Beef and Vegetable Lo Mein. A quick and easy Chinese recipe using fresh ingredients. Tender beef, crisp vegetables, and egg noodles all coated in a delicious Oriental sauce. This is so tasty, easy to make and doesn't take long at all!
What are the best noodles to use for Lo Mein?
The simple answer is you can pretty much use any type of noodles, with the exception of vermicelli. We wouldn't recommend those for this recipe because of the sauce we use. They will have a tendency to go very slushy ad wet, given the vermicelli noodles are so thin. They are best used in a 'drier' fried noodle recipe, so they maintain their structure.
There are many types of noodles available in the shops, ranging from egg noodles (yellow) to rice noodles (white).
They also come in different shapes and thicknesses, and as you would expect, recipes will differ according to the type of noodle, as well as the country/region where it is most popular.
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This recipe for Beef and Vegetable Lo Mein I am sharing is using egg noodles.
What is lo mein?
Lo Mein, is a dish that is often served in addition to a variety of other dishes in Chinese cuisine. It usually comprises of meat and some vegetables, and all combined in a delicious sauce.
What vegetables can I use?
Regarding the vegetables, I simply choose whatever is in season at the time, and ones that will add a little texture and crunch to the dish.
Vegetables such as broccoli, sugar snap peas, mange tout, mushrooms, green beans, bell peppers, the sky's the limit!
So you choose what you know your family enjoys!
I have made this recipe using the ingredients listed below, but you can of course swap the beef for chicken, pork, tofu, or leave the protein out completely.
The trick with making any Chinese food and its guaranteed success is to prepare everything beforehand.
You need to get all your ingredients together, chopped, diced, sauces prepared, absolutely everything that belongs in a recipe must be at hand when you fire your wok up!
So let's get straight to the recipe and see how we make our Beef and Vegetable Lo Mein. Please enjoy!
Ingredients
8 oz or 250 g of Chinese egg noodles (dried or fresh)
8 oz or 250 g fillet or sirloin beef thinly sliced,
½ cup or 70 g Cashew Nuts
1 cup or 65 g mushrooms cut quarters
¼ of whole broccoli, in to bite size florets
1 cup or 65 g Sugar Snap Peas
The marinade
3 teaspoons cornflour / cornstarch
1 Tablespoon light soy sauce
1 Tablespoon Oyster sauce
1 teaspoon sugar
1 Tablespoon brandy
1 teaspoon sesame oil
½ teaspoon white pepper
1-inch piece of ginger, peeled and finely chopped
2 cloves garlic finely chopped
½ cup cold water (set aside)
Garnish (optional)
1 spring onions/scallions
A handful of fresh coriander/cilantro
Instructions
Prepare the noodles
1. If using dried noodles, soak them in cold water for 30 minutes or until soft and you can separate them. Then drain and set aside.
In the mean time, you can prepare the remaining ingredients.
Prepare the vegetables & meat
2. Start by cutting the vegetables into bite sized pieces then par boil them (except mushrooms) or place in a bowl covered with water and cook for 6 - 7 minutes until tender to your liking.
Once cooked, replace the hot water with cold water to stop them from cooking further and to keep the color nice and bright. Set aside.
3. Slice the meat into very thin strips and place in a bowl.
Marinade the meat
4. Add all the ingredients from the Marinade, EXCEPT the ½ cup of cold water to the sliced meat.
Mix everything very well, then add 2 Tablespoons of water from your ½ cup of water and combine well. (you can do this ahead and keep covered in the fridge until you are ready to cook dinner).
Cook everything
5. Heat your wok until it is very hot
* If using a nonstick wok, no need to add any oil.
6. Add the marinated meat and then the mushrooms and cashew nuts, and stir until cooked through.
7. Add the vegetables and stir continuously so the bottom does not burn.
8. When everything is sizzling hot, about 2-3 minutes after adding, use the remaining ½ cup of cold water (from the marinade ingredients) and pour the water around the side of the wok, and combine with all the ingredients.
9. Add the noodles and combine with all the ingredients.
Stir until the noodles have heated through. About 2-3 minutes.
Sprinkle the scallions / spring onions & coriander / cilantro
And serve!
We'd love to hear from you and what you thought of our post. Did you make any changes or add some other goodies? Let us know in the comments below. Thanks for reading and happy cooking!
Recipe Card
Beef and Vegetable Lo Mein
Beef and Vegetable Lo Mein. A quick and easy Chineserecipe using fresh ingredients. Tender beef, crisp vegetables and egg noodlesall coated in a delicious Oriental sauce.
