Easy Beef Lo Mein Recipe with lo mein noodles, juicy tender beef steak, crisp vegetables and seasoned with homemade stir fry sauce. Quick and easy dinner ready in 20 minutes and incredibly delicious!
We can find this dish in most Chinese restaurants and one of the most popular noodles that we always loves to order again and again. In this recipe I'll share my homemade version of beef lo mein recipe with everyday simple ingredients but it tastes just like you've had at your favourite Chinese restaurant! Maybe better!
What is Lo Mein Noodles?
Lo Mein Noodles are basically made of flour and egg and thick round texture. In Cantonese, it means tossed noodles and you can add in your stir fry, soup or braised noodle dishes. The main difference with chow mein noodles is texture and preparation, chow mein noodles are thinner in texture and fried until slightly crisp. While lo mein is a wet stir fry dish tossed in loads of sauce, meat and vegetables.
You don't need any wok skills, special ingredients or equipment to create this dish. You can use wok, skillet or any large non-stick pan, just make sure your pan is hot and large enough to toss the noodles evenly. With our simple tips, you can create restaurant-quality beef lo mein, which taste way better than any takeout! Super fast and super budget-friendly too!
Ingredients you will need
Noodles :
Lo mein noodles are thick and chewy yellow noodles, made with egg, wheat flour and water. To taste like an authentic Chinese Lo Mein recipe, I recommend to use fresh lo mein noodles which can be find at Chinese/Oriental supermarkets fridge section. However, for those who can't get fresh lo mein, we can make it happen with the nearest substitute, like spaghetti, linguine, ramen, chow mein or any of your favourite egg noodles would works with this recipe. You just need to prepare the noodles by the packet instructions.
My tips to prepare noodles: if you use fresh noodles, blanch the noodles with hot water for 1-2 minutes and separate the noodles strands. Drizzle a bit of sesame or vegetable oil on the noodles, mix well and set aside. If you use dried noodles, boiling the noodles by the packet instructions, rinse with cold water, drizzle a bit of vegetable or sesame oil. Make sure you don’t over boil them since they still need to be tossed with sauce later.
Protein :
I usually use sirloin or ribeye beef steak for this recipe. However, it's up to you to use any of your favourite tender beef, chicken or seafood for this recipe.
My simple tip is to cut the beef into thin slices, against the grain to achieve the juicy tender result.
Vegetables :
Use any stir fry vegetables that you have in your fridge. I usually love to add, cabbage, carrot, mushroom, sweet large onion, snow peas and bell peppers in my lo mein. Bok choy, napa cabbage, broccoli, baby corn goes well too!
Lo Mein Sauce :
Like most Chinese stir fry sauce, lo mein sauce is simply mixed with light soy sauce, oyster sauce, dark soy sauce, Shaoxing wine, sesame oil, sugar, and white pepper. It might look like you have to add loads of sauce ingredients but, this homemade sauce mix tastes better than any store-bought stir fry sauce you have ever tried! It tastes sweet and savoury same time and gives the dish a mouth-watering result.
How to serve this dish
We normally have it crispy chilli oil and chopped spring onions on the sides. Pair it with Chicken Spring Roll or Crispy Fried Wonton as a starter and Hot and Sour Soup or Chicken Corn Soup and make it a delicious wholesome dinner. For drink, Chinese tea, jasmine tea or a can of cold drink would be perfect!
More of our family's favourite Chinese takeout recipes:
If you enjoy our recipe, please leave a comment and give us a rating! If you've tried this recipe, tag me on social medias, I would love to see your creations! Follow me on social medias Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest for latest updates.
📖 Recipe
Beef Lo Mein
Ingredients
- 400 gram (14 oz) Fresh Lo Mein noodles ( or cooked egg noodles ) see in note
- 250 gram (9 oz) Beef sirloin tenderloin/rump or any tender meat cut
- 3-4 Mushrooms (sliced)
- 2-3 Spring Onions ( cut 2" pieces )
- 1 Bell pepper ( julienned )
- 2-3 Cabbage leaves ( thin slices )
- 5-6 Snow Peas
- 1 Small carrot ( julienned )
- 2 tbsp Vegetable oil
Sauce Mix
- 2 tbsp Light soy sauce
- 1 tbsp Sesame oil
- 2 tsp Dark soy sauce
- 4 tbsp Oyster sauce
- 1 tbsp Sugar
- 1 tbsp Shaoxing wine (Or Water or Rice Vinegar) See in note
- ¼ tsp White pepper
Beef Marinade
- 1 tbsp Sauce Mix
- 1 tsp Corn starch
- ¼ tsp Baking soda
Instructions
- Blanch the noodles with hot water for 1-2 minutes, drizzle a bit of sesame oil mix well and set aside.
