Quick Fix: Shrimp Lo Mein

Linda Gassenheimer, Tribune News Service on Mar 3, 2025

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I was hungry for an Asian-inspired quick dinner and thought of this dish. Lo Mein, which when translated means mixed noodles, is a staple of Chinese cooking. It’s served at birthday dinners, because the noodles represent long life.

It takes a few minutes to prepare the ingredients, but only 5 minutes to stir-fry. Fresh snow peas and bean sprouts add texture to the dish. Oyster sauce, which is seafood based, flavors this dish. I find it's a tasty condiment and use it to flavor meat, vegetables and other stir-fry dishes. You can use stir-fry sauce instead. The results won’t be the same but still good.

HELPFUL HINTS:

Angel hair pasta can be used instead of Chinese noodles.

Fresh or steamed Chinese noodles can be found in the produce section of market.

COUNTDOWN:

Assemble ingredients.

Boil noodles.

Make the remaining Lo Mein ingredients.

SHOPPING LIST:

To buy: 1 package Chines noodles, 1 bottle sesame oil, 1 piece fresh ginger, 3/4 pound peeled raw shrimp, 1 package fresh snow peas, 1 bag fresh bean sprouts, 1 bottle oyster sauce.

Staples: onion, garlic, salt and black peppercorns.

Shrimp Lo Mein

Recipe by Linda Gassenheimer

1/4 pound fresh or steamed Chinese noodles

2 tablespoons sesame oil, divided use

1 cup sliced onion

4 garlic cloves, crushed

1 tablespoon fresh chopped ginger or 2 teaspoons ground ginger

3/4 pound peeled raw shrimp

1/4 pound fresh snow peas, cut in half if large (about 1 1/2-cups)

1 cup fresh bean sprouts

3 tablespoon oyster sauce

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Bring a large saucepan filled with water to a boil over high heat. Add noodles to boiling water. As soon as the water comes back to a boil, drain. Set aside.

Heat a wok or skillet over high heat. Add 2 teaspoons sesame oil. Add onion and stir-fry 1 minute. Add garlic and ginger and stir-fry 1 minute. Add shrimp, snow peas and bean sprouts. Toss another minute. Add the drained noodles. Move the ingredients to the sides of the wok making a hole in the middle. Add oyster sauce to the hole. Bring the ingredients to the middle and continue stir-frying for 2 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste and the remaining 1 tablespoon sesame oil. Toss well and serve.

Yield 2 servings.

Per serving: 557 calories (25 percent from fat), 15.6 g fat (2.3 g saturated, 5.7 g monounsaturated), 276 mg cholesterol, 46.0 g protein, 60.1 g carbohydrates, 5.4 g fiber, 955 mg sodium.