Homemade Chicken Lo Mein: Restaurant Quality Comfort Food
If you’ve found yourself craving the rich, smoky, and perfectly balanced flavors of restaurant-style lo mein, this recipe is here to answer that call. It’s packed with vegetables, tender chicken, and a savory-sweet sauce that clings to every strand of spaghetti. Yes, spaghetti! This versatile and budget-friendly noodle alternative makes this dish both accessible and satisfying for feeding a hungry crowd. Just be sure you have a wok as that’s the best way to cook this chicken lo mein!
Why This Recipe Works
- Balanced Flavors: The sauce brings together low sodium soy sauce, brown sugar and hoisin as the base. Rice vinegar and ground ginger brighten it up while the sesame oil brings smokiness and the chili crunch adds warmth. It’s the perfect umami punch.
- Loaded with Vegetables: Crisp green cabbage, broccoli, matchstick carrots, sugar snap peas, yellow onions and green onions make this a colorful, nutrient-packed dish. Feel free to swap in your favorite veggies or use up what’s in your fridge!
- Tender Chicken: The chicken is thinly sliced and marinated in a technique called velveting, which ensures it stays juicy and tender during cooking.
- Customizable and Easy: While traditional lo mein noodles are great, spaghetti works beautifully here — delivering the same slurp-worthy experience at a fraction of the cost.
This homemade chicken lo mein is amazing hot and fresh but leftovers reheat beautifully. Whether it’s a family dinner, meal prep for the week or an impressive dish for gathering, this recipe delivers restaurant-quality results. Feel free to make it your own by swapping out the veggies, protein or noodles. No matter how you customize it, this lo mein is sure to be a hit.
Chicken Lo Mein
Ingredients
Lo Mein
- 1 lb spaghetti noodles al dente, rinsed in cold water
- 2 c sugar snap peas
- 3 c green cabbage sliced
- 3 c broccoli florets cut into bite-size pieces
- 1 bunch green onions sliced
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 c shitake mushrooms sliced
- 1 c matchstick carrots
- 1/2 medium yellow onion sliced
- 2 chicken breasts thinly sliced
Chicken Marinade
- 4 tsp corn starch
- 4 tsp water
- 4 tsp vegetable oil
- 1 tbsp oyster sauce
Lo Mein Sauce
- 3/4 c low sodium soy sauce
- 1/3 c brown sugar heaping
- 1 1/2 tbsp hoisin sauce
- 3/4 tsp ground ginger
- 3 tbsp rice vinegar
- 1 1/2 tbsp sesame oil
- 1 tbsp chili crunch heaping
- 2 tsp cornstarch
Instructions
- Whisk together all the chicken marinade ingredients in a bowl. Thinly slice chicken going against the grain and place in the marinade. Mix and set aside.
- Boil spaghetti noodles in salted water until al dente. Drain and rinse under cold water for a minute.
- While the water boils for the spaghetti, prepare your vegetables. Be sure to string the sugar snap peas on both sides. Thinly slice the cabbage, you'll only use about 1/4 of a medium sized head. Mince the garlic, slice the green onions, yellow onion and shitake mushrooms. Cut the broccoli into bite size pieces, you'll use about 2 crowns of broccoli.
- Heat 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil in a wok over high heat for 2 minutes. Add half the chicken. Cook on both sides until all pink is gone and the outside is golden brown, about 5 minutes. Place cooked chicken on a plate and cook the second batch of chicken in the wok. Remove chicken from the wok and wipe down if needed.
- Heat 1/4 c vegetable oil on high in the same wok for 2 minutes. Add the yellow onions, broccoli, cabbage, matchstick carrots and sugar snap peas. Stir fry for 6 minutes, before adding the minced garlic, sliced green onions and sliced shitake mushrooms. Season with 1 tsp kosher salt .Stir fry another 6 minutes, stirring almost constantly.
- Turn heat down to medium. Add the spaghetti and sauce to the wok, toss with tongs.
- Add the chicken to the wok and toss with tongs until everything is coated and the chicken is heated through. Serve hot.