Ingredients
- 8 oz or 250 g of Chinese egg noodles, dried or fresh
- 8 oz or 250 g fillet or sirloin beef thinly sliced
- ½ cup or 70 g Cashew Nuts
- 1 cup or 65 g mushrooms cut quarters
- ¼ in of whole broccoli, to bite size florets
- 1 cup or 65 g Sugar Snap Peas
The marinade
- 3 teaspoons cornflour / cornstarch
- 1 Tablespoon light soy sauce
- 1 Tablespoon Oyster sauce
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 Tablespoon brandy
- 1 teaspoons sesame oil
- ½ teaspoon white pepper
- 1 inch piece of ginger, peeled and finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic finely chopped
- ½ cup cold water, set aside
Garnish (optional)
- 1 spring onions / scallions
- A handful of fresh coriander / cilantro
Instructions
- Prepare the noodles
- If using dried noodles, soak them in cold water for 30 minutes or until soft and you can separate them. Then drain and set aside. In the mean time, you can prepare the remaining ingredients.
- Prepare the vegetables & meat
- Start by cutting the vegetables into bite sized pieces then par boil them (except mushrooms) or place in a bowl covered with water and cook for 6 - 7 minutes until tender to your liking. Once cooked, replace the hot water with cold water to stop them from cooking further and to keep the colour nice and bright. Set aside.
- Slice the meat into very thin strips and place in a bowl.
- Marinade the meat
- Add all the ingredients from the Marinade, EXCEPT the ½ cup of cold water to the sliced meat. Mix everything very well, then add 2 Tablespoons of water from your ½ cup of water and combine well. (you can do this ahead and keep covered in the fridge until you are ready to cook dinner).
- Cook everything
- Heat your wok until it is very hot ** If using a non stick wok, no need to add any oil.
- Add the marinated meat and then the mushrooms and cashew nuts, and stir until cooked through.
- Add the vegetables and stir continuously so the bottom does not burn.
- When everything is sizzling hot, about 2-3 minutes after adding, use the remaining ½ cup of cold water (from the marinade ingredients) and pour the water around the side of the wok, and combine with all the ingredients. Stir until the water thickens in to a sauce.
- Add the noodles and combine with all the ingredients. Stir until the noodles have heated through. About 2-3 minutes.
- Sprinkle the scallions / spring onions & coriander / cilantro
- And serve!
Notes
These noodles usually come in packs of rectangular blocks. As a guide, allow 1-2 blocks per person, depending on appetite! The noodles are dried and will keep in your cupboard as you would dried pasta.
The Brandy in the marinade is used as a tenderiser as well as part of the flavouring. It really does make a difference to the overall taste of the dish so please try to use it!
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 4 Serving Size: 4Amount Per Serving: Calories: 395Total Fat: 20gSaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 12gCholesterol: 76mgSodium: 557mgCarbohydrates: 30gFiber: 3gSugar: 4gProtein: 24g
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Barbara
says:How would I make a plain lo mein? Just use the marinade? Is Brandy really needed? Thank you
Lovefoodies
says:Hi Barbara, I’m not sure what you mean by making it plain, without the mean or the flavors? The brandy is used to marinade the meat and give it a very tender texture. If you don’t want to use brandy, you could use dry sherry, or rice wine. Alternatively, if you don’t want to use alcohol at all, you can use a tablespoon of balsamic vinegar to the meat. This will, of course, change the flavor, but it will tenderise the meat and still taste delicious! Hope that helps!
Marlene
says:I enjoy using your recipes. They come together nicely. Love your roll recipe!!!
cmblake6
says:And now I’m drooling all over myself. YUM!!!!!
lovefoodies
says:Hehe! I’m glad you like it!!
Healing Tomato
says:Great recipe for Lo-Mein. This is exactly how low-mein should be done.
Cindy @ Hun What's for Dinner?
says:Oh My, does this every look good!!! I love adding cashews to Asian dishes.
lovefoodies
says:Thanks Cindy, yes, I love to add cashews, especially to stir frys . Always so tasty!
Fiona
says:Yummy!
April J Harris
says:What a delicious looking stir fry, Mary! The marinade sounds so tasty and I love how the contrast of colours and textures.
lovefoodies
says:Thank you very much April. I’m so happy you like my recipe!
Connie Stenke
says:It prints all over the enlarged picture and is hard to read the recipe and directions