This Chicken Lo Mein Recipe – Easy, Satisfying, Delicious, and Comforting…!

So, let’s talk about comfort food today…We all have our own Comfort Food Haven! It usually consists of dishes from our native cuisine and may extend to a few from other cuisines too. They become an integral part of our life; be it a day when you are not in a good mood / unwell, or while away and miss your home n family, or even just lazy on a weekend and longing to cook a quick meal. Apart from Indian dishes I do have my collection of comfort foods, especially the ones which I can cook in 30 minutes or less on my lazy days. And among those, Asian recipes take the top spot! In India, we are so familiar with Asian recipes like stir fry noodles, fried rice, momos, & manchurian recipes, although the preparations differ mainly from a spice stand point with lots of pepper, vinegar and some soya sauce added, to make the Indianized versions of them complete. And if you didn’t know, in India these dishes are a major attraction at road side eateries too.

I am a big fan of Stir fry noodle recipes; be it Indianized, Lo Mein or Pad Thai, I just love it! This Chicken Lo Mien recipe is one of my favorites which I keep on repeating often. I can confidently say that this is the easiest foolproof recipe of Chicken Lo Mein, and all it takes is just 30 minutes to cook.  The sauce in this recipe is a Star, and you should now seriously consider skipping the Chinese takeouts and make your own Chicken Lo Mein at home with this simple homemade sauce. It is flavorful, light, slightly sweet, and the best part of all – like any Asian recipe, you can modify it with your choice of veggies and protein. (Check Notes)

Pro tip: Start preparing your noodles in a pot parallelly while you cook chicken and veggies in a wok/pan. While everything is cooking, prepare the sauce too in a separate bowl. That’s a Superman’s work, I know, but this can save you time as everything comes together easily and all you need do in the end is it to toss all four (chicken, veggies, noodles, sauce) and Enjoy…!!

Cheers, Happy Cooking…!

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Chicken Lo Mein

Stir Fried Chicken Lo Mein Noodles with Veggies tossed in a simple Homemade Sauce… So Easy and Yummilicious, better than your Chinese takeout…!!

Course Main Course

Cuisine Chinese

Keyword chicken lo mein

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes minutes

Total Time 30 minutes minutes

Servings 3

Author Akhila

Ingredients

For the sauce

• 2 tbsp oyster sauce
• 3 tbsp low sodium soya sauce
• 1 tbsp brown sugar
• Pinch of red chili flakes

For the Chicken Lo Mein

• 1 boneless skinless chicken breast (cut into thin strips)
• 8 oz. Egg noodles / Chinese Lo Mein noodles / Udon / Spaghetti
• 2 garlic (minced)
• ½ inch sized ginger (minced)
• 1 red bell pepper (sliced)
• 1 carrot (sliced into sticks)
• 1 cup broccoli florets
• Spring onions (finely chopped)
• Sesame seeds (garnish)
• Sesame oi/vegetable oil (as required)
• Salt and pepper (as required)

Instructions

• Cook the noodles according to package directions. Drain the noodles and toss in some oil to prevent sticking. Keep aside.
• Prepare the sauce by whisking the ingredients listed for the sauce in a small bowl and set aside for later use.
• Heat some oil in a pan / wok on medium heat and add chicken strips. Season with salt and pepper. Cook the chicken for 3-4 minutes until it is cooked well on both sides and no longer pink inside. Remove from the pan and keep aside.
• In the same pan add oil (if necessary), sauté ginger and garlic until fragrant, followed by adding sliced veggies, and season with salt n pepper. Cook for 2 minutes or until the veggies are soft.
• Transfer the cooked noodles and chicken, to the pan with veggies. Pour the prepared sauce, toss for 2 minutes to mix everything together.
• Garnish with chopped spring onions and sesame seeds.
• Serve hot immediately.

Notes

1. Choice of Ingredients:
   • Veggies: Bell Pepper, Broccoli, Carrots, Beans, Bean sprouts, Mushroom, Cabbage, Zucchini, Bok Choy, Snow Peas.
   • Protein: Chicken, Beef, Shrimp, Egg, Tofu, Paneer

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How has your winter been so far? New Year has turned Missouri into a chilly and a windy state, limiting me to indoors most of the time. Still I love it, as being a food blogger I get to focus more on my work and makes me say… “Ya baby, winter is nice!”. But it’s the weekend snowstorms and freezing rains which make me say “Grrrr, I hate this…”.

So coming to my recipe of the day, here I am with a dish perfectly suited to warm you up, and is vegetarian with Tofu as the hero… a simple Fried Rice. This year as part of my “Blogging Resolution”, I plan to bring you a lot of healthy recipes. In the first year of my blog I was so excited to add all my favorites without worrying about the calories, but now it’s time to get healthy and of course in a delicious way. Ahaa…!

