Shrimp Lo Mein is filled with juicy noodles, colorful veggies and the most delicious sauce. In just under 30 minutes, you will have restaurant-worthy Chinese noodles!
If you love Lo Mein, try out our Beef Lo Mein Recipe also.
Lo mein is a Chinese stir-fried noodle dish. Long, soft egg noodles are tossed with a savory and sweet sauce and your choice of protein. Get ready for some slurpy goodness!
You have likely tried chow mein already, but what exactly is lo mein and what is the difference? Lo mein is a dish of soft noodles tossed in a thick sauce. Chow mein, on the other hand, calls for a longer frying time to make the noodles crispy.
What is Lo Mein Sauce Made Of?
Sweet, savory and thick, lo mein sauce is the definition of comfort food. Bring thethree following ingredients together and just like that, you have homemade lo mein sauce that will rival your favorite restaurant:
- Beef Bouillon: Dissolve 1 tablespoon of broth concentrate in ¼ cup of boiling water. This will serve as the liquid base of the sauce.
- Brown Sugar: Light brown sugar adds that touch of sweetness characteristic of Chinese sauces.
- Soy Sauce: Use low-sodium soy sauce to control the salt levels.
- Sesame Oil
Lo Mein Noodles
Lo Mein noodles come dry and you can typically find them in the Asian aisle of the supermarket. You can also pop into your local Asian specialty store and find them no problem.
Hot tip: If you are in a pinch and can’t find the time to get lo mein noodles, use spaghetti. It works great and will surely satiate your craving for takeout.
Veggies to Use In Lo Mein
Stir frys are a great way to integrate a lot of veggies into your diet. Yes, getting your “five a day” can be delicious! Here are some Momsdish veggie favorites for lo mein:
- Broccoli
- Chinese Broccoli
- Water Chestnuts
- Carrots
- Cabbage
- Baby Corns
- Bok Choy
- Red, Green or Yellow Bell Peppers
- Green Beans
- Sugar Snap Peas
- Green Onions
- Tons of Garlic
A few Tips for The Best Lo Mein
- Layering is Key. It might be tempting to dump all of your ingredients in the pan at one time. But, in order for this dish to cook evenly, you need to cook all the veggies separately.
- Lo Mein Sauce. If you love to have slurpy noodles, I would suggest doubling the sauce in this recipe.
- Opt for Sesame Oil. It might feel natural for you to reach for olive oil when you are getting ready to stir fry. Try using sesame oil instead to add a wonderfully nutty flavor to your dish.
- Garnish it Up. Chop up some fresh green onions and sprinkle them on top right before serving.
Other Asian Recipes You Will Love
Takeout is super tempting — we know. Here are some of our favorite takeout-inspired dishes that are easy to make and much healthier than ordering in:
- Yakisoba Noodles – You can typically find these noodles precooked and package airtight. All you have to do is pop them in a pan to rehydrate. This is the perfect weeknight meal.
- Crazy Easy Shrimp Tempura – Japanese-style breaded and fried shrimp
- Stir Fry – A great low-carb meal all on it’s own or served with a steaming pile of white rice.
- Veggie Lo Mein – Your vegetarian friends will love you for this one. Add in some tofu or peanuts to up the protein value. You can also enjoy hot or cold.
Recipe
Ingredients
Lo Mein Sauce
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- 1/4 cup hot water
- 1 tbsp Beef Better Than Bouillon
- 3 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
Shrimp Lo Mein
- 8 oz lo mein noodles (cook according to package instructions)
- 1 lb shrimp (large with tail on)
- 1 large bell pepper
- 1 large carrot
- 2 cups broccoli
- 1 large onion
- 4 garlic cloves
- 3 tbsp sesame oil
Instructions
Lo Mein Sauce
- Into hot water add Better Than Bullion, sesame oil and brown sugar; stir to dissolve. Into the mixture, add soy sauce and set aside.
Shrimp Lo Mein
- Dice carrots, bell pepper, broccoli and onion into two-inch pieces. Using a hot skillet with sesame oil, cook shrimp until it's golden brown, remove from the skillet and set aside.
- Using the same skillet that was used to previously cook shrimp, apply sesame oil and saute onions until golden brown. Separately, saute carrots until softened, followed by bell peppers, then broccoli. Add all vegetables back to the skillet and press garlic into the mixture.
