Yield: 2

Woks of Life

Shrimp Lo Mein is an easy dish to make at home and tastes just as good as any restaurant version. Prepare the ingredients ahead of time for an easy lo mein.

• 12oz shrimp, 31-40 size (or 21-25 cut in half), peeled and deveined
• 1lb fresh pre-cooked lo mein noodles

Sauce:

• ½tsp sugar
• 1½TBS soy sauce
• 2tsp dark soy sauce
• 1TBS oyster sauce
• ½tsp sesame oil
• ⅛tsp ground white pepper
• 3TBS neutral oil (like vegetable or canola, divided)

Vegetables:

• 2cloves garlic (minced)
• 6fresh button or cremini mushrooms (sliced)
• 1medium carrot (julienned)
• ½cup bamboo shoots (sliced)
• ½cup water chestnuts (sliced)

Stir-fry:

• 1TBS Shaoxing wine
• 3cups napa cabbage (shredded)
• 1cup snow peas (trimmed)
• 1cup fresh mung bean sprouts
• 2scallions (split and cut into 2-inch-long pieces)

Take the shrimp and noodles out of the refrigerator and let them come up to room temperature. One trick for the noodles is to soak the whole bag (unopened) in hot water, which speeds up the warming process without making the noodles soggy.

If you can’t find lo mein noodles, you can substitute dried linguini. Just cook until al dente, drain, and immediately toss with 1 TBS of vegetable oil, working the oil into the pasta so the noodles don’t stick together. Always prepare your noodles just before you are ready to make the dish, so they don’t dry out and remain at room temperature or warmer. This makes the stir-frying process much easier.

Premix sauce:

Combine the sugar, soy sauces, oyster sauce, sesame oil, and white pepper in a bowl until the sugar is dissolved and set aside.

Shrimp:

Heat a large wok over high heat until it just starts to smoke and add 1 TBS of oil around the perimeter of the wok. Quickly spread the shrimp around your wok and let them sear for 10-15 seconds on each side. Immediately transfer the shrimp to a plate and set aside.

Vegetables:

Return the wok to the highest heat possible and add 2 TBS oil, along with the garlic. After a few seconds, add the mushrooms, carrots, bamboo shoots, and water chestnuts and stir-fry for 30 seconds.

Stir-fry:

Next, spread the Shaoxing wine around the perimeter of the wok, and then add the napa cabbage. Stir-fry for another 30 seconds. Spread the noodles evenly over the vegetables and give everything a good stir for 1 minute. Now, you can see why you want everything at room temperature, or everything will be overcooked and mushy by the time it heats up!

Sauce:

At this point, the noodles should be softened, so add in the sauce mixture you set aside earlier and mix until everything is well combined. Stir-fry for another 30 seconds using a scooping motion, until the sauce is well distributed.

Finish:

Add in the shrimp, snow peas, bean sprouts, and scallions. Mix well for another 2 minutes and serve!