Shrimp Lo Mein is an easy dish to make at home and tastes just as good as any restaurant version. You can even prepare all of the ingredients ahead of time for an easy weeknight meal. I’ve always found that cooking is a great way to unwind from a stressful day of work, have a nice meal, pack a lunch for the next day and save 10 bucks from ordering takeout.
A great thing to do is to take 30 minutes to prep ingredients the night before. Then, the next day when you get home, you can take everything out of the fridge, change into your t-shirt and sweatpants, and grab your wok. Dinner will be ready within 15 minutes!
This Shrimp Lo Mein recipe follows most restaurant versions pretty closely, but you can add anything you like to this dish! That lone stalk of celery or leftover half of an onion are great candidates to add in.
If you don’t have shrimp, you could also try making our vegetable lo mein, or use ramen noodles to make a vegetable ramen instead!
Okay, let’s do this shrimp lo mein!
Shrimp Lo Mein: Recipe Instructions
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 actually substitute dried linguini. Just cook until al dente, drain, and immediately toss with 1 tablespoon 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.
Combine the sugar, soy sauces, oyster sauce, sesame oil, and white pepper in a bowl until the sugar is dissolved and set aside. Heat a large wok over high heat until it just starts to smoke, and add 1 tablespoon 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.
Return the wok to the highest heat possible and add 2 tablespoons oil, along with the garlic.
After a few seconds, add the mushrooms, carrots, bamboo shoots, and water chestnuts and stir-fry for 30 seconds.
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!
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. Add in the shrimp, snow peas, bean sprouts, and scallions.
Mix well for another 2 minutes and serve! You will never order Chinese takeout shrimp lo mein again!
Some Homemade Chili Oil would go great with your your Shrimp Lo Mein!
- 12 oz. shrimp (31/40 size), peeled and deveined
- 1 pound fresh pre-cooked lo mein noodles
- ½ teaspoon sugar
- 1½ tablespoons regular or light soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons dark soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
- ½ teaspoon sesame oil
- Pinch of fresh ground white pepper
- 3 tablespoons neutral oil (like vegetable or canola), divided
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 6 fresh button or cremini mushrooms, sliced
- 1 medium carrot, julienned
- ½ cup bamboo shoots, sliced
- ½ cup water chestnuts, sliced
- 1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine
- 3 cups shredded napa cabbage
- 1 cup snow peas, trimmed
- 1 cup fresh mung bean sprouts
- 2 scallions, 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 actually substitute dried linguini. Just cook until al dente, drain, and immediately toss with 1 tablespoon 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.
- Combine the sugar, soy sauces, oyster sauce, sesame oil, and white pepper in a bowl until the sugar is dissolved and set aside. Heat a large wok over high heat until it just starts to smoke, and add 1 tablespoon 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.
- Return the wok to the highest heat possible and add 2 tablespoons oil, along with the garlic. After a few seconds, add the mushrooms, carrots, bamboo shoots, and water chestnuts and stir-fry for 30 seconds.
- 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!
- 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. Add in the shrimp, snow peas, bean sprouts, and scallions. Mix well for another 2 minutes and serve!
Heather says
I followed the recipe, but this tasted flat,
like it was missing something. It was okay, but the mushrooms overpowered the shrimp. Sorry, just not my favorite.’ Ka
Bill says
Hi Heather, my answer is to season according to your tastes and turn up the heat when cooking this lo mein, since high heat sears and creates extra flavor! Also, increase the salt, sugar and/or soy as needed. Lastly, if the mushrooms overpowered the shrimp, my guess is that they may have been undercooked. Hope you give it another try :)
Jeannette says
Amazing! Thank you for igniting my international flavour-fire, with quasi-confidence. (Don’t own a wok.) Shanghai Noodles rock too. Your pork ribs made me a hero on Boxing Day….an experiment that hooked me to your blog. What to choose next?! This is so much fun! I encourage everyone to try these recipes. Thx again!
Bill says
Hi Jeannette, you’re welcome and keep up the great cooking!
Kelly says
How much Accent to add?
Bill says
Hi Kelly, adding MSG is a personal preference, as is the amount to add, but if you’re using it for the first time, start with a pinch and see how you like it.
Shifa Khan says
What can I substitute wine with?
Bill says
Hi Shifa,
If you are looking for an alcohol free substitute, we really don’t have any good recommendations so I suggest that you leave it out :)
Arex says
The taste is very good. But the noodle did not come out well. They were soggy and gummy and they stuck to each other. I have used these noodles before and their success rate is not good. Recommend another type of Lo mein noodle
Judy says
Hi Arex, you should use the fresh thick egg noodles, they are lightly coated with oil and come apart nicely during cooking. Another good choice is thick or thin spaghetti––they are perfect for lo mein dishes.
Celia says
I couldn’t stop eating this. Lol thank you!
Bill says
Hi Celia, haha – love to hear that!
Dex-Ann Brown-Grant says
This recipe was delicious! Thank you so much for publishing this. I don’t think I will ever order Shrimp Lo Mein from the Chinese restaurant again!
Bill says
Hooray Dex-Ann, while eating out and take out Chinese have their place, home cooking rules!