If you hate dishes, these slippery noodles are for you. Lazy dinners just got easier with this glorious Shrimp Lo Mein! Create a fiercely flavorful full meal in 25 minutes AND just one pot… because, let’s be real, you don’t deserve a mountain of dishes. Lazy dinners for the winnnn!
🎥 Watch How to Make the Recipe
🥘 Ingredients
Best Noodles for Lo Mein
I love using cooked fresh egg noodles because you save cooking time… and who can resist their thick chewy texture?! Easily find them at any local Asian store in the refrigerated section. You can find them labeled “Lo Mein Noodles”, but any fresh yellow egg noodles work (I’ve even used egg noodles labeled for pancit lol).
Dry noodles work too & are handy for last-minute dinners! If you use spaghetti (yep, those work too lol), just cut the noodle weight in the recipe by half when using dry pasta because they’ll expand once you’ve boiled them.
Vegetables
The secret to making the BEST stir-fry (or anything really) is to use what you LOVE! Customize your veggies however you like… Add more ‘shrooms. Swap the napa cabbage for bok choy. Cancel the carrots if they give you too much attitude lol. You’re the Gordon Ramsey of your kitchen!
This recipe for shrimp lo mein is also your opportunity for an easy fridge clean-up by tossing in those veggies hiding in the deep depths of your fridge before they go bad. Throw them in & give them their time to shine with this easy Shrimp Lo Mein recipe!
Sauce
This lo mein sauce recipe is the holy grail of stir-fry sauces because it also acts as the marinade! Yep, who doesn’t love a 2-for-1 deal?! Save time by making just a bit more of this flavorful sauce, so that plump shrimp soak up that deliciousness and sear to perfection! Not to mention your noodles will be glistening in all that glorious sauce.
- Shrimp: I like using large or jumbo peeled shrimp that's been deveined. It saves so much time! Not craving shrimp? Swap it out for Chicken Lo Mein, Beef Lo Mein, or Pork Lo Mein. If you're feeling fancy (or need to use up extra meat & seafood in the back of the freezer), use a combo & make House Special Lo Mein.
- Dark Soy Sauce: Ever wondered how some Chinese restaurants or Noodle recipes get that lusciously deep golden color on their noodles, while yours look like they’re struggling for a tan? *enter dark soy sauce* Level up your
noodlefood game with this not-so-secret ingredient that’ll have you feasting with your eyes too. - Soy Sauce: Regular soy sauce is the base of this sauce for its saltiness and umami!
- Shaoxing Wine: For that restaurant-quality flavor, grab this Chinese cooking wine that enhances flavors in sauces, marinates, and dishes.
- Oyster Sauce: An absolute must in every Asian pantry for sauces, marinades, and all things needing sweet, salty, umami flavor. All the flavors captured in one bottle! The Lee Kum Kee is my fave brand.
- Sesame Oil: This is the finishing touch for that signature subtle nuttiness you know and love from your fave Chinese Takeout Dishes.
See recipe card for quantities.
🔪 How to Make Shrimp Lo Mein
This super easy shrimp lo mein cooks in 3 parts - cook the shrimp, then vegetables, and lastly noodles in the sauce. Toss everything together and BOOM, dinner is ready!
Step 1: Cook Shrimp: Heat wok or large skillet on high with a little oil, then add the shrimp. Cook for a couple of minutes, until charred and JUST pink so they don’t overcook and turn rubbery. Remove and set aside.
Step 2: Cook Vegetables. Add onions and garlic, cooking for a few seconds until fragrant and the onions are slightly tender. Toss in the carrots, bell peppers, and cabbage. Cook for another 2-3 minutes until the veggies are tender but still have a bit of crunch.
Step 3: Toss in noodles and pour in lo mein sauce. Gently stir in the noodles and pour in the lo mein sauce. Cook the noodles carefully, making sure they don’t break. Let them cook for a few minutes until the sauce is fully absorbed and the noodles are tender. If the noodles seem dry, add a little water at a time, being careful not to water down the sauce.
Step 4: Add shrimp back in, and give it a final few tosses to combine. Turn off heat & garnish with green onions if you’re feeling fancy. Remove and enjoy!
👩🏽🍳 Key Tips on Homemade Lo Mein
- Cut Ingredients for Fast & Even Cooking: No one wants to bite into a raw crunchy carrot with a sad mushy one! Slice your veggies thinly and uniformly so they cook quickly and evenly.
- Unclump Those Noodles: Before tossing your noodles in the pan, make sure they’re not all clumped together. If you’re working with fresh noodles that are stuck from the packaging, quickly heat them in the microwave to make them soft, pliable, and easy to separate. Throwing cold, clumpy noodles straight into the pan? That’s a recipe for sad, broken noodles.
- Turn Up the Heat: When it comes to stir-frying, go big or go home! Grab that large wok or skillet and crank up the heat. You need a large cooking surface & high heat to make sure your ingredients sear instead of steam from overcrowding. Searing is where that smoky charred flavor is atttt for this seafood lo mein!
- Be Ready Before Turning on the Stove: This lo mein stir fry cooks SO quickly, so for you multi-taskers, this isn’t one of those meals that you can still prep ingredients while you’re cooking. Make sure you have your ingredients ready and within arm’s reach, otherwise, you might turn around and find a burned dinner!
