Keto Chicken Lo Mein with Vegetables
by Get your chopsticks ready! This homemade Chicken Lo Mein made with shirataki noodles is loaded with tender and crisp vegetables. With 10 net carbs only, you’ll love the sweet savory Paleo lo mein sauce and how you can use any vegetables you want to make these easy stir-fried noodles easily! Totally slurp-worthy!
Chicken lo mein is one of my favorite childhood dishes whenever my family eats out. As a matter of fact, whenever I think of lo mein stir-fry, I associate the dish with imagery of night markets, college friends, weddings, birthdays, New Year’s…all happy occasions!
Lo mein with chicken and vegetables is still one of my favorite Chinese dishes but I stopped ordering it after I moved out of Taiwan. I find it quite difficult these days to have good lo mein that’s not too oily or lack of flavor. Hence I decided to make my own version of paleo and low carb chicken lo mein!
Difference between Lo Mein and Chow Mein
Lo mein (撈麵) is a Chinese noodle dish with egg noodles. It often contains vegetables and protein, usually pork, chicken, shrimp, beef, and/or fried tofu.
Cantonese style lo mein often uses thin and round shape egg noodles that are yellow. They are boiled first then tossed with a thin sauce, often oyster sauce or vegetarian oyster sauce, and topped with wontons, roasted pork, or beef stew with blanched Chinese broccoli and a simple soup on the side. The word “Lo” (撈) means to scoop out and “Mein” (麵) means noodles. It means scoop out the boiled noodles with a strainer to describe the type of cooking. Often, the noodles aren’t stir-fried. They are simply boiled and mixed in or tossed with sauce before serving.
My Cantonese chow mein and House special chow mein use Cantonese style chow mein noodles.
The American style lo mein is actually closer to chow mein (炒麵), which means stir-fried noodles. Click here to see what chow mein looks like from google search in Mandarin websites. Hint: They look very similar to what we think lo mein is on the east coast.
According to wikipedia, there’s a regional difference in the U.S. about what chow mein means between the east and west coast. On the east coast, people associate chow mein with crispy deep fried style noodles whereas chow mein on the west coast is usually the steamed style, using soft noodles, and the crispy style is simply called Hong Kong style chow mein.
To keep the matter simple, we are sticking to American east coast style lo mein today with soft noodles and lo mein sauce. I also modified the dish by using low carb noodles. I have to tell you that the flavor is truly excellent and you will not miss a bit of the takeout version. 🙂
My homemade chicken lo mein is made with shirataki noodles. It’s healthy, low carb, and loaded with vegetables. I call it the plant-focused chicken lo mein. Plant focused is different from plant based. Plant focus means adding more veggies to your plate. You can still enjoy meat but just in smaller quantities as the majority of your plate should be filled with vegetables. Personally I really love this idea so in my recipe below you’ll find I intentionally added more vegetable varieties to the dish. I also use ground chicken as opposed to chicken thighs or breasts to speed up the preparation time.
Where to buy lo mein noodles
Traditional lo mein uses egg noodles. You can also use chuka soba (chow mein) noodles. You can find them in local Chinese grocery stores or on Amazon. Please note that they are not wheat-free.
To make low carb paleo lo mein, I use shirataki konjac pasta in fettucine style found on Amazon. You can also any low carb noodles you like. Chickpea spaghetti noodles are also a great choice. They are gluten-free but now low carb.
How to customize your Paleo chicken lo mein
Making homemade chicken lo mein is really easy and versatile. You can virtually throw-in any vegetables you like to your noodle stir-fry. Here are some ideas I have to help you customize your lo mein:
- Sauce choices: I use coconut aminos (paleo soy sauce) in the recipe. You can also try adding my homemade shiitake oyster sauce. It’s vegan, low carb, and with no added sugar. Use the oyster sauce in combination with coconut aminos to deepen the flavor.
- Protein choices: Swap chicken for beef, pork, shrimp, or tempeh. Or simply add more veggies to make veggie lo mein. You can also add the noodles to this Ground chicken stir fry with green beans recipe.
- Vegetable choices: Swap bok choy and carrots for broccolini, broccoli florets, bell peppers, celery, bean sprouts, snow peas, zucchini…etc. Basically vegetables that have a crunchy texture and are not mushy.
- Noodle choices: I use shirataki konjac pasta in fettucine shape to make low carb paleo lo mein. You can also use chickpea spaghetti noodles (gluten-free) or any low carb noodles you like.
- Make it spicy: add crushed red pepper or your favorite hot sauce.
Chicken Lo Mein Calories
Low Carb Keto Chicken Lo Mein with shirataki noodles has 213 calories per serving. The traditional takeout lo mein calories are ranged between 500 and 950 calories.
How to make homemade chicken lo mein
Making homemade lo mein is really easy. You can virtually use any vegetables you want to throw into the pan but preparations are the key as the actual cook time is quite short.
- Slice and dice all the vegetables you want to add to the stir-fry.
- Combine the sauce in a measuring cup.
- If adding meat, dice it to bite size chunks or use ground meat to speed up the process.
- If your noodles need to be boiled first, follow the package instructions.
- Sear the meat first and season with salt, pepper, onion and garlic powder.
