Lo Mein Framework: 3 Versions & Full Transcript

[00:00] In this video, we're doing a deep dive

[00:02] into Lain, and I'm going to show you

[00:03] three very different versions you can

[00:05] make. But first, I need to tell you why

[00:08] I was wrong about Lain. You see, I've

[00:11] never really been a big fan of this

[00:12] dish. And that's mainly because every

[00:14] time I order it for takeout, it looks

[00:16] like this. Mostly noodles, barely any

[00:18] protein or vegetables, and the flavor is

[00:20] just fine. It's not bad, but I'd almost

[00:23] always rather be going to town on

[00:24] something like Sichuan beef or Kungpow

[00:26] chicken instead. However, that

[00:28] completely changed once I started making

[00:31] it at home. And I now believe that low

[00:33] mane is one of the most useful dishes

[00:34] you can learn for three reasons. First,

[00:37] it's one of the easiest ways to turn

[00:39] random fridge leftovers into a great

[00:41] weekn night meal. Second, it's

[00:42] incredibly customizable. Once you

[00:44] understand the framework, you can make a

[00:46] high protein, low calorie version or go

[00:48] all in on something like a spicy beef

[00:50] lain that will surely tickle the taste

[00:52] buds. And third, which is the biggest

[00:54] one, it makes what might be the best

[00:57] leftovers of all time. So throughout

[00:59] this video, we're going to break down

[01:00] the low main framework and I'll show you

[01:02] all the choices I made to make three

[01:04] different versions. And by the end, I

[01:06] promise you'll know how to create a bowl

[01:08] of glossy, deeply seasoned noodles with

[01:10] crisp vegetables and tender, flavorful

[01:12] protein exactly how you like it. So, I'm

[01:16] going to meet you back here for a final

[01:18] taste test with our three homemade

[01:19] versions versus this takeout version.

[01:21] But to start, let's talk about the

[01:23] noodles. And I think this is one of the

[01:25] biggest upgrades you can make over

[01:27] takeout because of one thing, texture

[01:29] control.

[01:34] Traditionally, Lomain uses a wheat-based

[01:36] noodle, and sometimes they'll be made

[01:37] with egg like these fresh Lain noodles,

[01:39] which gives them that slight yellow

[01:41] color, and more importantly, that

[01:42] springy, chewy texture that holds up

[01:44] really well to the sauce, vegetables,

[01:46] and protein. And how you cook your

[01:48] noodles is really important because if

[01:50] you go to a buffet or a lot of takeout

[01:52] spots, those lowmade noodles have

[01:54] usually been cooked ahead of time and

[01:55] are sitting around in the sauce. So by

[01:57] the time you actually eat them, they're

[01:58] just kind of soft and not that

[02:00] interesting. However, when you make them

[02:02] at home, you have full control. You can

[02:04] cook them fresh and keep that springy

[02:06] chew and bite, which I find absolutely

[02:08] addictive. Now, the biggest mistake that

[02:11] most people make when it comes to the

[02:12] noodles are not knowing which ones to

[02:14] buy because there are definitely some

[02:16] differences. However, if you go to an

[02:18] Asian grocery store, you're usually

[02:19] going to see three main categories.

[02:22] First are fresh noodles. These are often

[02:24] coated in a little bit of starch to keep

[02:26] them from sticking and then need to be

[02:27] boiled for a few minutes like fresh

[02:29] pasta. Second are parcooked noodles.

[02:32] These noodles are partially cooked and

[02:33] then lightly coated in a bit of oil, so

[02:35] they're very quick to work with. And

[02:37] lastly are dried noodles, which are more

[02:39] similar to something like a dried pasta

[02:40] and need to be fully cooked in boiled

[02:42] water before using. Now, you could

[02:44] absolutely use things like spaghetti,

[02:46] ramen, or really any stir- fry noodle

[02:48] and still get a good result. But I do

[02:50] think it's worth grabbing either the

[02:52] fresh or parcooked noodles when you can

[02:55] because part of the fun is just those

[02:56] slight differences in the shape and

[02:58] texture. And I found three different

[03:00] versions at the store that I want to

[03:02] try. So, for our classic takeout lain,

[03:04] I'm going to use standard fresh lomain

[03:06] noodles. For the spicy beef, I found

[03:08] these thicker broad noodles, which you

[03:10] can see they've just got a bit more

[03:11] texture to them for the sauce. And then

[03:13] for the high protein version, I found

[03:14] these thinner noodles. I'm going to use

[03:16] slightly less noodles. So, I want them

[03:18] evenly spread throughout the dish. And

[03:20] now that we have our noodle choices, the

[03:22] next big mistake that most people make

[03:24] after buying them is just overcooking

[03:25] the noodles. So, whatever the package

[03:27] says, I would recommend sticking to the

[03:29] lower end of that range because they're

[03:31] going to cook a little bit more once

[03:33] they are tossed with the sauce. And this

[03:35] brings us to our second component and a

[03:38] question that I've had for a long time.

