Beef Lo Mein
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Category
American Chinese
Servings
2 people
Ingredients
- 2 portions of noodles I used 300 g / 10.6 oz of fresh egg noodles
- 1.5 tbsp soy sauce
- 3 tbsp of oyster sauce
- 3 tbsp of peanut oil
- 300 grams 10.6 oz of marinade beef
- 1/4 tsp of salt
- 1/8 tsp of baking soda
- 2 tbsp of cooking wine
- 1/2 tbsp of soy sauce
- 1/2 tbsp of cornstarch
- Black pepper to taste
- 1 medium-size onion sliced thinly
- 3 pieces of scallion cut into 2 inches long pieces
Directions
Slice 300 grams of beef into 1/8 of inches thick pieces. You can use beef chuck, flank, ribeye, sirloin steak.
- Marinade it with 1/4 tsp of salt, 1/8 tsp of baking soda, 1/2 tbsp of soy sauce, 2 tbsp Chinese cooking wine, 1/2 tbsp of cornstarch, some freshly ground black pepper to taste. Mix well and let it sit for 20 minutes.
- Bring a pot of water to a boil. Cook 2 portions of fresh egg noodles for 2-3 minutes. If you are using a different type of noodles, you have to follow the cooking instruction on the package.
- While waiting for the noodles, you should have enough time to cook the beef.
- I got many people asking me - why is my food sticking to my carbon steel wok? Well, you need to learn how to control the wok heat correctly.
- First, turn the heat to maximum and heat the wok until it is smoking hot. Then add some oil. Be generous with oil amount for this recipe because you want enough oil to coat the noodles so they don’t stick together while serving.
- Give it a toss so the oil will create a slight non-stick surface on the bottom. Wait for the oil to be smoking again. That means the wok is hot enough for you to add the marinade beef. Stir and cook. This way, the meat will not stick to the wok at all. That is how you control the wok heat correctly. We call it 掌握火候in Chinese.
- When the beef is halfway cooked, you should still be able to see some pink color here and there. Add a bunch of sliced onion. Stir for another 15 seconds.
- By now, the noodles should be ready. Quickly take them out. Shake off the excess water. Throw a bunch of scallion into the wok along with the cooked noodles. Turn off the heat. It is important, I will explain why later.
- Add 1.5 tbsp of soy sauce, 3 tbsp of oyster sauce, and 1.5 tsp of dark soy sauce. I will suggest you use a better quality oyster sauce since it is the key flavor. Mix until the seasoning is well combined and you are done.
Recipe Video
Recipe Note
I turned off the heat right before I add the noodles is because we are making Lo Mein, all you need to do is to stir and mix. If you keep the heat on, then, you are making Chao Mein, which means stir fry noodles. That’s the difference between lo mein and Chao Mein.
Give it a taste to adjust the flavor before serving because every brand of oyster sauce and soy sauce have a different level of sodium. You can add some toasted sesame oil at the end if you like. I don’t because I used peanut oil when cooking the beef.
