Easy Beef Lo Mein is a budget-friendly weeknight dinner of tender strips of beef and noodles in a classic savory sauce. This simple, customizable dish is made without pork, dairy, or any shellfish in the ingredients.
About this dish…
Easy Beef Lo Mein is a flavorful, filling Chinese-American style dinner you can make at home in less time than it typically takes for takeout delivery.
It is a simple recipe that you can customize to your taste by adding your favorite stir-fry vegetables—even those in your fridge that are starting to go soft.
Because this recipe contains no pork, dairy, or shellfish, it is perfect for those avoiding those ingredients and it’s kosher.
Also, beef has health benefits!
What do you need to make this beef lo mein recipe?
I hardly ever meal plan, so I like to keep a cupboard full of seasonings, spices, veggies, and canned goods in my kitchen to use whenever needed.
And this is certainly true for Chinese-American homemade takeout recipes, and these are the ingredients you need to have on hand to make this recipe even last-minute!
lo mein noodles or spaghetti noodles
steak beef
soy sauce
brown sugar
chicken or beef bullion powder
sesame or vegetable oil
bean sprouts (optional)
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
1. Is this beef lo mein a stir-fry dish?
This dish uses an easy, one-pan method designed for convenience rather than traditional stir-frying, ensuring you get that classic, savory Chinese-American lo mein experience at home with minimal effort.
2. Can I use spaghetti if I don’t have lo mein noodles?
Yes. Spaghetti is an excellent, accessible substitute that works perfectly with this sauce.
3. What is the best cut of beef to use?
For the most tender results, use a cut like rib eye or flank steak. Slicing it into thin strips against the grain is the most important step for achieving that signature restaurant-style texture.
4: Why is it important to slice the meat against the grain?
Slicing against the grain cuts through the muscle fibers, which makes the meat significantly more tender and easier to chew, especially when cooking with high-heat, quick-cook methods.
5. Can I add other vegetables to this?
Absolutely. While bean sprouts are a classic addition, you can easily incorporate sliced bell peppers, shredded carrots, or snap peas to add color and extra crunch to your lo mein.
6. Is this recipe dairy-free and pork-free?
Yes. This recipe is strictly dairy-free, fish-free, and pork-free, making it perfectly suited for those avoiding those foods and for people adhering to kosher dietary laws.
7. Can I freeze leftovers of this dish?
Yes, you can freeze beef lo mein in an airtight, freezer-safe container for up to 2 months. Be aware that the noodles may soften during the freezing and reheating process.
While you can reheat it in an oven at 350°F (175°C) until heated through—covering it with foil to prevent the noodles from drying out—reheating in a wok or frying pan with a splash of water or oil may work better.
A little about Chinese-American Food
Chinese-American cuisine is a style of Chinese cuisine that was developed by Chinese immigrants.
These dishes significantly differ from traditional Chinese dishes because Chinese-American dishes were adapted to suit American tastes.
Chinese immigrants arrived in the United States in large numbers in the mid-19th century in order to escape the economic difficulties in China, hoping to find work during the California Gold Rush and on the Central Pacific Railroad.
They mostly settled together in ghettos, individually known as Chinatown, and—since there were laws preventing them from owning their own land—they opened their own businesses, such as laundry services and restaurants.
Initially, the family-owned businesses catered to miners and railroad workers, and restaurants were set up in places where Chinese food was unknown. Food was based on the requests of the customers, and recipes were created to suit American tastes using whatever ingredients were available.
One major difference between traditional Chinese cuisine and Chinese-American cuisine is in the use of vegetables. Chinese-American recipes will use raw or uncooked ingredients and those not native to China. Traditional Chinese cuisine, on the other hand, rarely contains raw or uncooked ingredients and often uses Asian leaf vegetables.
While the new dishes were not traditional Chinese, these restaurants were responsible for the development of the ever-popular Chinese-American cuisine.
The little history of kosher Chinese-American Food
It is well known that Jews (especially those with ties to New York) love Chinese food. You can find at least one and, more often than not, several kosher Chinese restaurants in predominantly Jewish neighborhoods.
Jews as a group were probably first introduced to Chinese food in the Lower East Side of Manhattan, where immigrants of various cultures settled in their own neighborhoods in the late 1800s and early 1900s.
By the early 1900s, approximately one million Jews from Eastern Europe and half a million Italians from Southern Italy shared the Lower East Side of Manhattan with only approximately 7,000 Cantonese Chinese, most of whom had moved from California.
Due to anti-Chinese laws and acts, which prevented them from competing with whites, many Chinese opened restaurants.
Jews who didn’t keep kosher would visit Chinese restaurants on Sundays.
But Jews who kept kosher weren’t introduced to the delicious dishes until decades later, when Sol Bernstein—a Jewish kosher deli owner—found a solution.
Sol used Cantonese Chinese recipes and substituted kosher veal, beef, and chicken livers for the pork and was the first to begin selling the kosher Chinese food (or deli-Chinese) at his deli, Schmulka Bernstein’s, named after his father.
When the deli became popular because of the food, Sol felt that the name should reflect a more high-end Manhattan destination and called it “Bernstein-on-Essex.”
While the waiters were ethnically Chinese, they wore the traditional white deli coats that everyone else did, but they also wore black yarmulkes, and this became the deli’s trademark.
Sol continued to sell deli while he incorporated Chinese foods into the menu and did very well. The restaurant continued to do well until his death in 1992 and then the deli was sold.
Later, a similar deli opened on Coney Avenue in Brooklyn, called Essex on Coney. Their food was delicious, and we had the Bar Mitzvah dinners for two of my sons catered from there.
Try homemade Chinese-American style takeout!
If you love Chinese-American food and keep kosher or just don’t eat pork, but don’t have a suitable restaurant or takeout near you, or if you just don’t want to pay the high prices they charge, then you should totally try these other easy homemade kosher Chinese-American recipes!
- Duck Sauce Chicken
- Pepper Steak
- Mongolian Beef
- Corned Beef & Cabbage Egg Rolls
- Vegetarian Fried Rice
- Beef Chow Mein
- Beef and Broccoli
- Beef Chop Suey
Easy Beef Lo Mein Recipe
Easy and delicious homemade beef and noodle dish made without pork, dairy, or oyster sauce. And it's kosher!
Ingredients
- 12 ounces lo mein noodles or spaghetti
- 1 - 1 1/2 pounds steak beef such as rib eye, entrecote, or flank steak sliced into thin strips
- 1/2 cup soy sauce
- 1/2 cup water*
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 4 teaspoons beef bullion or chicken consommé powder*
- 2 tablespoons sesame or vegetable oil (optional, to keep the noodles smooth and not sticky)
- 1 cup bean sprouts (optional)
Instructions
- Cook lo mein or spaghetti according to instructions on package and rinse well to remove starches.
- In a pan (large enough to hold all of the noodles) on medium heat, mix water, bullion powder, 1/2 cup soy sauce, and brown sugar.
- Add beef strips and mix occasionally until strips are cooked through.
- Add in noodles and bean sprouts if desired and mix well.
- Cook on medium heat until the noodles have had a chance to absorb mixture (approximately 10 minutes).
- Add oil and mix well.
Notes
* or 1/2 cup beef bullion instead of water and powder
>>To ensure this dish is kosher, make sure that not only the beef is kosher but that there is no question about any of the other ingredients as well<<
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
4Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 276Total Fat: 12gSaturated Fat: 2gUnsaturated Fat: 10gCholesterol: 22mgSodium: 2081mgCarbohydrates: 28gFiber: 2gSugar: 11gProtein: 15g