Chow Mein vs. Lo Mein: What’s the Difference?

Chow mein
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Have you found yourself staring at a Chinese restaurant and wondered what the difference between some of the dishes was? It’s happened to us with chow mein and lo mein and we’ve had to look up the dishes before ordering them. So, what’s the difference between these noodle dishes?

Chow Mein

Chow is the Cantonese term for stir-fry and mein means noodle. So, chow mein means stir-fried noodles. It’s wheat noodles semi-cooked on a wok with hot water and then tossed over high heat with the other ingredients, which can include pork, bok choy, carrots, shrimp, broccoli, chicken, beef, or scallions.

Lo Mein

Lo means stirred and lo mein is usually made with egg noodles. The noodles are cooked separately and then the sauces and toppings are added. There isn’t a lot of wok action in the dish and lo mein is usually pretty simple.

What’s the Difference?

The main difference relates to the cooking technique. With chow mein, everything is done at once in the wok at high heat with the toppings integrated into the dish. Lo mein is made in parts—cooking the noodles, adding the sauce, and then putting on the toppings.