What's up everyone?
Today, Chef Daddy Lau is going to teach us
How to make vegetable lo mein noodles
This is a very special episode of Made With Lau
Celebrating my dad's 75th birthday
And also a big surprise for the Lau family
That we'll be sharing at the end of the video
Noodles have been a staple of Chinese cuisine
For thousands of years
The first written record of noodles appeared
About 2000 years ago in a book written
During the Han dynasty
And in 2005, archaeologists unearthed a fully
Fully preserved 4000 year old bowl of noodles
In northwestern China
In Chinese tradition, noodles are a symbol of longevity,
And it's typical to celebrate birthdays, weddings
And big life milestones with noodles
The connection is simple
Noodles are long, so they've become a metaphor
For a long life, a long marriage,
And longevity in general
Teaching us his unique lo mein recipe
Will be my dad
Who's been cooking Chinese food for over 50 years
And who also happens to be playing the flute
That you're listening to right now
Be sure to stay tuned at the end
To learn more about the dish
To partake in my dad's epic feast
And to celebrate with my family
Check out our blog post for a printable,
Adjustable list of ingredients
As well as step-by-step videos and instructions
On how to make this dish
Hope you guys enjoy!
Friends, I hope all of you are doing well!
Today, I'll be explaining how to make vegetable lo mein
For vegetable lo mein, I'll be using mushrooms, broccoli, celery
Just to highlight a few key ingredients
We're using 3 different types of mushrooms
Shiitake, enoki, and king oyster
As for noodles, there are a lot of different types out there
But we're using fresh egg noodles
For those of us Bay Area natives
These ingredients are pretty easy to find at 99 Ranch
But if you don't live near one
Most Asian grocery stores carry these items
I'm just using these ingredients because I want to
Feel free to use whatever ingredients you'd like
Great, first I'll start cooking our noodles
Pour 4 cups of boiling water into a pot
The pot must be boiling before adding the noodles
In this bag, there's about 15 oz of noodles
I'll be using about 10 oz of noodles
You don't need to use the whole bag
If you want to eat more, feel free to use the whole bag
But one order, considering all of the vegetables
Will already be a pretty big dish
This amount is enough
Stir the pot
Don't let the noodles stick to the bottom of the pot
Wait until it boils again
It should all take about 10 minutes to fully cook
While we wait, we'll chop our vegetables
These are fresh shiitake mushrooms
Let's wash them
Make sure they're clean
Next, we'll wash our king oyster mushroom
Just like the shiitake mushroom, let's wash in water
These are enoki mushrooms (or seafood mushrooms)
We'll use half of this package (about 3 oz)
Let's cut off the roots first
Great, the noodles are boiling
Stir it around
Turn the heat to a simmer, and let it cook longer
Once it's started boiling, we can lower the heat
We can set it to the lowest heat
Cover it again, and cook for 5 minutes
The mushrooms are washed
Place it to the side
This is fresh shiitake
Cut it into slices
What if you buy dried shiitake mushrooms?
For dried mushrooms, you'll need to rehydrate them
In warm water for 15-20 minutes
This way is much easier
Next, we'll chop the rest of our mushrooms and vegetables
Using 4 shiitake mushrooms (about 3.5 oz)
1/2 king oyster mushroom (2 oz)
1/3 carrot (1.5 oz), 3 oz broccoli, 3 oz celery, 2 oz red bell pepper
1 garlic clove, and 1 piece of green onion
Adding the flavors of green onions will be good
This amount is enough
This is already a lot of stuff, right?
Great, now the noodles are cooked
Let's drain the pot first
See?
The noodles are ready
Next, we'll drain our noodles using a colander
And rinse them in cold water for 10-15 seconds
We're done preparing the noodles
Let's heat our wok
10 oz of noodles amounts to a really big plate
A very, very big plate
A few minutes - let the wok heat up
Before we add oil
If the wok isn't hot enough, when stir-frying
The food won't be as flavorful, understand?
If it's not hot, it's just like boiling your food
Great, now we'll add 2 tbsp of vegetable oil
First, we'll add the garlic
If you don't heat the wok properly, the garlic won't be as fragrant
See?
Cook the garlic for about 20-30 seconds
You can smell the garlic's aromas
Alright, now let's add the vegetables
Hear that? Hear that sizzling sound?
Let's stir fry it for a while
Cook the veggies for about 2 to 2.5 minutes
Before our next step before we add water to the wok
Let’s stir-fry it for a while, then the vegetable’s flavors will emerge
Hear that sound? Smell the aromas
If you don't heat the wok enough, you won't hear these sounds
In our world of cooking, we say it doesn't have “wok hei”
It's not flavorful
We've touched on this in some of our previous videos
But Wok Hei is an important principle in Cantonese cooking
The Cantonese word "hei" is more commonly known
By its Mandarin counterpart, “qi”
The vital life force that runs through our body
Wok Hei has a lot of different meanings
But I love how Grace Young explains it in her book,
The Breath of a Wok
And how the wok breathes its energy into the food
To create an epic meal
Kenji López-Alt, a popular science-based chef and author
Recently posted a great write up on New York Times
About the elements of Wok Hei
Which centers around the reactions that occur
Between sugars, oils, extreme heat, and rapid evaporation
Achieving restaurant-quality Wok Hei at home
Is generally harder due to the heat limitations
Of our typical stoves
Home cooked food still tastes great even without
A high-powered heat source, but if you're curious
I highly recommend checking out Kenji's video
Where he shares his own version of Lo Mein noodles
Made at home with a blow torch
To get more of that smoky, fleeting Wok Hei essence
Now we'll add some water to the wok
Because this is lo mein, we need to add some water
For chow mein, we don't need to add any water
How much water do we add?
