Lo mein facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Lo mein |
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Cantonese style lo mein
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American-Chinese-style lo mein
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| Traditional Chinese | 撈麵 | ||||||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 捞面 | ||||||||||||||||
| Literal meaning | noodles | ||||||||||||||||
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| Alternative Chinese name | |||||||||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 拌麵 | ||||||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 拌面 | ||||||||||||||||
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Lo mein (simplified Chinese: 捞面; traditional Chinese: 撈麵/撈麪; pinyin: lāo miàn; Cantonese Yale: lou1 min6) is a Chinese dish with egg noodles. It often contains vegetables and some type of meat or seafood, usually beef, chicken, pork, or shrimp. It might also be served with wontons (called huntun 馄饨 in Mandarin) although wontons are usually a soup ingredient. It can also be eaten with just vegetables.
Traditionally this is a dry variation of noodle soup. The soup is simply separated from the noodles and other ingredients and served on the side.
Etymology
The term lo mein comes from the Cantonese lou1 min6 (撈麵), meaning "stirred noodles". The Cantonese use of the character 撈, pronounced lou1 and meaning "to stir", in its casual form, differs from the character's traditional Han meaning of "to dredge" or "to scoop out of water" in Mandarin, in which case it would be pronounced as laau4 or lou4 in Cantonese (lāo in Mandarin). In Mandarin, the dish is called lāo miàn. In its country of origin, it is made of thin flour and egg noodles which are notable for their elastic texture.
American Chinese cuisine
In American Chinese restaurants, lo mein is a popular take-out food and is sometimes considered synonymous with chow mein. The dish is distinct from both Cantonese lo mein and Cantonese crispy chow mein. Cantonese lo mein is stirred with a thin sauce and items such as wonton or beef brisket added on top. In contrast, U.S. lo mein noodles are usually stir-fried with a sauce made from soy sauce and other seasonings. Vegetables such as bok choy and cabbage can be mixed in and meats like roast pork, beef or chicken are often added. Shrimp lo mein, lobster lo mein, vegetable lo mein, and "house" lo mein (more than one meat) are sometimes available.
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American-style lo mein
Indonesian Chinese cuisine
In Indonesian Chinese cuisine, lo mein is also called lomi and is often confused with the crispy chow mein. Indonesian lomi is soft and relatively thick noodle served with thick gravy sauce and often combined with seafood.
See also
In Spanish: Lo mein para niños