[03:40] What actually is the difference between

[03:42] lain and chowine? I've never fully

[03:45] understood the difference here because

[03:46] the way these terms are used and what

[03:48] dish is actually served to you at a

[03:50] restaurant could definitely vary quite a

[03:52] bit from place to place. But as far as I

[03:54] can tell, the key difference should be

[03:56] how the noodles are actually cooked with

[03:59] the sauce. Linguistically, chowine

[04:01] translates to stir fried noodles, which

[04:03] would mean they're cooked directly in

[04:05] the pan, and you actually want to

[04:06] develop some browning or crispness on

[04:08] the noodles themselves. And like other

[04:10] stir fries, seasonings and sauces are

[04:12] typically added, but it's definitely on

[04:14] the drier side. Lain, on the other hand,

[04:16] translates to toss noodles. And while

[04:19] it's still made in the walk, you are

[04:20] essentially tossing the noodles with the

[04:22] sauce rather than focusing on kind of

[04:24] stir frying them until they're crisp.

[04:26] Now, in practice, there's definitely

[04:27] some overlap and inconsistency here.

[04:29] Like, I've definitely ordered a chowine

[04:31] that was fairly saucy. So, you might

[04:33] want to double check a menu or ask your

[04:34] waiter if you are ordering this dish.

[04:37] However, the best part again about

[04:39] making it at home is that you can

[04:41] control the texture exactly how you like

[04:43] it. Now, the tricky part when it comes

[04:45] to the sauce is everybody makes it

[04:47] slightly different. And if you watch a

[04:49] bunch of recipes online, it's actually

[04:51] pretty hard to tell what every

[04:53] ingredient is doing. So, I'm going to

[04:55] break down the general sauce flavor

[04:57] profile, then show you the three

[04:59] specific variations I made so we can see

[05:01] how the ingredients are going to change

[05:03] the flavor in the final taste test.

[05:09] At a high level, low main sauce is

[05:11] primarily salty and umami with a little

[05:13] bit of sweetness, some savory aromomas,

[05:15] and then we want the texture thick

[05:16] enough so it clings to the noodles. And

[05:19] once you understand that, all of these

[05:20] ingredients you'll see in recipes start

[05:22] to make a lot more sense because they're

[05:24] playing these specific roles. So, first

[05:26] we have the salty and umami ingredients.

[05:28] These are things like the oyster sauce,

[05:30] light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, and

[05:32] chicken bullion. They're all primarily

[05:34] bringing salty and umami taste. Then you

[05:37] have your sweet ingredients. Oyster

[05:39] sauce actually has some sugar in it

[05:41] already, but you'll typically see plain

[05:43] sugar added as well. And other options

[05:44] could be honey or even something like

[05:46] hoen. Now, the goal isn't to make it so

[05:48] sweet like a sweet and sour sauce, for

[05:50] example. It's more just to have enough

[05:52] sweetness to balance out the salt and

[05:53] make everything more around it. Then

[05:55] finally, we have what I think of as the

[05:57] aroma and finishing ingredients. So

[05:59] these are things like sesame oil or

[06:01] chili oil, white pepper, chicken broth,

[06:04] water, or some Chinese cooking wine. And

[06:06] all of these are going to add a little

[06:07] fragrance and complexity and make that

[06:09] sauce feel more complete. And lastly,

[06:11] there's typically a thickener like a

[06:13] cornstarch lur to make it all saucy and

[06:15] cohesive for the noodles. And now that

[06:18] we understand the core elements at play

[06:20] here, let me show you the three

[06:21] different versions of the sauce that I

[06:23] made. For the classic takeout version, I

[06:25] started with two parts or 50 g of oyster

[06:27] sauce, then one part of soy sauce, but I

[06:30] split this up into 20 g of light soy

[06:32] sauce and 5 g of dark soy sauce. Then I

[06:35] added a spoonful of chicken bullyan

[06:36] powder along with 10 g of sugar. And I

[06:38] finished it with some white pepper and a

[06:40] splash of water just to thin out the

[06:42] sauce. And this first one is a pretty

[06:44] classic slightly sweeter profile which

[06:46] as you can see is going to create that

[06:48] nicely seasoned noodle with that slight

[06:50] brownish tint. Now if we take a look at

[06:52] the spicy beef lain, you'll notice the

[06:55] noodles are quite a bit darker. And this

[06:57] is because I changed a few ingredients.

