Lo mein noodles all right up in your personal space. You’re okay with that, right? Is there a nicer way to greet a friend then with lo mein noodles? I think not. I know that i’m only saying this for the umpteenth time but you guys, I love me some Asian food. Noodles in particular, that is. And Pei Wei’s shrimp lo mein is my absolute fave. Something about all that twirling of the fork and slurping down all that saucy goodness. All this noodle business is making my stomach growl. Would you mind if I had some for breakfast? If you’re familiar with Pei Wei then you know what i’m talking about when I say these lo mein noodles are addictive. So much so that they’ve made me a regular at my local joint. I’m the one sitting in the corner with the big sunglasses trying to not look suspiciously familiar to the staff. Oh no, no that’s not me. That’s my evil twin. Yes, that’s who it is. Okay, so there are 4 components to this shrimp lo mein recipe, let’s discuss. 1.) Shrimp – battered with cornstarch and egg whites and then just flash fried in a little bit of oil. You can also just replace them with cooked shrimp that are ready to eat from the store. Pei Wei makes the fried version, but cooked shrimp make the meal healthier and it lands your meal on the table in less than 25 minutes! If you don’t care for shrimp, just replace it with cubed chicken that’s been cooked with a little salt and pepper. Or just use boneless chicken and batter it the same way as the shrimp, fry and enjoy chicken lo mein instead. 2.) Saucy – This sauce is money! It’s what makes this Pei Wei shrimp lo mein so special. Otherwise it’s just a bunch of veggies and shrimp on a bed of noodles. Not that that’s a bad thing or anything. The sauce contains freshly grated ginger and garlic, along with Mirin. Mirin is a Japanese rice wine. It provides the sweetness that pei wei’s lo mein contains. It took me forever (literally, like 3 years) to figure out what they use to make it sweet. I mean sure, I could’ve just gone on the website and checked out that it mentions ‘rice wine’ in the ingredients but that would mean no trial and error and sometimes (only sometimes) that’s half the fun. 3.) The lo mein noodles – Pei Wei uses egg noodles. I used canton noodles. Canton noodles are made of wheat. I think you can’t go wrong either way. So use what you like. Here’s a tip, ramen noodles work great too. So if you’re in a hurry, just use 3 packets of ramen noodles and discard the seasoning packets. 4.) Veggies – Authentic to Pei Wei’s dish i’ve used the same veggies they do – sliced onions, scallions, carrots, and shiitake mushrooms. I don’t see a reason why you can’t sneak a few extra ones in there. So toss in some bell peppers or broccoli or whatever else you fancy! If you haven’t figured it out yet, i’m in love with this recipe on so many levels. 1.) It’s super easy, 40 minutes start to finish with the crispy shrimp and 25 minutes if you’re using cooked shrimp. 2.) This recipe uses up all those ingredients in the fridge that are being avoided – ahem.. carrots and scallions, and turns them into this irresistible shrimp lo mein. 3.) It’s so pretty ❤ ❤. I say you take pictures as tag with me #littlespicejar on Instagram and Twitter so i can see how pretty your oodles of noodles look. 4.) Shrimp. ❤ If you don’t love shrimp, please skip to #5. 5.) Chicken! If you don’t like chicken, see #4. There you have it, 5 good great amazing reasons on why you need shrimp lo mein in your life, like yesterday. And as if you need be to state the obvious, (i’ll do it anyway) these noodles are about to become your absolute favorite.
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Canton noodles are noodles that are made with wheat. Egg noodles or 3 packets of 4.5oz ramen noodles may be substituted (discard seasoning packets). I used 1 ounce of dehydrated shiitake mushrooms that I rehydrated by leaving in hot water for 30 minutes.
