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Lo mein

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Lo mein
American-Chinese-style Lo mein
Cantonese style lo mein
Traditional Chinese撈麵
Simplified Chinese捞面
Jyutpinglou1 min6
Literal meaningmixed/stirred noodles
Alternative Chinese name
Traditional Chinese拌麵
Simplified Chinese拌面
Jyutpingbun6 min6

Lo mein (Chinese: 捞面 or 撈麵 lao mian) is a Chinese dish with wheat flour noodles. It often contains vegetables and some type of meat or seafood, usually beef, chicken, pork, shrimp or wontons. It can also be eaten with just vegetables.

Traditionally this is a variation of wonton 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 lōu mihn (撈麵), meaning “stirred noodles”.[1] The Cantonese usage of the character 撈, pronounced lōu and meaning "to stir", differs from the character's usual meaning of "to dredge" or "to scoop out of water" in Mandarin, in which case it would be pronounced as làauh or lòuh in Cantonese (lāo in Mandarin).[2][3] In Mandarin, the dish is more typically called bàn miàn (拌麵), not to be confused with bǎn miàn (板麵).

American Chinese cuisine

In American Chinese restaurants, lo mein is a popular take-out food. In this setting, lo mein noodles are usually stirred 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.

A version sold in many places in western North America is sometimes labeled as chow mein. However, the two are prepared differently. Chow mein is fried to varying degrees of crispness, while lo mein is kept soft.[4]

Gallery

See also

References

  1. ^ "Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary" (Document). Merriam-Webster Online. 2008. {{cite document}}: Unknown parameter |contribution= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |url= ignored (help)
  2. ^ . 《現代標準漢語與粵語對照資料庫》 (A Comparative Study of Modern Chinese and Cantonese) (in Chinese). 香港中文大學 (Chinese University of Hong Kong). {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help)
  3. ^ . 《粵語審音配詞字庫》 (Chinese Character Database: With Word-formations Phonologically Disambiguated According to the Cantonese Dialect) (in Chinese). 香港中文大學 (Chinese University of Hong Kong). {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help)
  4. ^ http://feastasia.casaveneracion.com/lo-mein-not-chow-mein/