Beef Lo Mein

Name: Beef Lo Mein
Prep time: 12 min
Cook time: 21 min
Total time: 33 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Chinese
Ingredients: 1/2 lb Beef; pinch Salt; pinch Pepper; 2 tsp Sesame Seed Oil; 1/2 Egg; 3 tbs Starch; 5 tbs Oil; 1/4 lb Noodles; 1/2 cup Onion; 1 tsp Minced Garlic; 1 tsp Ginger; 1 cup Bean Sprouts; 1 cup Mushrooms; 1 cup Water; 1 tbs Oyster Sauce; 1 tsp Sugar; 1 tsp Soy Sauce

By The Spice & Simmer Kitchen · Published May 3, 2026

A one-pot Beef recipe with Chinese flavors, built for busy weeknights when you want real food without a sink full of dishes. Comes together in roughly 59 minutes, serves about 4, and uses ingredients you can find at any normal grocery store. The technique is simple: build a base in your pot, layer in the main ingredients, simmer until everything has had time to talk to each other, and serve straight from the pan. If you're cooking for picky eaters, this one tends to land — the flavors are recognizable, the texture is comforting, and there's nothing weird hiding in the ingredient list. Perfect for the kind of evening where you want dinner on the table by 7pm and the kitchen empty by 7:30.

Ingredients

Makes 4 servings · 33 min total

1/2 lb Beef
pinch Salt
pinch Pepper
2 tsp Sesame Seed Oil
1/2 Egg
3 tbs Starch
5 tbs Oil
1/4 lb Noodles
1/2 cup Onion
1 tsp Minced Garlic
1 tsp Ginger
1 cup Bean Sprouts
1 cup Mushrooms
1 cup Water
1 tbs Oyster Sauce
1 tsp Sugar
1 tsp Soy Sauce

Step-by-step instructions

MARINATING THE BEEF In a bowl, add the beef, salt, 1 pinch white pepper, 1 Teaspoon sesame seed oil, 1/2 egg, corn starch,1 Tablespoon of oil and mix together.
BOILING THE THE NOODLES In a 6 qt pot add your noodles to boiling water until the noodles are submerged and boil on high heat for 10 seconds. After your noodles is done boiling strain and cool with cold water.
STIR FRY Add 2 Tablespoons of oil, beef and cook on high heat untill beef is medium cooked.
Set the cooked beef aside In a wok add 2 Tablespoon of oil, onions, minced garlic, minced ginger, bean sprouts, mushrooms, peapods and 1.5 cups of water or until the vegetables are submerged in water.
Add the noodles to wok To make the sauce, add oyster sauce, 1 pinch white pepper, 1 teaspoon sesame seed oil, sugar, and 1 Teaspoon of soy sauce.
Next add the beef to wok and stir-fry.

Why this works on a weeknight

Beef Lo Mein lands at about 33 minutes total — a little longer than our 30-minute target, but most of that time is hands-off simmering, which is why it earned a spot in our Stir-Fry collection. The technique is forgiving, the ingredient list is grocery-store standard, and the active cooking time is short enough that you can answer a text message in the middle without ruining dinner.

Cleanup notes

This is a single-pan recipe, so the cleanup is exactly one pan, one cutting board, and one knife. While the dish rests, fill the pan with hot soapy water — by the time you are done eating, the residue lifts off with a single pass of a sponge. Skip the steel wool on cast iron; a stiff brush and warm water are all you need to keep the seasoning intact.

Make-ahead and leftovers

Leftovers keep covered in the fridge for up to three days. Reheat in a dry pan over medium-low with a splash of water or stock to loosen the sauce. Beef Lo Mein actually improves overnight as the flavors keep talking to each other, so doubling the recipe and packing tomorrow's lunch is a high-leverage weeknight move.

Filed under 🥢 Stir-Fry Beef Chinese