Chicken Lo Mein with Cabbage and Scallions
Wok-tossed egg noodles with seared chicken and cabbage in a fast soy-oyster sauce, done quicker than delivery arrives.
- Serves
- 4
- Prep
- 15 min
- Cook
- 15 min
- Written
Method
-
Boil the noodles until just tender, drain, and toss with a splash of the sesame oil so they don’t clump while you cook everything else.
-
Season the chicken with salt. Sear in 1 tbsp oil in a hot wok or large skillet until browned and cooked through, 4-5 minutes, then transfer to a plate.
-
Add the remaining oil, then the cabbage and carrots. Stir-fry until the cabbage wilts but the carrots still have bite, about 2 minutes.
-
Add the garlic and ginger and stir until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
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Return the chicken to the pan along with the noodles, soy sauce, oyster sauce, remaining sesame oil, sugar, and white pepper. Toss until every strand is coated and everything is hot.
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Add the scallions, toss for 30 seconds more, and finish with sesame seeds.
Notes
The pan needs to be properly hot before anything goes in — lo mein tossed over low heat steams instead of stir-frying, and the noodles turn gummy instead of glossy. Get everything chopped and the sauce measured out before you start, because once the chicken hits the oil there’s no time to prep mid-stir.
No fresh lo mein noodles at the store isn’t a dealbreaker — dried spaghetti or linguine cooked one minute short of the package time works fine. Swap the chicken for shrimp (added raw, cooked 2 minutes) or cubed firm tofu if you’d rather, and throw in whatever else needs using up: bell pepper and snow peas both take well to the same sauce.