Shrimp Lo Mein | Easy To Make In 20 Minutes

This easy shrimp lo mein recipe combines a mix of juicy shrimp, tender vegetables, and noodles mixed in a flavorful lo mein sauce. Plus, it's super quick and easy to make too, giving you a tasty meal for any night of the week. That said, we all know shrimp lo mein is a take-out classic, but this recipe will make you only want to cook it at home from now on.

THE BEST SHRIMP LO MEIN

As almost anyone will tell you, shrimp lo mein is one of the most common take-out dishes ordered from Chinese restaurants, and for a good reason. 

It has a few different components that, when they come together, create one of the tastiest and complete meals you can have. It has protein from the shrimp, nutrients from the veggies, noodles for substance, and a lo mein sauce to tie it all together.

But, instead of ordering shrimp lo mein from your favorite Chinese restaurant, what if you could make one at home that was as - or more - delicious than that one?

Well, now with today's recipe, you can! 

And making shrimp lo mein is much easier than you might think.

It just consists of preparing the sauce, cooking the noodles, stir-frying some shrimp and vegetables, and then combining everything together. It has to be my favorite stir fry noodles recipe, along with these pan fried noodles.

Yep, just a few simple steps are all you need to follow to make yourself a delicious, restaurant-quality meal.

INGREDIENTS

Ok, so, to make this recipe, we will be preparing two separate parts of it - the stir fry and the sauce.

For the stir fry, the ingredients are as follows:

• 4 ounces of noodles 
• 1 tbsp vegetable or olive oil
• 8 ounces shrimp (peeled and deveined)
• 1 cup of sliced cabbage
• ½ cup of red bell pepper, sliced (you can use any color pepper or a mix)
• ¼ cup of carrots, sliced
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced

And for the sauce, you will need:

• ¼ cup of soy sauce (or dark soy sauce)
• 2 tbsp hoisin sauce
• 2 tsp of dried ginger
• 1 teaspoon of dried garlic
• 1 teaspoon brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• Some sesame for garnish

By the way, if you love shrimp and noodles, you'll want to check out this shrimp pasta next!

Honestly, the best part about making shrimp lo mein at home is choosing which vegetables you put in it and what noodles you use. 

And by using different vegetables and noodles, you can change up the taste of your shrimp lo mein every time you make it! 

That said, for the sauce, if you do not like one of the ingredients, feel free to take it out or substitute it with an ingredient of your choice. 

Also, if you prefer a more bland flavor - or don't want to get as many ingredients - you can just use soy sauce or tamari sauce instead of making the lo mein sauce from scratch.  And you can use both to make this stir fry next!

Noodle Options

There are a variety of noodles you can choose from when making shrimp lo mein.

But, egg noodles are the classic noodle used in shrimp lo mein. And they're super easy to cook too. They only need to be boiled for about 2-3 minutes and then they're ready to go.

However, if you can't find chow mein noodles, Chinese egg noodles, fettuccini or linguini make good substitutes. 

Another noodle you can use to make this shrimp lo mein is rice noodles.

And these noodles are also a common noodle used in Chinese stir-fry recipes. They're a noodle made from rice starch, and they are available in all kinds of lengths and widths. And rice noodles have a springy firm texture that allows them to soak up the flavor of the sauce. 

Lastly, you could use ramen noodles to make this shrimp lo mein. These noodles cook super fast, and they are thin and curly with a chewy texture. And, although they're not the "ideal" noodle to use for this recipe, they'll still work.

Vegetables To Use

The vegetables in shrimp lo mein give it a fresh flavor and healthy component to the meal.

And you can pretty much put any vegetables you want in your lo mein, and it will be delicious.

For this recipe, I used sliced cabbage, napa cabbage, red peppers, and carrots.  

But, another one of my favorite vegetable combos is snow peas, carrots, water chestnuts, scallions, broccoli, and baby corn.

And, some more vegetables you could use are cremini mushrooms, button mushrooms, spinach, scallions, bamboo shoots, edamame, and celery.

That said, I recommend shaking this recipe up, and using different noodles and vegetables every time you make it!

How to make shrimp lo mein

This is one of those easy shrimp recipes that will become a household favorite. And it consists of just 3 main components - making the sauce, preparing the noodles, and stir-frying everything together.

It's as easy as that, so how about we get into the recipe! 

Step 1: Prepping The Sauce & Cooking The Noodles

First-things-first, we'll want to make the sauce. So, to do that, combine the sauce ingredients in a small bowl. Then, set it aside, so it is ready to go when the stir fry is done.  

Now, once the sauce is ready, it's time to cook the dried lo mein noodles. And depending on what noodles you use, the cooking instructions will change, so cook them according to the directions on the package.

Then, when the noodles are good-to-go, you can set them aside and start stir-frying.

Step 2: Cooking The Shrimp

Ok, so you'll want to start this step off by heating the oil in a large nonstick frying pan over medium heat. 

Then, while that's heating up, season the shrimp with salt and pepper, and cook them in the oiled pan until they turn pink ( 2-3 minutes). Now, after that's taken care of, remove the cooked shrimp from the pan and set them aside.

By the way, although this doesn't seem like much cook time, it is essential not to overcook the shrimp, as it will get chewy and acquire an unpleasant texture.

Step 3: Cooking The Vegetables

So, in the same frying pan you cooked the shrimp in, add in the cabbage, pepper, and carrots and stir fry for a couple of minutes - until the vegetables soften. Also, feel free to add a bit more oil to the pan at this point as well if needed. 

Now, once the vegetables are soft, you'll want to add in the garlic and cook until the garlic becomes fragrant. Then, when it does, it's time to move on to the next step.

Step 4: Combining And Serving

Ok, now we're all set to put our shrimp lo mein all together!

Put the shrimp into the pan with the vegetables and pour in the sauce. Cook for a few minutes while stirring, then toss in the noodles and combine everything.

Once well combined, top with sesame seeds, serve hot, and dig in! 

How To Store Shrimp Lo Mein

So, if you don't end up finishing this shrimp lo mein in one sitting, it makes for an excellent leftover meal. And, if you're cooking it for your family or want to meal prep, you can double the recipe and get a few meals out of it. 

That said, the leftover shrimp lo mein can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

Then, to reheat it, you can either put it in the microwave for a few minutes or put it back on the stove over high heat until it reaches your desired temperature. 

How To Freeze Shrimp Lo Mein

Also, this lo mein freezes incredibly well too. Just transfer it to an airtight, freezer-safe container, and store it for up to 2 months.

Then, when you're ready to eat your shrimp lo mein, all you have to do is let it defrost in the fridge for a few hours. And to reheat the already cooked lo mein noodles, you can use either your microwave or your stovetop.

How easy and convenient does that sound?!

Wrapping It Up

Seriously, after making this shrimp lo mein recipe, you won't need - or want - to get take-out lo mein again. 

It's so easy to make, packed with flavor, and gives you the option of what noodles and vegetables you put in it.

Seriously, easy dinner recipes don't get much better than this one!

Anyway, I hope you find this as delicious as I do. 

If you make it, be sure to comment below and let me know what you think. 

MORE EASY SHRIMP RECIPES

If you like shrimp recipes that are easy and delicious, you have to make these too:

• General Tso Shrimp
• Blackened Shrimp
• Firecracker Shrimp
• Shrimp casserole
• Shrimp soup

Oh, and check us out on TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube for even more recipes! We post new ones on them every day.