- Mix all the sauce ingredients in a small mixing bowl and set aside.
- Prepare all the vegetables by wash and cut into slices. Cut the beef steak into thin slices against the grain.
- Marinate the beef slices with a tablespoon of sauce mixture for 10-15 minutes and set aside.
- Heat the wok or pan over medium-high heat, drizzle 2 tablespoon of oil, add the beef slices. Flatten the beef and sear for 1-2 minutes and continue stir fry for another 1-2 minutes.
- Then follow with the vegetables, start adding from the hard one. Cook for 1-2 minutes.
- Make a space in the middle of wok, add the noodles and pour the sauce mixture in.
- Toss all the ingredients and noodles well to combine evenly for 2-3 minutes until cook through.
- Remove from heat and transfer to serving plate. You can topped with extra chopped spring onions and chilli oil according to your taste. Serve immediately! Enjoy!
Video
Notes
- Lo Mein Noodles - you can buy fresh lo mein noodles in most Chinese/Oriental groceries fridge section. It's also known as Hokkien noodles in some of the packagings. You can use any fresh, frozen, or dry egg noodles for this recipe. Prepare by the packet instructions before adding in a stir fry.
- Shaoxing Wine - is a Chinese cooking rice wine that brings more aroma to the noodles. As Shaoxing If you want to avoid cooking wine and make a non-alcohol version, you can substitute it with water or rice vinegar.
Alicia says
I have made this 6 times now with substitutions based off what I currently have in my pantry (brown sugar, normal white wine, etc) and it’s always amazing. Making it again tonight with chicken just to see if that works too (what I thought I defrosted this morning wasn’t beef 😂😂)
Khin says
Wonderful! So happy that you enjoyed this recipe and made your own versions of it! I love to cook with chicken too. Thank you for taking time and sharing your feedback, Alicia.
Alicia says
Came back to say it was amazing and have since made it with tofu and vegan chicken with vegan oyster sauce and my vegetarian husband loved it. This recipe is staying with me forever.
Tessa K says
There's a Chinese restaurant down the street that has fantastic lo mein and this tastes exactly like it! I added a little shaoxing wine, a pinch of Chinese five spice and doubled the garlic because I love garlic👌🏽 thank you for posting this recipe! My search is over and for the price of food these days, I can make it at home for much much cheaper.
Khin says
Very happy that you enjoyed this recipe, Tessa. Sounds so delicious with extra garlic and Chinese five spices. Thanks for taking time and sharing feedback with us.
Gigi says
another great recipe.
my kids love it too. thank you
Denise Osborne says
Absolutely delicious! I couldn't find lo main noodles, so I used Udon noodles. I'm going to try it with chicken thighs.
Noel says
Absolutely delicious😋
Christine says
I made this tonight and it was so delicious! Family loved it. It’s easy to prepare and it’s better than take out. 😊
Thank you for your great recipes.
Khin says
Very pleased that you enjoyed it, Christine. Thanks for trying it out and sharing comments.
Cally says
I have used chicken, pork and beef. still cant decide which is best. just love this receipe! As readers have said so quick to.prepare and looks totally gourmet ! love the flavors!
Khin says
So glad that you enjoyed it, Cally! Thanks for sharing feedback.
Laura says
Real quick, easy and DELICIOUS!
Khin says
So glad that you enjoyed our lo mein recipe, thanks Laura.
Ineke says
heelijk. wij zijn gek op wok. dit recept klopt gewoon. super makkelijk. complimenten.
ga nog meer van je recepten maken.
groetjes ineke
Khin says
Thank you for taking the time and writing a comment, Ineke! Happy that you enjoy our recipes. ( I read your comment with google translations. 🙂 )
Naomi Morales says
I will enjoy making the beef lo mein I enjoy it so much thank you
Khin says
Wondeful! Very pleased that you enjoyed it Naomi. Thanks for sharing feedback with us.
E says
I love it
Phyllis says
So delicious! I added my own mix of veggies in addition to recipe.. broccoli, onions, sugar snap peas and bok choy! I also added some garlic and ginger!
Khin says
So glad that you enjoyed it, Phyllis. Thanks for sharing feedback with us.
Lola says
Absolute family favourite now. Thanks for sharing easy recipe.
Pete says
The best beef lo mein that I’ve tried. Made it so many times already. Keep up with good work.
Khin says
Thank you Pete. So glad that you enjoyed this recipe.
Tracie says
Omg this was the best lime in I have ever tasted way better than takeout, my family loved this dish! Making it again tonight. Thank you for sharing this wonderful recipe’
Khin says
So glad that you enjoyed it, Tracie. Thanks for trying out and sharing feedback.