Difference Between Lo Mein and Chow Mein

Lo Mein vs Chow Mein
 

Chow Mein is perhaps the best known dish from Chinese cuisine that is loved by people around the world. There are many different variations of Chow Mein available in restaurants to confuse people though they have come to accept all these noodle varieties as belonging to the same category of Chow Mein. This is the reason why people are in a dilemma when they find a new name Lo Mein in the menu card, in Chinese restaurants. Though Lo Mein is also a kind of noodles, it is much different from Chow Mein. This article attempts to highlight the differences between Chow Mein and Lo Mein.

Chow Mein

Mein is the word that is used to refer to noodles in Mandarin. Thus, Chow Mein is a dish that is a type of noodles. It is noodles that are crispy to eat as it is fried up in a pan of oil at a high temperature. These noodles are made of wheat flour with egg that is added during preparation. To make Chow Mein, these noodles are softened by keeping them in hot water and then placing over other ingredients that are already in the pan that is quite hot. You must have seen the road side vendor stirring noodles along with other ingredients that include vegetables like capsicum, onions, carrots, and spices. There are many different varieties of Chow Mein being served in restaurants such as egg Chow Mein, Cheese Chow Mein, chicken Chow Mein, and so on.

Lo Mein

Lo Mein are also noodles, but they are tossed ones. Egg noodles are first soaked in hot water and then when they are cooked, they are tossed on to a wok that has been already heated and contains sauces and other ingredients. Thus, the main purpose of throwing boiled egg noodles on to the wok is to allow the noodles to mix up with the sauces and to get warmed. Noodles do not get cooked twice and are, therefore, softer to east than is the case with Chow Mein.

Lo Mein vs Chow Mein

• Chow Mein is more popular Chinese dish than Lo Mein around the world.

• Chow Mein is stir fried whereas Lo Mein is only tossed and not stirred

• Chow Mein gets double coked making it crispy whereas Lo Mein has boiled noodles making the dish soft to eat.

• Lo Mein makes use of more and thicker sauces than the ones used in Chow Mein.

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