[06:59] Again, I started with that 50 gram of

[07:01] oyster sauce, but this time I went for

[07:03] just 10 grams of light soy sauce and

[07:05] then added 10 gram of dark soy sauce.

[07:08] So, quite a bit more. I also added 5 g

[07:10] of beef wan and I didn't add any extra

[07:13] sugar. So, this is going to give us a

[07:14] darker, more savory sauce. And the

[07:17] reason this works is because it's going

[07:18] to stand up to the rest of the dish,

[07:20] which is richer beef, heavier spicy

[07:22] aromatics. So, everything is going to

[07:23] stay balanced instead of getting washed

[07:25] out. Then lastly, if we look at the

[07:28] chicken lain, this is going to have the

[07:29] lightest of all the sauces. So for this

[07:32] one, I used 25 g of light soy sauce, 10

[07:35] g of sugar, 15 g of oyster sauce, 5 g of

[07:38] some chicken bullion, and then just

[07:39] added water to thin it out. So to sum it

[07:42] up, we kind of have three different

[07:44] sauce flavor profiles. First, we have

[07:46] that balanced salty umami and slightly

[07:48] sweet classic takeout sauce. Then we

[07:51] have that darker, roastier sauce, which

[07:52] is going to hold up really well to the

[07:54] beef and the chilies. And lastly, a

[07:56] lighter chicken forward sauce that is

[07:58] going to pair very well with lots of

[08:00] vegetables. And once you've chosen your

[08:02] sauce, this is where things start to

[08:03] open up because next we're going to

[08:05] layer in the fresh aromatics. And this

[08:07] is a very fun area of low mane you can

[08:09] experiment with.

[08:15] The way the aromatics work is simple.

[08:17] Dice or mince them up, add them to the

[08:18] hot oil to bloom, then pour your sauce

[08:20] over the top. And this fresh aromatic

[08:23] layer is going to balance the richness

[08:24] of the sauce and make the dish feel more

[08:26] complete. Now, traditionally, Lman keeps

[08:28] it pretty simple. Usually, just some

[08:30] garlic and maybe some ginger. But at

[08:32] home, you can use up any aromatic

[08:34] vegetable you may happen to have laying

[08:35] around. This could be ginger, leaks,

[08:38] fresh chilies, onions, shallots, any

[08:40] pepper, or any vegetable that's

[08:42] aromatic. So, for my versions, I went in

[08:44] three different aromatic directions. For

[08:46] the first one, I kept it simple with

[08:48] just a lot of garlic. You can't really

[08:50] go wrong there. But for the spicy beef

[08:52] version, I use diced shallot and Thai

[08:54] bird's eyee chilis. And this is where

[08:56] I'm going to build in that heat and

[08:57] intensity. The chilis are going to bring

[08:59] that sharp, punchy spice that is going

[09:00] to help cut through the richer beef and

[09:02] sauce. Then for the lighter chicken

[09:04] lain, I went with the classic ginger and

[09:06] garlic combo. The ginger just helps keep

[09:09] everything fresh and almost clean while

[09:11] making that dish feel light and on your

[09:13] feet, ready to go after a workout. So,

[09:15] now that we have our noodles, sauce, and

[09:17] aromatics, you could technically stop

[09:19] right here and have a really solid lain.

[09:21] But to me, where this dish becomes

[09:23] genuinely useful and almost kind of

[09:25] life-changing is in the proteins and

[09:27] vegetables because this is where lain

[09:30] turns into a system. You can make it

[09:32] lighter, you can make it high protein,

[09:34] you can use up leftovers or build it

[09:36] around whatever you have in your fridge.

[09:38] So, let me show you the choices that I

[09:39] made for the vegetables and protein, but

[09:41] try to keep in mind the choices that you

[09:43] may want to make as we go.

[09:49] For the protein, the process is simple.