Look at your noodles
If you have more noodles, add more water
If you have less noodles, add less water
Here, this will be a big plate of noodles
Enough for 5-6 people
Add 1 cup of water
Hear that? Hear the sizzling?
Great, let’s cover the wok
Cover the wok for 2-3 minutes, until it starts boiling
While we wait, we'll prepare a cornstarch slurry
With 1 tbsp cornstarch and 3 tbsp water
We'll be using this later to thicken our lo mein
And tie all of the flavors together
It's boiling now, you can see it boiling
Now, let's add some flavor
Add 1/2 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tbsp oyster sauce, 1/2 tbsp dark soy sauce
1 tsp sugar, 1 tsp salt
Let's see what this tastes like
Mmm, good
Great, let's add the noodles
Let's stew the noodles for a bit
So the noodles can first absorb the flavors and juices
Cover the wok for 3 minutes
Just until it's about to boil
My method of lo mein is different from others
Most people add the cornstarch slurry before mixing in the noodles
I wait to add and mix in the slurry until the very end
This way, the noodles -
Before they're covered by the cornstarch slurry
The noodles have a chance to soak the flavors inside
This way, the noodles will taste much better
The cooking method is different
Everyone, you might as well try and see if you like it
To elaborate on my dad's method
He's essentially letting the noodles marinate
In the flavorful vegetable and mushroom juices
Since cornstarch acts as a thickener and a binding agent
If you add the cornstarch too early
The flavors won't get an opportunity
To seep into the noodles
Great, the noodles are boiling
The noodles are so beautiful
Now, we'll add our cornstarch
See, there's already some water at the bottom
There's already juices in here
Mmmmm
See that?
Let's cook it a little while longer
Let the juices evaporate a bit
The smell is making you hungry, right son?
You smell it and you're hungry, right?
Okay, good!
We're just about done, and we'll finish it off by
Adding 3 oz bean sprouts, our chopped green onions
And 1 tsp sesame oil
Stir everything around for about 60-90 seconds
Great, see that? Hear that? Wow!
Yeah!
This noodle dish is done
Vegetable Lo Mein!
For my lo mein, I add the cornstarch slurry last
Taste it and see, you might like it better
Let's plate it - transfer the noodles onto the plate
Wow, so beautiful
This is going to be a big plate
Great
Wow, these noodles at the bottom are the best part
See that?
These noodles are exquisite!
How beautiful!
These noodles are really exquisite!
Wow! Just smelling it makes your mouth water, right son?
The mushrooms are so beautiful
Great! Our vegetable lo mein is done
It's beautiful, right?
(Laughs) Okay!
Today, we're celebrating Daddy Lau's birthday
And I'm really happy to share our video,
our dish, with all of our friends
We can bring it -
We already have 6 bowls, that’s enough
We have the biggest wishes for Daddy Lau
Enjoy his retirement
Enjoy his cooking
I'm using chicken breast for this Kung Pao Chicken
Let's add some wine
Enjoy everything he loves to do
And enjoy the life with his family with grandkids
Let me give you a red envelope
Hong Doy! Yeh Yeh is going to give you a red envelope!
Hong Doy, awww!
Wow, Hong Doy!
And to make more videos for the next generation
To learn and continue to cook Chinese-style food at home
This is a very, very valuable treasure for Daddy Lau
Happy birthday, dear Daddy Lau
Happy birthday to you!
Woooo!
(Cheers
"We love you, Dad”
I love you all!
We cooked this noodle dish for longevity for Daddy’s birthday
But we also have a surprise
That just came out
Our daughter Jennifer Lau and Ken -
Engaged!
How do you open it
I think you just
Oh! There you go!
(Laughs)
Wow, this noodle dish was made at the right time
That's double happiness
Biggest wishes that their future is
Longer and longer
Always happy
And forever
Yay! Congrats
Double happy! Double happy!
Awww
Double happy!
So I wish for all our friends:
Healthy
Happiness
Fortune
Prosperity
Everything goes well, and lasts a long, long time
Cheers!
Happy birthday! Congrats!
(Cheers)
When you have a birthday party, beside the birthday cake
I really, really want you to
Bring some noodles
So this noodle symbolizes your life -
Long, long, long
We all want longevity
We all want to live healthy, well, and to enjoy life
Daddy's best birthday gift is that
you and Ken got engaged!
This is the best birthday gift of all!
You and Ken are going to get married, aiyah!
The second gift:
Hong Doy is healthy and growing taller!
You're growing so quickly, Hong Doy!
Soon, you'll have a little sister!
(Laughs)
Okay!
What's your third wish?
My third wish is that
Ming Yee and Ken get married
And have another baby for our family!
Yay!
We'll have another baby for Mommy Lau to baby sit
(Laughs)
I have another wish
For everyone to be healthy
For everyone in our big family to be happy
Happiness and joy for everyone!
I have another wish
Daddy is healthy
And creates a ton of recipes!
(Laughs)
Okay, thank you to all of our friends
We want you to learn our noodle dish
Hopefully you’ll like it, and subscribe to our channel
Everyone, have a healthy, happy, longevity life!