This is my first Tofu recipe as it is not popular in my hometown, and a similar substitute we are often used too is Paneer (cottage cheese). It was after moving to the US and visiting restaurants with my vegetarian friends/relatives did I get to taste Tofu. Hope that gives you a picture of my non-veg cravings, hehe! I personally never order vegetarian food outside, but the mouth watery vegetarian dishes on my friends plates make me dig into it. May be a good reason to hang out more with veggie friends and stay healthy (wink)!

For this recipe, you can use all types of vegetables along with paneer or even meat. Other than Tofu, Edamame is another healthy ingredient I have added and is my first. What I love about preparing a fried rice dish is the ease of cooking, and the best option to make use of all your leftover veggies/meat in your pantry, including the rice.

With any fried rice recipe, it is a known fact that a day old cooked rice works the best. Freshly cooked rice contains moisture which doesn’t help in roasting it properly. But when sat in a refrigerator overnight, there is no moisture left in it and the rice stays separated, which is perfect for stir frying.

Tofu is a healthy way to include a protein to your rice and veggies. But the tricky part in making a delicious tofu fried rice is draining the tofu completely of water, which otherwise will not allow the marinade to mix well and would taste bland.

Check out my Notes section for additional Tofu & Rice cooking tips.

Enjoy…!!!!

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Tofu Fried Rice

Healthy n Yummy restaurant style Tofu Fried Rice…! Loaded with Edamame, Carrots, Bell Peppers, and Onions... Substitute Tofu with Paneer or a Protein of your choice and this recipe still delivers a Simply Delicious Treat…!!!

Course Main Course

Cuisine Chinese

Keyword asian, fried rice, tofu fried rice

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes minutes

Total Time 30 minutes minutes

Servings 3

Author Akhila

Ingredients

Sauce for Tofu

• 12 oz extra firm tofu (drained and pressed for at least 20 minutes)
• 2 garlic cloves (minced)
• 1 tbsp soya sauce
• 1 tsp sriracha sauce
• 1 tsp brown sugar
• 1 tbsp oil
• a pinch of salt

For Fried Rice

• 1 cup cooked rice (I have used basmati rice)
• 1 1/4 cup water
• 1 tsp oil (for rice)
• 2 garlic cloves (minced)
• 1/2 cup carrots (chopped)
• 1/2 cup red and green bell peppers (chopped)
• 1/2 cup edamame
• 1/2 of yellow onion (sliced)
• 1/2 cup spring onions (chopped)
• 2 tbsp soya sauce
• 2 tsp sriracha sauce
• 2 tbsp oil (add more if necessary)
• 1 tsp brown sugar
• salt (as required)

Instructions

• Wash rice in cold water thrice. Drain and soak in cold water for 30 minutes.
• Cook the rice, add a pinch of salt and a drizzle of oil while cooking. Once done, keep aside. Refer notes for additional rice cooking pointers.
• Prepare the sauce for the rice by whisking soya sauce, sriracha sauce, brown sugar, pinch of salt in a small bowl. Keep aside.
• Drain, dry, and cook the tofu. Refer notes for detailed instructions.
• Prepare the tofu marinade by mixing soya sauce, sriracha sauce, garlic, brown sugar, oil and a pinch of salt, in a small bowl. Whisk it well. Pour it onto the cubed tofu and marinate, allow it to sit for 10 minutes. Be careful not to crumble the tofu while marinating.
• Heat 1 tbsp oil in a pan/wok, pan fry tofu on a medium flame till its sides start turning brown, 2 minutes on each side should do. Remove the fried tofu from the pan and keep aside.
• To the same pan, add the minced garlic and saute until fragrant. Add salt and the remaining vegetables; carrots, bell peppers, edamame, onions, a handful of spring onions (reserve some to garnish later), and saute on a medium flame. Stir fry for 3-4 minutes until the vegetables turn tender. Remove from the pan and set aside.
• Heat 1 tbsp oil in the same pan and stir fry the cooked rice for 4 minutes on a medium flame. Add the prepared sauce for the rice and stir to mix well. Add the cooked tofu and vegetables, and toss to mix with the rice. Place the lid and cook for a minute.
• Garnish with spring onions.
• Serve hot with a sauce of your choice (I prefer Sriracha sauce).

Notes

1. You can use this recipe to substitute tofu with paneer, meat, vegetables, or any protein of your choice.

Preparing Fried Rice

1. Texture of the cooked rice is very important in making a good fried rice dish. Rice cooked a day ago works the best as it would be dry which is crucial. But if you couldn’t plan in advance, make sure to completely cool the cooked rice by spreading on a plate, before preparing the fried rice.
2. You can use any long or medium grain white rice like basmati, jasmine or brown rice.
3. Make sure your pan is really hot before stir frying rice.

Preparation of Tofu

1. When shopping for tofu, look for extra firm one. Extra firm tofu works well.
2. Drain the tofu completely of water before cooking. You can place it between paper towels and keep pressed with a weight on top, this will release the water. Repeat as many times till it is dry.
3. Cut tofu into cubes.
4. Cook the tofu when the pan is really hot.

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