Ground beef lo mein
Slurpable noodles tossed with savory beef and crunchy vegetables in a sweet, salty sauce, faster than delivery.
- 30 min total
- 25 min hands-on
- Follow-a-recipe easy
- Serves 4
- About $2.96 a serving
- 560 calories
- Good the next day
- Dairy-free
Dolly says: Make the full amount. It’s just as good for lunch the next day.
Ingredients
For 4 servings.
- 8 oz lo mein noodles
- 1 tbsp sesame oil, divided
- 2 tbsp oyster sauce
- 1 lb 85/15 ground beef
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tbsp fresh ginger, grated
- 3 cups coleslaw mix
- 4 stalks green onions, cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1 tsp sriracha (optional)
From your pantry
- 3 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tsp brown sugar
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
Each serving has about 560 calories, 31 g protein, 48 g carbs and 26 g fat, and costs about $2.96 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No 85/15 ground beef? 90/10 ground beef works.
- No coleslaw mix? Green cabbage or red cabbage works.
- No green onions? Chives work.
- No sriracha? Hot sauce works.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
Bring a large pot of water over high. Cook the noodles as the package says, , and them with 1 teaspoon sesame oil.
Bring to a boil. It means heating a liquid on high until it’s fully boiling before you move on. A lid on the pot gets it there faster, which makes it a good moment to chop something.
How you’ll know: Big bubbles break all over the surface, and they keep coming when you lift the lid.
Drain. Draining means pouring off liquid, like tipping pasta into a colander or spooning extra fat out of the pan. Pour hot grease into a can or jar, not the sink, where it hardens and clogs the pipes.
How you’ll know: Only a few drips are left, and the food isn’t sitting in a puddle.
Toss. Tossing means gently lifting and turning food so everything gets coated, like pasta in sauce or vegetables in oil. It coats every piece evenly without mashing anything.
How you’ll know: Every piece looks glossy or evenly coated, with no dry spots hiding underneath.
High heat
Dolly’s tip: A little oil keeps the noodles from gluing together while you cook the rest.the soy sauce, oyster sauce, brown sugar and remaining sesame oil in a small bowl.
Whisk. Whisking means beating quickly with a whisk or a fork to blend things together. It smooths out lumps and mixes eggs, oil or sauces evenly.
How you’ll know: It all looks one even color and texture, with no streaks or lumps.
Heat the vegetable oil in a large over medium-high and cook the beef 7 to 8 minutes, breaking it up, until no pink is left. Spoon off the fat.
Skillet. A skillet is a frying pan: wide and flat with low, sloped sides. The shape lets steam escape, so food browns instead of stewing.
How you’ll know: It’s the pan you’d fry an egg in, and a 10 or 12 inch one handles most recipes.
Medium-high heatTimer: 7 min 30 sec
Food safety: Ground beef, pork and lamb are done at 160°F. When it’s cooked through there’s no pink left anywhere in the pan.
Stir in the garlic and ginger for 30 seconds, .
Fragrant. Fragrant means cooking until you can clearly smell it, usually garlic or spices, often in about 30 seconds. That’s the moment the flavor is ready, just before it can burn.
How you’ll know: You can smell it from a step back, and garlic is pale gold, not brown.
Medium-high heat
Add the coleslaw mix and green onions and 2 to 3 minutes, until but still crunchy.
Stir-fry. Stir-frying means cooking small pieces fast over high heat in a little oil, stirring almost constantly. It moves quickly, so have everything chopped and ready before the pan gets hot.
How you’ll know: It sizzles loudly the whole time, and the vegetables turn bright and tender-crisp in minutes.
Wilt. Wilting means cooking leafy greens just until they go soft and collapse. Greens shrink a lot, so a big pile of spinach becomes a small handful, and that’s normal.
How you’ll know: The leaves turn soft and deep green and slump into the pan, usually within a minute or two.
Medium-high heatTimer: 2 min 30 sec
Add the noodles and sauce and with tongs for 1 to 2 minutes, until everything is hot and coated. Add sriracha if you like heat.
Toss. Tossing means gently lifting and turning food so everything gets coated, like pasta in sauce or vegetables in oil. It coats every piece evenly without mashing anything.
How you’ll know: Every piece looks glossy or evenly coated, with no dry spots hiding underneath.
Medium-high heatTimer: 1 min 30 sec
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