[09:51] We're first going to lightly marinate

[09:52] it, then just cook everything separately

[09:54] in a high heat walk to develop some

[09:56] browning. And the three most common

[09:58] options you'll see at a takeout spot are

[10:00] chicken, beef, and shrimp. So, that's

[10:01] what I'm doing today. Starting with the

[10:03] shrimp, I added some frozen, peeled, and

[10:05] de vained shrimp into a bowl. And then

[10:07] added a sprinkle of salt and just a tiny

[10:09] drizzle of sesame oil. And when this

[10:11] cooks up, the shrimp is going to be nice

[10:12] and tender and just add that little bit

[10:14] of sesame aroma. Now, for the beef, I'm

[10:17] doing a slightly more involved marinade.

[10:19] So, I started by slicing a piece of

[10:21] sirloin into strips, but really any cut

[10:23] of beef will work. Then I added the beef

[10:25] to a bowl along with a splash of light

[10:26] soy sauce, a little bit of sugar, a

[10:28] pinch of baking soda to help tenderize

[10:30] it, a spoonful of chili crisp for some

[10:32] heat and fat, then a bit of cornstarch

[10:34] to help it brown and stay juicy. Mix

[10:36] that together and you get these nicely

[10:38] coated, well seasoned pieces of beef.

[10:40] Then for the chicken, again, I'm keeping

[10:42] it pretty simple here. A splash of light

[10:44] soy sauce, a little chicken bullion

[10:46] powder to really boost that chicken

[10:47] flavor, some sesame oil for more aroma,

[10:49] and then a bit of Chinese cooking wine.

[10:52] Mix that up and you've got a really

[10:53] clean, wellseeed base. And now that

[10:56] we've got our proteins covered, let's

[10:58] talk the vegetables. And this is where I

[10:59] think Lain really starts to shine

[11:01] because the vegetables are what are

[11:03] going to bring the color, texture, and a

[11:05] lot of the visual appeal.

[11:10] So, the general approach is simple.

[11:12] First, we're going to choose a variety

[11:13] of colored vegetables. Then, we're going

[11:15] to slice the vegetables to roughly match

[11:17] the shape of the noodles. So, longer and

[11:19] thinner pieces. Then we're going to cook

[11:21] the hearty vegetables in the walk with a

[11:22] little salt or soy sauce and a splash of

[11:24] Chinese cooking wine. And lastly, stir

[11:26] the fresher vegetables in at the end. So

[11:28] these are things like bean sprouts and

[11:30] scallions. So for a shrimp version, I

[11:33] went pretty classic with carrots, red

[11:35] onion, cabbage, and then some bean

[11:36] sprouts and green onions, which I'm

[11:38] going to toss in at the end. So you can

[11:40] see me cooking up the carrots, onions,

[11:41] and cabbage first. Then once everything

[11:43] else is in there, I threw the sprouts

[11:45] and scallions in with those noodles. For

[11:47] the spicy beef, I mixed it up a little

[11:49] bit. I used some bell peppers, carrots,

[11:51] green onions, and then I found these

[11:53] really nice mushrooms. And this is a

[11:54] good example of thinking about contrast.

[11:56] You've got the darker mushrooms, the

[11:58] bright peppers, and everything's going

[11:59] to play off each other nice and

[12:01] visually. Then for the chicken version,

[12:03] to make a lower calorie version, I kind

[12:05] of upped the amount of vegetables. I use

[12:07] some Chinese broccoli, yellow squash,

[12:10] bell pepper, red onion, and bean

[12:12] sprouts, which are tossed in at the end.

[12:14] And as you can see, all of these choices

[12:16] really layer together. They're all low

[12:18] main, but visually they have a

[12:20] completely different feel depending on

[12:22] the vegetables we use. So now let's do a

[12:26] final taste test and compare them to the

[12:29] takeout version. Okay, so let's do the

[12:32] final taste test. I have already kind of

[12:33] tasted them individually as I was making

[12:35] them. But it's always so illuminating

[12:37] when you actually taste things side by

[12:39] side. So let's do just that. And I think

[12:41] right away we can see the takeout lain.

[12:44] Like this is what I feel like I would

[12:45] always get into. It feels like it's

[12:47] mostly noodles. Like there are some

[12:49] vegetables. There's some bell peppers.

[12:50] There's a little broccoli in here. There

[12:52] are some pieces of chicken, but overall

[12:54] it kind of feels like more of noodles.

