Beef Lo Mian

Beef Lo Mein. My go-to cheap late-night dinner choice in college, and probably one of the more popular choices on your average takeout menu. This is a home-cooked version that tastes awesome, while using more vegetables and less oil. Yay!

You can get lo mein noodles at the Asian grocery. They’re yellow egg noodles, and usually labeled “lo mein,” or “oil noodle”; you’ll recognize them when you see them. Or you can simply use any of your favorite noddle or pasta (linguine or spaghetti).

Ingredients:

• 4 oz. flank steak
• 1 teaspoon corn starch
• 1 teaspoon soy sauce, plus 1 tablespoon (divided)
• 2 teaspoon  oyster sauce
• 1 teaspoon oil
• 8 oz. fresh lo mein egg noodles or regular white noodle
• 1/2 of a small red bell pepper, julienned
• 2/3 cup green veg  ( I’m using asparagus)
• 1 scallion ( one small onion if you dont have scallion), julienned
• 1 clove garlic, sliced.
• 1 tablespoon shaoxing wine
• 1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• Pinch of salt
• Pinch of sugar

 

Directions:

Step 1:  cut up vegs. Slice the beef into thin 2-3 inch strips.  Put the beef in a small bowl and mix in the corn starch, 1 teaspoon soy sauce, and oil. This is what gives the beef its flavor and shiny, seared outside. Set aside.

    

 

 

Step 2: If using white noodles, boil them in about 2 quarts of water. If you’re lucky enough to find them, some types of yellow lo mein noodles available today from Asian grocery stores don’t require boiling but be sure to follow the directions on the noodle package that you purchase!!

 

 

Step 3: Rinse the noodles in cold water and drain in a colander. Again, if using the pre-cooked yellow lo mein noodles, you can blow on past this step. As I mentioned earlier, if you can’t get lo mein or other fresh noodles at your Asian grocer, fresh or dried linguini pasta can work also.

 

 

Step 4: Heat the wok until smoking slightly and add 1 tablespoon oil to coat the wok and sear the beef.  Add onion and galic.  Add all the vegetables . Stir-fry on high heat for a minute and add the wine in a circle around the perimeter of the wok.   Add oyster sauce.

        

 

 

Step 5:   Add noddles and quick stir fry.

 

 

Step 6:

Mix well, making sure to scrape the bottom of the pan, for about 30 seconds. Then cover the wok for one minute. Remove cover and add the remaining tablespoon of regular soy sauce, the dark soy sauce, sesame oil, salt, sugar. Mix well and stir-fry for another minute, or until any remaining liquid has evaporated.

Plate and serve!