.
Chinese-style dishes feel different. Asian flavors have been part of American food culture for generations, and I find them easy to adapt for everyday cooking. Truthfully, Chinese food hasn’t always been my top craving; I often avoid overly sweet, heavy sauces. That’s why I like to make my own versions at home, where I can control sweetness, texture, and seasoning.
This chicken lo mein is exactly that: a lighter, savory take on a classic. It’s an ideal one-dish supper—quick to assemble, full of bold flavors, and endlessly adaptable. Use the vegetables you like, adjust the garlic and soy to your taste, and swap in your favorite noodle or even rice. The recipe below gives clear times and amounts but serves best as a flexible template for weeknight dinners or a simple meal to feed a crowd.
Tips before you start: if you prefer your vegetables crisp-tender, keep the sauté time short. Cook the pasta just until al dente so it holds up when tossed with the sauce. If you plan to prepare the meal ahead, store the pasta separate from the stir-fry to prevent it from soaking up too much sauce. For extra saucy lo mein, make 1½ times the sauce.
I usually make this in a heavy-duty frying pan—it’s not a wok, but a large, sturdy pan works perfectly. Toasted sesame oil is a small but essential ingredient: if you don’t have it, you can use a neutral oil for cooking and add sesame oil for finishing. The toasted sesame oil delivers a distinctive nutty aroma that lifts the whole dish.
Light and Tasty Chicken Lo Mein
This chicken lo mein is bold and full of flavor without being overly sweet. A perfectly satisfying one-dish meal!
Ingredients
- 1 lb pasta,* cooked and drained according to package instructions
Chicken:
- 1½ lbs chicken cutlets, cut into chunks
- 2 Tbsp flour
- 2 tsp toasted sesame oil
Stir-Fry:
- 2 Tbsp neutral oil (avocado or vegetable)
- ¼ red onion, sliced
- 2 small zucchini, sliced into rounds
- 4 oz mushrooms, sliced
- 1 red or yellow pepper, sliced
- 1 cup shelled edamame beans
Sauce:
- ½ cup soy sauce
- ½ cup beef stock, or 1 tsp consomme powder dissolved in ½ cup water
- 2 Tbsp honey
- 1 tsp ground ginger, or 1 cube frozen ginger
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 Tbsp toasted sesame oil
- 2 Tbsp cornstarch
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Arrange the chicken pieces on the prepared sheet. Toss them with the flour, then drizzle with the sesame oil so they are lightly coated. Bake for about 20 minutes, until cooked through and just beginning to brown. Remove from oven and set aside.
- While the chicken bakes, heat the neutral oil in a large frying pan or wok over medium heat. Add the sliced onion, zucchini, mushrooms, pepper and edamame. Sauté until the vegetables are lightly browned and tender but still have some bite—about 4–6 minutes depending on your heat level.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the soy sauce, beef stock (or dissolved consomme), honey, ginger, minced garlic, toasted sesame oil and cornstarch. Make sure the cornstarch is fully dissolved so the sauce will thicken evenly.
- Pour the sauce over the vegetables and stir gently. Continue cooking for a few minutes until the sauce becomes glossy and thickens to coat the vegetables.
- Add the baked chicken and the cooked pasta to the pan. Toss everything together until the pasta and chicken are well coated with the sauce and heated through. Adjust seasoning to taste—if you like it saltier, add a splash more soy; for more sweetness, add a little extra honey.
- Serve warm, garnished with additional sesame oil or a sprinkle of toasted sesame seeds if desired.
Notes
If you are not serving immediately, transfer the lo mein to a covered pan and reheat gently until just heated through. Do not freeze this dish; textures and flavors are best retained when refrigerated and served within a day or two.
*You can use any type of noodle or pasta—linguini, thin spaghetti, Japanese wheat noodles, ramen noodles, or brown rice noodles. If you prefer rice over pasta, this sauce and vegetable mix also pairs well with steamed rice. Feel free to swap or add any vegetables you love: snap peas, baby corn, bok choy, or carrots are all great options.
This recipe is flexible and forgiving—double the vegetables, increase the garlic, or reduce the honey to suit your taste. The goal is a satisfying, flavorful one-dish meal that feels homemade and fresh.
Recipe by Faigy Murray
