Quick And Easy Chinese Shrimp Lo Mein

Easy to make homemade Chinese shrimp lo mein packed with tender and juicy shrimp, vegetables, and noodles. Packed with flavors and it will only take you about 30 minutes to put together and making this the perfect weeknight meal.

If you are a shrimp lo mein takeout fan then you will love my healthier recipe with a twist

What is Shrimp Lo Mein

Shrimp Lo mein is a Chinese 'tossed' noodle dish made with yellow noodles or "egg noodles," veggies, shrimp, and tossed with sauce. And of course, if you are not a shrimp fan, you can substitute for another protein.

Lo mein and chow mein may sound the same to you. But there is a slight difference. Lo mein is 'tossed' with sauce, and chow mein is a stir fry noodle dish. This makes lo mein healthier because it uses less oil.

What ingredients you will Need To Make Shrimp Lo Mein Recipe

Shrimp

Recommend using raw, peeled, and deveined shrimp. Raw shrimp can take on more flavor than cooked shrimp, but you can use frozen cooked shrimp. If you are planning on using frozen shrimp, let it thaw first before cooking.

What Vegetables to use in lo mein

What I love about lo mein noodles is you can use pretty much any vegetables you want. It is a great way to use up any vegetables about to go bad in your fridge or even leftover grilled vegetables. My favorite vegetables to use includes bok choy, spinach, bean sprouts, broccoli florets, cabbage, bell pepper, and peas.

Lo mein Noodles

You can find lo mein noodles or egg noodles at the grocery store in the international aisle in the Asian section or find them online. And if you don't have lo mein noodles on hand, see the below substitute.

Make your own lo mein Sauce

Making your own sauce is super easy to make right at home. All you need is coconut aminos, oyster sauce, and sesame oil to create a sweet and savory sauce. And if you love saucy noodles, double up the sauce recipe.

Traditional shrimp lo mein sauce is made with a combination of light and dark soy sauce. If you are looking for healthier alternatives, go for a low sodium soy sauce or try coconut amino. If you do use coconut aminos, you will notice your noodles will come out lighter in color than traditional soy sauce. But coconut aminos are naturally sweeter, so you won't need to add any added sugar. 

Go With Sesame Oil

I love using avocado oil for stir fry. But to add a nutty flavor to my lo mein dish, I like to finish it with a drizzle of sesame oil in my sauce. And if you are in for a full nutty treat, only use this oil in this recipe.

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Ingredients

1/2 lb Lo mein noodles
1 lb of raw shrimp peeled, Deveined
4 garlic cloves minced
3 tablespoon Avocado oil
2 cups Chinese bok choy
1 Cup Mushroom Of your choice
1/2 tablespoon fresh ginger grated

Lo Mein Sauce

1 Teaspoon sesame oil
2 tablespoons Shaoxing wine
4 tbsp coconut aminos
2 tablespoons oyster sauce

Garnish (optional)

Scallions or green onions

Directions

Lo Mein Sauce

1. In a small mixing cup, mix your ingredients together and until your sugar dissolves and set aside.

Lo Mein

1. In a large pan, wok, or a skillet, heat up avocado oil and stir fry sliced garlic on medium-high heat.
2. In a separate boiling pot, bring water to boil and cook your noodle according to package directions. Once it is cooked, set it aside.
3. Once start to see your stir fry garlic slices start to turn light brown, add shrimp to the pan. Cook each side of your shrimp for about 1 minute on each side. If you are using larger shrimp, it can take 4-5 minutes to cook. Make sure you DON'T fully cook the shrimp because you will have to return the shrimp back later on, so you don't want to overcook the shrimp. Once your shrimps are half cooked, place them in a bowl and set aside for later use.
4. Using the same cooking pan, add in your vegetables and sauté until it is softened.
5. Add in your cooked noodles and return shrimp back to the pan. Then pour in your sauce and let it cook for about 5 minutes, so all the ingredients take on the flavor.

Cooking Tips For Making this shrimp lo mein dish

• Unlike pasta, you don't need to rinse the noodles after cooking. Recommend cooking one minute less than instruction because you will cook it more in your sauce.
• Recommend to undercook your shrimp because you will cook it again with the sauce. Recommend a quick 1 minute on each side, depending on the size of your shrimp. You want to get them slightly pink.
• Layering is the key. While it is tempting just to cook everything at the same time, cooking separately and then all again together at the end will make a difference in texture.
• Don't have oyster sauce around? You can substitute this ingredient with hoisin sauce or soy sauce.

Nutritional

Serving size: 4

Amount per serving: Calories: 855 calories. Total Fat: 12.1g, Saturated Fat 1.7g. Cholesterol: 782mg. Sodium: 995mg. Total Carbohydrate: 79.3. Dietary fiber: 8g. Total Sugar: 9.g. Protein: 112g.

**The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.**

FAQ

Is shrimp lo mein healthy?

The short answer to this question will depend on how you prepare it. The traditional shrimp lo mein recipe is loaded with carb, oil, and sodium. But the good news is there is a way to make this dish healthier.

Here are some ways to make your shrimp lo mein recipe healthier:

• Use fewer noodles and more veggies. Veggies are so much more nutritious and lower calories than noodles, so load your dish up with fresh vegetables.
• Swap your soy sauce with coconut aminos. Coconut aminos have a very similar color and consistency to soy sauce. But unlike soy sauce, it contains less salt and has a sweet flavor. So if you use coconut aminos in the recipe, you don't need to add sugar. Sugar is often used in lo mein sauce, and this can easily be avoided. If you are sticking with the traditional recipe, swap your sugar or brown sugar with coconut sugar.
• Traditional shrimp lo mein recipe stir-fries with vegetable oil. Vegetable oil is highly refined and makes them less nutritional. For a healthy alternative, go for cold-pressed and organic avocado oil or sesame oil for this recipe.
• Some recipes call for a thickening agent for the sauce, if you find yours to be too liquidity, turn the heat up to high heat and let the liquid cook down.
• And by just making your own at home, it is healthier than restaurants or takeouts.

What types of noodles can you use as substitutes for lo mein noodles?

If you are unable to find lo mein noodles or egg noodles, you can use spaghetti, linguine, or ramen noodles. Chinese lo mein noodles are very similar to Italian pasta. And if you are going for a healthy alternative, go for a bean-based fettucini noodle or noodle.

Other Chinese Recipes You Will Love

Ordering take out is super tempting, but making your own favorite Chinese takeout inspired dish is much healthier and allow you to indulge without any guilt. Here are some healthier Chinese recipes you will love: