Option: Tenderising beef for stir fries
The secret is tenderizing the meat, a process called velveting. Have you ever noticed how the meat in Chinese dishes is so incredibly tender, and how your stir fries at home are just never the same?
That’s right. When making stir fries, your friendly neighborhood Chinese restaurant uses inexpensive stewing beef that has been tenderized to create incredibly soft strips of meat!
Learn how to use this easy-to-use yet incredibly effective method: Tenderise Beef (the Chinese way).
This is only optional if you want to make stir fries with inexpensive beef or if you just want the extra-tender beef served in Chinese restaurants!
Vegetables: You can use almost any vegetable for stir-fried noodles, though some, like tomatoes and beets, I’ve never seen used in stir fries. Here’s a guide to cutting the vegetables so they cook in about the same amount of time, but hey, if that works for you, then go ahead and do it!
- Onions – 1/4″/0.5cm slices.
- Firm vegetables (eg. carrots, zucchini) – slice into 1/5″ / 3mm slices. Carrots are best cut diagonally, then vertically in half, or occasionally I julienne them.
- Leafy chinese greens (eg. Bok choy (also known as pak choy or Chinese broccoli): cut stems into roughly 1/2′′/1cm sticks by cutting them vertically.
- Cabbage – shred. Chinese cabbage can also be cut into larger pieces of 1 inch because it is softer. 5″/4cm x 1″ / 2 cm.
- Cut or break cauliflower and broccoli into florets that are no bigger than half the size of a golf ball (including the stem).
- Green beans, snap peas, baby corn – whole (trimmed).
- Eggplant – sliced into 1/3″/1cm thick bite size slices.
- Shallots or scallions, cut into thin slices or into 1/4-inch pieces
- Beansprouts – use as is.
I previously shared my personal, top-secret recipe for Real Chinese All-Purpose Stir-Fry Sauce earlier this week. This adaptable foundation for Chinese stir fries keeps well in the refrigerator for several weeks or even months. It works well as a glossy sauce to coat stir fries, and you can adjust the flavor to your preference by adding juice, fresh herbs, spices, or even tang. Having it ready eliminates the hassle of rushing to gather ten ingredients for your stir fry sauce; all you have to do is give it a shake and add it to any stir fry.
Base Flavors: These are the flavors that seep into the oil prior to the addition of additional components. You can add extra flavor by using fresh garlic, ginger, or chillies (if using a paste).
Extra Flavorings: These are the additional flavors you add to the wok when you add the sauce. You can use sugar to sweeten it, vinegar to add some tang, heat from chilli paste or sriracha, herbs like coriander or Thai basil leaves, sweet chilli sauce, or even fruit juice to add a little sweetness and fruit. I’ve provided my favourite variations in the recipe below.
Cooking the Stir-Fry: The key to making delicious stir-fried noodles is to add the ingredients to the wok in the order that they will take to cook. It is important to consider both the ingredient itself (hard vegetables and proteins cook more slowly than soft vegetables) and the size at which you have chopped them. As a general rule, stir-fry the onion and proteins for one minute, then add the broccoli and cauliflower florets. After another minute, add the carrots and other firm vegetables, and lastly, add the snow peas and other delicate vegetables. Leafy greens (such as spinach and the leaves of Chinese greens like bok choy) and bean sprouts are always best left until the noodles are added; otherwise, they overcook and become wilted and ugly.
Finally, add the noodles, sauce, and any additional flavorings you choose. Stir-fry for one more minute and you’re done.
Important Tip: Prepare and arrange all of your ingredients and sauces next to the wok. Cooking comes together quickly once you get going, so you don’t want to be rushing around the kitchen!
I hope this guide is helpful to you! Below is a printable recipe that includes a shortened version of this guide.
In This Post: What You Need To Know About Lo Mein
Let’s Talk About Lo Mein Noodles
Then there’s the noodles.
You could use fresh Lo Mein noodles if you can find it fresh or frozen at your grocery store. I could not find it at any of my regular places, so in its place I have used either dry ramen if you can find it (as long as you’re hitting up Amazon for the soy sauce, grab a box of this ramen, too – affiliate link) and/or just regular spaghetti.
…Is that blasphemy to Lo Mein? to use spaghetti?
I’m not sure, but it seems like we both value practicality over complete and utter authenticity.
Go on and do what you need to do.
You can use rice noodles or your preferred gluten-free spaghetti noodle if you’re gluten-free.
We’ve reached the pinnacle of the Lo Mein journey in a flash, with the veggies, noodles, and sauce all partying it up in that pan. The part where you reward yourself with some caramelized pan-fried vegetables and wind those silky noodles up on a fork.
Easy Homemade Lo Mein, comin in hot!