- Secret to Cooking Veggies Perfectly: Stir-fry your veggies until they’re just tender but still have a bit of crunch in the middle. That perfect texture contrasts the chewy noodles beautifully and keeps their colors vibrant! Overcooked veggies release more moisture so you’ll end up with a watered-down stir-fry with mushy vegetables.
- Avoid Rubbery Shrimp: Sear the shrimp until they’re JUST pink, then remove them from the heat, and add them back in at the very end of the stir-fry. Avoid overcooking them, otherwise they’ll turn tough and rubbery instead of plump and tender.
💭 Recipe FAQs
Allow any leftover lo mein with shrimp to come to room temperature, then store it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
To reheat, cover the lo mein with a damp paper towel and the steam will help reheat the noodles without causing bloating or sogginess.
Shrimp lo mein is a popular Chinese-American comfort food with juicy shrimp, stir-fried veggies, and chewy noodles, all tossed in a sweet-savory lo mein sauce. It's the ultimate takeout dish, but super easy to make at home as a dinner in under 30 minutes!
🥗 What to Serve with Shrimp Lo Mein
Shrimp Lo Mein is a complete one-pot dinner, but if you want to do take-out at home, you can also serve it with:
- The most irresistible Honey Walnut Shrimp with plump crunchy shrimp tossed in a deliciously creamy sauce (that’s not too sweet), & topped with easy candied walnuts.
- My Eggplant Tofu Stir-Fry is a reader favorite, especially for those looking to satisfy vegetarians AND meat lovers. Even my husband is so satisfied, that he forgets there’s no meat!
- Szechuan Shrimp is crispy, and crunchy, with mouth tingling and numbing seasoning that keeps you coming back for more!
- No meal is complete without dessert and these beautifully golden Sesame Balls are crispy on the outside, chewy on the inside, and always gone faster than they’re made!
Let's Get Cooking!
For drool-worthy step-by-step videos, follow along @MikhaEats on Instagram & Tiktok - and don't forget to tag @MikhaEats for a chance to be featured!
Shrimp Lo Mein
Watch How to Make It!
Ingredients
LO MEIN SAUCE:
- 2 tablespoons dark soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine
- 2 teaspoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- ¼ teaspoon white pepper
MARINADE:
- 8 ounces large or jumbo shrimp peeled & deveined
- 1 tablespoon lo mein sauce
INGREDIENTS:
- 8 ounces lo mein noodles
- 5 cloves garlic minced
- ½ onion thinly sliced
- 1 cup napa cabbage thinly sliced
- 1 red bell pepper thinly sliced
- 1 carrot julienned
- 2 green onion cut into 2-inch slices
- 1 teaspoon sesame seeds optional for garnish
Instructions
- In a bowl, combine the sauce ingredients - dark soy sauce, shaoxing wine, soy sauce, oyster sauce, sesame oil, sugar, & white pepper. Set aside.
- In a separate bowl, combine the meat & 1 tablespoon of the lo mein sauce. Set aside to marinate while preparing the rest of the ingredients.
- Prepare noodles according to the package. Set aside.
- Heat a large pan or wok on medium-high heat. Add about a tablespoon of oil then once it’s hot, add the shrimp. Cook for about 1-2 minutes, or until cooked through. Remove & set aside.
- Toss in onions & cook for a few seconds, until they start to begin to turn tender but still crunchy. Add garlic & saute for a few more seconds, or until they’re fragrant.
- Add cabbage, bell peppers, and carrots. Cook for about 1 - 2 minutes, or until they begin to turn tender but still crunchy.
- Toss in noodles, pour in sauce, & gently mix together being careful not to break the noodles. Continue to cook for a few minutes until the sauce is completely absorbed into the noodles, then mix the shrimp back in.
- Turn off the heat, add the green onions, & give a final few tosses to allow the green onions to wilt from the residual heat. Garnish with sesame seeds if you’re feeling fancy & enjoy!
Notes
- Noodles: Fresh yellow egg noodles from the Asian market are typically use for lo mein, but instant noodles or even spaghetti noodles work too! Whichever kind of noodles you choose, prep the noodles according to the package. If you're using dry pasta like spaghetti noodles though, half the weight amount in the recipe.
- Regular & Dark Soy Sauce: Regular soy sauce is used for the saltiness & umami. Dark soy sauce is used for the rich dark color it gives the noodles & can be found online or any local Asian market. If you skip the dark soy sauce, just keep in mind your noodles will be much lighter in color than the photos (but still yummy!).
- Shaoxing Wine is a Chinese cooking wine that enhances the flavors of the sauce and gives that restaurant quality to the lo mein. You can find it online or Asian grocery store.
Nutrition
Exact calculations may vary. For the most accurate nutritional information, use your preferred nutrition calculator, actual ingredients, and quantities used for the recipe. Please consult with your physician or registered dietitian if more precise nutrition calculations are needed for health reasons.
HEY, I'M MIKHA!
...A fellow food lover who believes anyone can whip up a delicious meal - no matter your skill level! These quick & easy Asian recipes will help you transform simple ingredients into a drool-worthy meal for you & the people you love most - without spending all day in the kitchen.
Now come on - Grab a seat & let's eat!
Leave a Reply