Lo Mein

Lo Mein (Simplified Chinese: 捞面; Traditional Chinese: 撈麵; Pinyin: Lāo miàn, "scooped/tossed noodles") in English restaurant usage usually means soft wheat noodles tossed with sauce, vegetables, and protein. On diaspora menus it is commonly contrasted with Chow Mein, which may be crispier or more aggressively stir-fried.

Characteristics

Noodles stay soft and sauced; wok char is milder than many chow mein plates. Sauce is soy-savory, sometimes slightly sweet in American Chinese kitchens.

Ingredients (overview)

Fresh or par-cooked egg wheat noodles, soy, oyster sauce, vegetables, optional meat. Not the same linguistic object as every mainland "la mian" hand-pulled noodle soup.

History and culture

English "lo mein" entered American Chinese restaurant English; related Cantonese tossed-noodle ideas exist, but this page documents the diaspora menu category beside Chow Mein, Chop Suey, and Beef Chow Fun.

Serving and variations

Takeout/restaurant main. See Chow Mein for the usual menu contrast.

See also

• Chow Mein
• Beef Chow Fun
• Chop Suey
• Hong Kong Food
• List of dishes (A-Z)