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.
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.
- Beef 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.
- Japchae (Korean Noodles) – If you haven’t tried japchae you are missing out. This Korean noodle dish is made with sweet potato glass noodles. Get ready to fall in love…
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 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.
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 🙂