- Add cooked shrimp into the skillet with vegetables. Pour sauce over the ingredients and let them simmer for about 2 minutes.
- Add cooked noodles and toss everything together. Cook for a minute and remove from the heat.
This recipe was easy to make. I doubled the Lo Mein Sauce because we love saucy food. It was delicious, however, my husband and I found it to be too salty. It was edible but would have eaten more if not salty. Yes, I used low-sodium soy sauce and no other salt. Will try diluting the sauce with low-sodium beef broth when leftovers are reheated. Probably will not make it again. Thank you for sharing.
Hi Linda, I'm sorry to hear it was too salty. Perhaps the 6 tablespoons of soy sauce made it too salty? If you double the recipe again, try adding less soy sauce. I hope you'll give it another try!
hi' I've been replacing a lot of sugar in my recipes with honey do you think the brown sugar in this recipe can be substituted for honey
Ann
Hi Ann! Since it's part of the sauce, I think it could work- but I haven't tested it so I can't guarantee the results! Please let us know how it was if you try it.
My family loved it. Tripled sauce and added bag of coleslaw mix for carrots, also added can of baby corn and can of water chestnuts.
Marissa, thats such a great idea to add baby corn and water chestnuts. Thanks for sharing with us. I think it will be useful to others.
Made this tonight. Added sprouts, cabbage, bok choy, water chestnuts ,pea pods, Thai rice ,noodles double sauce. 10 pure 10. Served with homemade Lumpia.!
Hi Deb, thank you so much for sharing your process and feedback with me. It sounds like the Lo Mein turned out absolutely delicious!! Enjoy!
I really enjoyed this recipe. It was easy to make using basic ingredients and had excellent flavor. I did a few tweaks. I doubled the amount of noodles and quadrupled the amount of sauce. I did not have a bell pepper, but I added cabbage, bean sprouts, and water chestnuts. It was delicious. I will make it again. It seems very versatile with being able to switch up the different vegetables used.
Hi Suzanna, it sounds like this turned out absolutely delicious. Thank you for sharing your process and feedback with me. Enjoy it, dear!!
Cooking this tonight!!!!
Hi Arletta, I hope you love it! Let me know how it turns out!
Making this again Sunday. It will be my second time, this time adding chicken as well as shrimp (requested by the kiddos). Looking forward to each a delicious meal Sunday! Thank you for the recipe that is quick to make for a family of 11 ❤️
Hi Maria, So glad to hear this recipe was a hit! The added chicken sounds like it would be delicious! Thank you for sharing. Enjoy!
Making this tomorrow for Sunday dinner
Hello Nyree- enjoy! We love this dish so much! I hope you're doubling the recipe 😉
This turned out really really good! I doubled the sauce and added a little more beef bouillon and a little garlic salt to the veggies while they were cooking and it was amazing!
Thanks for the feedback, Dominique! 😀
EXCELLENT!!! I doubled this last night for my family of 4 so theoretically should serve 12. I figured even if some of us had second helpings, there should be enough for next night’s dinner. They gobbled it up and someone ate it during the night as well! Maybe one serving left. I will definitely make again and will always double it!
BTW, I only had onions and red bell pepper on hand (cooked together to save time) and used thin spaghetti noodles. Next time I’ll add more veggies. Great recipe!
Hi Diane- I'm so happy to hear you all loved it! This recipe is always a hit, and I'm surprised if theres ever leftovers, haha!
Based on all the reviews I am going to make this tonight (per recipe). Will let you know how it turns out. Have high hope as we do not have any quality Chinese restaurants around. Plenty of bad ones thought lol.
Ok, well my greatest fear in making this has come true. When I make something and it turns out really good, my wife does not want it anywhere except at home "sigh" This recipe is now going in our family cook book and saved on Pinterest as I am typing this, along with exactly what and how I did it. Mainly the vegetables I used as I stayed true to the recipe and will not make any changes. This was a grand slam and she has already told her parents about it after having the left overs today, which I might add were even better.
Hi Rob- thanks for updating us! So happy it was a hit for you guys! If you loved this recipe, try the beef lo mein as well. It's just as good!! 🙂
I Did, I made the shrimp for her and the beef for me, because I usually do not find the shrimp lo mien satisfying enough. Homemade and with this recipe, I could easily eat either and be happy.