- Quickly saute the vegetables until they slightly turn softer but not flimsy.
- Add the noodles, the lo mein sauce, and the protein back to the pan, toss and serve!
Lo Mein Sauce
Traditional lo mein sauce is a combination of oyster sauce, soy sauce, chicken stock, and cornstarch. To keep it low carb and simple, I use coconut aminos, chicken stock, toasted sesame oil, grated ginger, Frank’s hot pepper sauce, and arrowroot or xanthan gum to thicken the sauce. Try adding my shiitake made vegan oyster sauce for extra umami flavor.
More Noodle Recipes –
- Crispy Beef Chow Mein Noodles (baked, whole30!)
- Shirataki noodles with paleo peanut sauce
- Vietnamese shirataki noodle salad
- Chicken Yakisoba Recipe
- Paleo Japchae
- Whole30 Cup Noodles
- Thai Peanut Sauce Cucumber Noodles
- Lemongrass chicken shirataki noodle bowl
- Chinese Dan Dan Noodles (paleo, low carb!)
- Cold Ramen Noodles (great for summer!)
- Whole30 Ramen (great for winter!)
- Pasta Shrimp with zucchini noodles
- Cantonese Chow Mein with beef
Complete the homemade feast with –
- Chinese Low Carb Potstickers
- Asian chopped salad with gluten-free chow mein noodles
- Thai shirataki rice fried rice
- Easy Wonton Soup
- keto Egg Rolls
- Paleo Scallion Pancakes
- Whole30 Shumai
- Temaki Sushi
- More low carb keto recipes
- More healthy takeout dishes
This veggie focused keto chicken lo mein is seriously my new favorite! I love that it’s low carb, gluten-free, paleo, and I can practically throw-in any veggies I have from the crisp drawer. There’s no food waste and it makes a wonderful one-pot meal. The salty and naturally sweet flavor lo mein sauce with a tangle of noodles that are totally slurp-worthy! This veggie packed homemade lo mein will quickly become a favorite!
Chicken Lo Mein with vegetables (Paleo, Keto, Low Carb)
Ingredients
- 2 packs Well Lean shirataki konjac pasta, in fettucine style
- 0.5 oz. cloves garlic, minced, about 3 cloves
- 3 bulbs scallions, sliced diagonally and separate pale green and green parts
- 1.5 cups julienned carrots, about 1 large carrot
- 2.5 oz. sugar snap peas, sliced lengthwise
- 3.5 oz. fresh shiitake, sliced
- 5 cups baby bok choy, about 2 large bundles
- 3 tbsp Avocado oil
- Toasted white sesame seeds, optional
Lo mein sauce:
- ¼ cup coconut aminos
- 1 tsp toasted sesame oil
- 1 tsp grated ginger
- 1-1.5 tsp Frank’s original hot pepper sauce, optional
- 0.5 tsp xanthan gum, or 2 tsp arrowroot or tapioca starch
- ½ cup chicken or vegetable stock
If adding chicken:
- ½ lb ground chicken breast
- ½ tsp coarse sea salt
- ¼ tsp each onion and garlic granules
- ⅛ tsp white pepper
Instructions
- Rinse and drain the shirataki konjac noodles. Prepare garlic and scallions and separate pale green and green parts.
- Prepare carrots, shiitake, and snow peas. Set them aside in one large plate.
- Dice bok choy stems to about ½ inch sections and leaves to about 2-inch in sections. Set them aside in one large bowl.
- Combine the lo mein sauce in a bowl. Mix and stir-well.
- In a well-heated wok or large skillet, add 1 tbsp of oil. Brown the chicken over medium-high heat and season with salt, onion, garlic, and white pepper. Use a wooden spoon to break up the meat. Cook until the meat is cooked through, about 3-4 minutes. There should be little to no liquid in the skillet. Set it aside.
- Use the same wok, add 2 tbsp of oil. Saute garlic and pale green scallion parts with a pinch of salt for about 5-8 seconds. Add carrots and shiitake. Season with 2 pinches of salt. Saute over medium-high heat for about 1 minute.
- Add bok choy stems and leaves. Season with 2 pinches of salt. Saute for about 30 seconds.
- Push the veggies to the side of the wok, add noodles and chicken. Give the sauce another stir then add it to the wok. Saute over medium-high to high-heat for about 1 minute.
- Off heat, taste and see if you want to add more coconut aminos or salt. Garnish with green scallion parts and sesame seeds, if using. Serve warm or in room temperature.
Notes
- Try adding my vegetarian oyster sauce (made with shiitake) to the lo mein sauce for extra umami flavor!
- Swap chicken for pork, beef, shrimp, or tempeh for variety.
- Skip the meat and add more vegetables to make veggie lo mein.
- Swap bok choy and carrots for broccolini, broccoli florets, bell peppers, celery, bean sprouts, snow peas, or zucchini.
- You can also use chickpea spaghetti noodles (gluten-free) or any low carb noodles you like.
- Try adding crushed red pepper or your favorite hot sauce to make spicy lo mein.
- Use zucchini noodles to make this dish Whole30 compliant.
- Storage: store them in the fridge and finish within 3-4 days.
I made this recipe last week. It was so delicious and super easy to make!!
That’s awesome!