I love Chicken Lo Mein, but every place seems to make it a little bit different. Sometimes they put weird veggies in it (water chestnuts or those creepy baby corn things), or stuff I don’t like (cabbage or carrots).
So I want to make my own. I’ll make it with onions, mushrooms, and chicken. When I get it at restaurants, sometimes it has this tasty rich brown sauce - I think it’s soy sauce, but am not sure. Noodles are about the size and consistency of spaghetti noodles.
How can I make this at home? Seems like it’d be pretty simple. But what kind of noodles and sauce do I use? How do I cook it? Do I need a wok, or can I just use a regular skillet (I have a cast iron skillet)? How long do I cook it? How do you make the noodles?
There are lots of recipes of varying complexity, but a combo of some Rice Wine Vinegar, Oyster sauce and a bit of broth should do it…you can add things like salt & pepper, sugar, chili, garlic, ginger, five spice powder, etc, your leisure.
I think the Oyster sauce is what you’re thinking of…
I don’t know what the sauce was. I’ve asked various servers in Chinese restaurants what the sauce was, and was told in every case “brown sauce”. Not sure if it was a language/communication issue, or an unwillingness to divulge the recipe. Not sure how to describe the taste either, other than “savory”.
Mostly concerned about the noodles, what type to get and how to cook them. Unless someone has a specific idea (and there isn’t a standard, I know) I figure I can just pick up a couple bottles of soy/oyster/ginger/teryaki and experiment a little once I figure out how to make the noodles. I’ve already used soy on hamburgers and it’s a bit similar but I don’t think that’s it, exactly.
Thanks for the response, I’ll definitely give oyster sauce a shot!
BTW is ginger sauce what they use on General Tso’s?
I’ve faked up lo mein using plain spaghetti. Cook it al dente, then toss with oyster sauce, some hoisin, some soy sauce, a little ginger and maybe some red pepper flakes. Add whatever veggies and meat you want and you’re gtg.
Around here, most grocery stores have Lo-mein noodles in their produce sections, by the tofu. They are fresh noodles, not dry, and come in little plastic packs.
The sauce is not plain soy sauce - soy sauce is pretty watery and salty. Check out the Asian section of your grocery store, they’ll have a variety of sauces. Heck, they might even have Lo-Mein sauce.
Ok, thanks for the tips! The ethnic sections in the local groceries are bigger than they used to be, so I’ll see what they have. Definitely got me pointed in the right direction though
“Brown sauce” appears to be the English-language version of the name given the mildly spicy sauce used in lo mein and a few other “typical Chinese takeout dishes” (pardon the attribution quotes, but I cannot see a better way to put that). In other words, it’s not a descriptor but the (rather blah) proper name of the sauce, contrasting with garlic sauce, Szechwan sauce, etc.
Good luck. I’ve spent YEARS of my life trying to make lo mein at home, and I’ve produced some lo mein-like food, but it’s never ever as good as the kind from a restaurant. I’ve tried every combination of food, every noodle,every sauce, and the results, though edible, are not as good as the boughten thing. I complained about this to a Vietnamese girl I know, and she said Americans fuss too much (?) - the wok has to be as hot as hot can be, and just toss the veggies briefly to singe them - overcooking produces stew, not stir fry…Lots of garlic and any of a number of bottled sauces from the grocery store will make whatever you cook tasty, anyway. But like fried chicken and pizza, some things you are better off buying already cooked.
