Takeout Style Chicken Lo Mein

^{As an Amazon affiliate, I receive a small commission at no cost to you if you choose to purchase through one of the links in this post. Thanks for your support!}

Takeout Style Lo Mein

Who needs takeout? Make this restaurant-style lo mein at home – keep it vegetarian or make it with chicken!

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 13 minutes mins

Course Main Course

Cuisine Chinese

Ingredients

  

• ½ pound boneless skinless chicken cut into small pieces
• 1 small onion sliced thin
• 1 pound broccoli slaw mix shredded raw broccoli, red cabbage and carrots
• 2 Tablespoons neutral-flavored oil I like sunflower oil
• ¼ cup soy sauce
• 1 Tablespoon cornstarch
• 2 Tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1 Tablespoon minced garlic about 6 cloves
• 1 ½ cups chicken broth
• 12 ounces dry of udon or lo mein noodles
• Chopped green onions for serving

Instructions

 

• In a medium bowl, mix together soy sauce and cornstarch until well combined.
• Mix in brown sugar, sesame oil, garlic and chicken broth and set aside.
• Prepare udon noodles according to package directions – but subtract a minute from the cooking time – drain, and set aside.
• Heat neutral flavored oil in a wok or a large pan with high sides over high heat.
• Add in onion and cook for until it begins to be translucent, about 2 minutes.
• Add chicken and cook for 2 more minutes, then add in broccoli slaw and continue to cook until chicken is cooked through and broccoli begins to soften.
• Pour in sauce and simmer until thickened. At this point, you will think it’s not thick enough. You will want to add more cornstarch. DON’T DO IT. Just trust me.
• Add in your cooked noodles and toss until coated in sauce.
• Cook until heated through. The starch from the noodles will thicken the sauce more.
• Sprinkle finished lo mein with chopped green onions and serve. For more fun, serve it in a takeout box!

Notes

Note: to make it vegetarian lo mein, omit the chicken and sub vegetable broth for the chicken broth. You can also use whatever vegetables you like, we like it best with the broccoli slaw!

Keyword easy chicken recipe, easy dinner, easy recipe, takeout dupe, weeknight dinner

If you like homemade Chinese style takeout, check out our recipe for Quick and Easy Fried Rice!

Obligatory Fictional Backstory

When my great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great grandfather sailed with Marco Polo on his return trip from China to Italy, he and the crew requested a hot meal. This was no easy feat, since you don’t want to have a fire on a ship for very long, seeing as they’re made of wood and all. G¹⁰-grandpa happened to have some pre-prepped udon noodles, along with some chicken, vegetables (it was early in the trip) and soy sauce, so he quickly drew together a plan.

Here is an excerpt from the note I found with the recipe: “The original recipe was a bit bland, so upon our landing I sought to improve it. I added the sesame oil and sugar, which really elevated the dish. Unfortunately, no one seemed to appreciate the recipe, so I am putting it away for a future generation. Perhaps they will enjoy it more.”

I made it for my family, and they loved it, so now I am sharing it with you!

Real Talk

I love good Chinese takeout. Like, LOVE it. Unfortunately I have pork and shellfish allergies so due to cross contamination I have not been able to find a restaurant that I don’t break out in hives from. Thus, I am figuring out how to make my favorites at home.

If you plan on making a lot of Chinese food at home, a wok really does make it easier than using a standard pan. My husband installed a hook on the side of our cabinets for me to hang it on so it doesn’t take up much storage space.