Hi Rob- I hope you love it! This lo mein recipe is a hit for many. Enjoy!
Is There A Site On Utube Where I Can See. These Yummy Dishes Being Prepared With Ingredients And Store Options For Purchasing Ingredients. Any Suggestions Would Be Most Helpful…
Hi Tina - Hope you are well! Yes, you can visit our YouTube page for fun videos and tutorials. Find it here: https://www.youtube.com/user/…
Very tasty and I was even able to sneak in so many different types of vegetables for my picky family.
Couple of things that I did different that still worked. Used beef broth because I couldn't find what the recipe called for. Added baby bok choy and snow peas allow with the carrots and broccoli. Will probably add some mushrooms next time. Did have to add a little bit of cornstarch to the sauce to slightly thicken it. Also couldn't find egg noodles so used linguine instead which apparently works really well.
Definitely putting this recipe in the dinner rotation.
Hi Debbie, you're completely right lo mein is a great way to hide veggies and to get your whole family to eat them! I love all the additions you made, thank you for taking the time to comment and share them, I love hearing about all the variations people make to these recipes and how they make them work for their families!
Hi, I just wanted to thank you for sharing. I’ve made this multiple times and it’s a crowd pleaser! I don’t even order take out anymore. If I can make it myself goes on the list of things I won’t order take out for to help save money. Thanks again!
Hello, thank you very much for taking the time to comment. I am so glad you love the recipe, it really does save tons of money to make it homemade.
Could be good but next time will make changes. It is WAAAAAY too sweet. I doubled the sauce and would not double the sugar next time. Sauce needs something to thicken it. Directions say sesame oil is needed for the sauce but directions don’t mention it. If you’re new to cooking this recipe gives no time estimates for cooking anything.
Hey Paige, thank you for sharing your feedback. Lo Mein sauce is typically on a sweet side but your feedback would help those that don't like a sweet sauce. The sauce should thicken as you cook everything together. I hope you find a way to adjust it to your liking for the future. Thanks again!
This was so good! Tasted like takeout without all the greasy bad stuff
I am so glad you enjoyed the recipe, thank you for your feedback!
Hi! Is there any alternative to the beef bullion? Like beefj or chicken stock?
Hey, yes, you can always replace it with stock. I love the rich flavor of beef stock, it would be good here.
Have made this with shrimp, chicken and vegetables, so very good
I'm so glad you love the recipe, thank you for your feedback!
Delicious ! First attempt and was a big hit , thank you !
So glad you loved it, thank you for your feedback!!
The sauce itself is delicious, but even with double the sauce, the dish itself was not very flavorful. I'd likely need to make four times the amount of sauce. The total cook time was inaccurate. I was expecting this dish to be ready in 30 minutes, but instead it took me well over an hour. Next time, I would probably just cook the vegetable at once instead of doing them staggered. That is what took forever to cook.
Thank you for all of your feedback, Brittany, I'm glad that you enjoyed the shrimp lo mein!
Best lo mein recipe ever!! Made it twice in one week. Thanks so much for sharing the recipe!💕
I'm so glad the lo mein recipe turned out well and it that has become a staple, thank you for your feedback!
We had this for dinner tonight, and it was super yummy! Definitely making this again, many many times!! Super amazing 🙂
I'm so glad you enjoyed the recipe, thank you for your feedback!
I made this tonight and I like. It was very close to my favorite Chinese take out fine in restaurant. I say close because I should have made more sauce I think compared to the recipe I had double the noodles. I steamed my carrots for two minutes not sir fry on that. Added mushrooms, snow peas . Even so it is good, even without adding the extra sauce it was not bland, thank you darc
Hey Darcey, I am so happy to hear that you loved it. Yes, I would suggest adding more sauce if you add extra veggies tot he mix. Thank you for sharing this feedback!
I have to be soy free and I use Coco aminos. If sub soy sauce, should I omit the brown sugar, or cut back?
This would depend on your preference. I would add at least a little bit of it.
Great recipe! Easy to follow, super flavorful and good! We all loved it 🙂
Eden, thank you so much for that feedback.
This is incredible. The flavors are layered so perfectly. I could eat this almost every single day!
Betsy, thank you for sharing that. So good to hear!
This seems like such a tedious dish to me, but then it's actually so easy with your instructions! Thank you, it was delicious
Hey Allyson, so its so easy 🙂