In the previous episode, I showed you how to do Chinese American Lo Mein. Today, I’d like to show you how to do the authentic Cantonese Lo Mein. In Chinese, on the surface, Lo Mein means to scoop the noodles out from the water. But in Cantonese, it also means to mix noodles. It usually uses egg noodles, accompanied by a bowl of soup on the side, and the person who eats it will mix everything together while eating them.
Authentic Lo Mein Noodles Recipe
1 package thin wonton egg noodles
3 tablespoons oil
1 bunch chopped scallions
2 ounces julienned Shanghai bok choy
2 ounces halved Shimeji mushrooms
2 ounces julienned chicken
2 cups chicken stock
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
1/2 teaspoon soy sauce
Pinch of salt
Pinch of pepper
Pinch of sugar
Dash of sesame oil
1 teaspoon cornstarch mix with 1 tablespoon water
1/2 teaspoon dark soy sauce
Instructions
- In a small pan, heat up 3 tablespoons of oil, add a bunch of chopped scallions and wait until the aroma comes out. Put it in a sauce bowl and set it aside.
- In a separate pot, boil water, and cook the noodles in a noodles drainer for 20 seconds. Next, take out the drainer and rinse it with cold water (過冷河). Then boil it in the hot water for another 5 seconds, and rinse with cold water one more time. (We are doing this because we want to take out the bitter taste of lye water and also make the noodles bouncier.) Now place the noodles in a bowl.
- Then in the same pot, boil the julienned Chinese broccoli, and then serve it on the noodles. Then also boil the julienned chicken and the mushrooms.
- In a separate pot, boil 2 cups of chicken stock, then transfer the cooked chicken and cooked mushrooms in here. Season with a tablespoon of oyster sauce, 1/2 of a teaspoon of soy sauce, a pinch of salt, a pinch of pepper, a pinch of sugar, a dash of sesame oil. And stir well. Then slowly pour in the corn starch water and stir the pot in a circular motion. Lastly, mix in 1/2 of a teaspoon of dark soy sauce.