[12:57] But let's give it a shot.

[13:00] So, I've not ordered from this

[13:02] particular place before, but I would say

[13:03] that echoes my common experience with

[13:05] lain and why I was never a big fan of

[13:07] it. It's kind of one of those dishes

[13:08] where it's just kind of fine. It doesn't

[13:10] make me feel anything. It's it's a dish

[13:12] that I would hope maybe someone else

[13:14] would order so I could have like a bite

[13:16] or two of it, but I would much rather be

[13:18] ordering a lot of other things on the

[13:20] menu. However, like I said, that changed

[13:23] when I started making it at home. And as

[13:25] you can see right away visually with the

[13:28] ratios of kind of the noodles and

[13:29] proteins very different in our homemade

[13:32] versions. And that's why I think it's

[13:34] just such a good dish to make at home

[13:35] because, you know, mostly noodles versus

[13:38] mostly protein and vegetables or kind of

[13:40] half and half rather. Um, not to mention

[13:42] the different flavor profiles as well.

[13:49] So, for this first one, sauce and

[13:51] noodle-wise, I would say this is fairly

[13:53] close to the kind of takeout version.

[13:55] Again, very similar noodles, a little

[13:57] bit thicker, which I like over the

[13:58] takeout version. And then the sauce,

[14:01] it's a little bit sweet, a little umami,

[14:03] a little salty, but not any way

[14:04] overpowering. Just like a good classic.

[14:06] You could mix up this version with any

[14:09] variety of like vegetables and proteins.

[14:11] You're going to be in for a good time.

[14:13] However, now we're going to move to

[14:15] number two, and this is the spicy beef

[14:17] lain, which I love spicy stuff. So, this

[14:20] is not something that you can really

[14:21] order a lot of places. So, more beefy

[14:24] sauce, spicy components in here. Let's

[14:27] get into it.

[14:34] For me, I think this is like the best

[14:36] lain that I've ever had because I kind

[14:37] of made it exactly how I wanted it. Um,

[14:40] but the spiciness you get from those tai

[14:42] bird's eye chilis and then the sauce

[14:44] isn't quite as sweet, but it's it's much

[14:46] more savory from kind of that um the

[14:49] beef bullion we put in there. And then

[14:51] the the tender beef pieces are just

[14:54] really nice to bite into. And then I

[14:55] really like that mix of kind of the

[14:57] mushroom with the bell peppers and you

[14:59] get a little freshness from those

[15:00] scallions in there. Um, for me that's

[15:03] yeah, this is probably the best lain

[15:05] I've ever had. I think noodle-wise these

[15:08] are a decent option, although I think I

[15:10] do like the texture of kind of those

[15:11] fresh lain noodles. Little bit thicker.

[15:13] These are a little bit thinner, but

[15:14] still really, really good. And lastly,

[15:17] let's kind of go to our healthy chicken

[15:20] um lain. So, more vegetables, more

[15:23] protein in this, just less noodles to

[15:25] kind of lower the calorie count.

[15:30] It's crazy how the ginger comes through

[15:32] in this. It makes such a big difference.

[15:33] Like, you get Thai chilis here. You get

[15:36] kind of just garlic here. Um, the ginger

[15:39] just it it makes it feel more healthy.

[15:41] Um, I just I really like ginger for

[15:45] being like a lower calorie kind of

[15:46] healthier version. This one is

[15:48] surprisingly good.

[15:50] So, this taste test totally sums up why

[15:52] I'm such a big fan of making low mane at

[15:54] home. Each of these kind of brings

[15:56] something else to the table. Um, and

[15:58] they're kind of like an upgrade over

[16:00] over, you know, the takeout version,

[16:01] which again, it's fine, but again, when

[16:03] you can mix in more vegetables, which

[16:05] when you can change your sauces, change

[16:07] up the aromatics, and really shape the

[16:09] direction of your dish, it's really,

[16:11] really fun. So, we're going to have

[16:12] recipes for each of these linked down

[16:14] below, as well as in the Cookwell app.

[16:16] And we're going to have a low man

[16:18] framework as well where you can actually

[16:20] edit your ingredients to match whatever

[16:22] you may have in the fridge, freezer, and

[16:23] pantry to make some great low man at

[16:25] home. But anyway, that is going to wrap

[16:27] it up for me in this one. Let me know

[16:29] which version of these you want to make

[16:30] down below, but I will catch you all in

[16:32] the next one. Peace y'all.