Roast Pork Lo Mein

Real lo mein comes together in a screaming hot wok in under 5 minutes. Shredded roast pork, napa cabbage, bean sprouts, and water chestnuts get a quick stir-fry with sherry, then the noodles steam on top before everything gets tossed in a punchy oyster sauce.

The oyster sauce mix is what makes this taste like the best Chinese takeout you’ve ever had. Six tablespoons is generous, and that’s the point. Oyster sauce is salty, sweet, and deeply savory all at once. A half teaspoon of sugar and a heavy dash of black pepper round it out. Mix the sauce before you start cooking. Once the wok is hot, there’s no time to measure.

Fresh noodles (boiled, drained, and rinsed) work best for lo mein. Rinsing stops the cooking and washes off excess starch so the noodles don’t clump in the wok. If using dried noodles, the recipe notes that 5 cups cooked equals 1 pound fresh.

Stir-fry the vegetables for just 45 seconds. That’s it. The cabbage should still have bite and the bean sprouts should be crisp. Overcooked lo mein vegetables are soggy and lifeless.

Pro Tips

• Get the wok as hot as possible before adding oil. A properly heated wok gives you that smoky “wok hei” flavor.
• Shred the pork thin so it heats through quickly without overcooking during the stir-fry.
• Add the stock and noodles, then cover for just 1 minute. This steams the noodles without boiling them into mush.
• Toss everything together quickly once the sauce goes in. You want every noodle coated evenly.

Variations

• Chicken lo mein: Swap roast pork for shredded rotisserie chicken. Add it at the same stage.
• Vegetable lo mein: Drop the pork entirely and add sliced mushrooms, snow peas, and julienned carrots. Use vegetarian oyster sauce.