The popularity of Chinese food among people who enjoy trying new foods has increased significantly in recent years. If you are going to order international cuisine for the first time, don't you think it would be helpful to know what the names of the dishes mean?
Chow mein, lo mein, and chop suey are the three dishes that are guaranteed to be located at the very top of a Chinese restaurant's list of available items on the menu.
There are some fundamental differences between these products, despite the fact that the ingredients and seasonings are quite similar to one another.
Chop suey is a dish that is primarily based on American concepts and incorporates Chinese ingredients, in contrast to chow mein and lo mein, which are both types of noodles that originate from China.
What Is Chow Mein?
The term 'chow mein' is an Americanized version of the Chinese term chaomian. Its pronunciation is derived from the Cantonese word "chaomin."
It is a Chinese stir-fried noodle meal with veggies and occasionally pork or tofu. Chaomian was introduced to the United States from China by Chinese immigrants who arrived in California during the 1849 Gold Rush, bringing with them their Cantonese culinary technique.
Chow mein noodles are crisp strands of egg noodles that are traditionally cooked in a flat pan. There can be two types of chow mein in the American market: steamed chow mein and crisp chow mein. The noodles are the real highlight of the dish in both types of chow mein recipes.
Get these flat pans to try out traditional chow mein!What Is Lo Mein?
Lo mein is Cantonese for "stirred noodles."Lo mein is a Chinese dish that consists of egg noodles. It frequently includes vegetables as well as some type of meat or seafood, most commonly beef, chicken, pork, or shrimp. It could also be accompanied by wontons.
Similar to the preparation of ramen, udon, and soba noodles, lo mein is made with fully cooked, boiled, and drained noodles.
These cooked noodles are added to a wok containing various pre-cooked vegetables and proteins, along with the lo mein sauce.
All of the ingredients are gently combined until the noodles are just heated.
The differences between chow mein and lo mein
Even though both are Chinese egg noodles, there are some distinguishable differences between chow mein and lo mein. Chow mein and low mein are different in terms of their preparation, texture, sauce, etc.
The difference in preparation
Although the recipes for chow mein and lo mein call for the same ingredients, the methods for creating each of these dishes are very different from one another.
In terms of chow mein, the noodle cakes are soaked in hot water for them to soften, before stir-frying them. The process of stir-frying ensures that the noodles are cooked thoroughly and properly mixed in with other components.
In contrast, lo mein noodles are cooked thoroughly before being mixed with the other ingredients. The components of lo mein are not stir-fried but rather mixed together and given a quick stir before being served.
The difference in texture
Chow mein noodles are “fried”, and therefore crunchy in texture. However, lo mein noodles are cooked thoroughly before being mixed with other ingredients as well as the sauce, which gives them a chewy texture.
The difference in the sauce
If you are expecting a thick layer of sauce in your chow mein, you are in the wrong place, my friend! Chow mein is a dry kind of noodle, and in order to keep the crunchy texture alive, the sauce is used very sparsely.
However, lo mein is a saucy noodle. This noodle is predominantly dependent on the thick and rich sauce for much of its flavor.
What Is Chop Suey?
It is commonly claimed that Chinese Americans in the United States were the ones who first created chop suey. Chop suey in American Chinese cuisine as well as other forms of Chinese cuisine found overseas.
It uses various types of meat such as chicken, beef, shrimp, pork, fish, etc.
It also contains eggs that are cooked quickly with vegetables like bean sprouts, cabbage, etc, and are combined in a sauce that uses starch for thickening purposes. Rice is the customary accompaniment to this dish.
Chow Mein Vs Lo Mein Vs Chop Suey
The first thing that comes to mind while trying to decide how to differentiate chow mein, lo mein, and chop suey from one another is their origins.
Chop suey is an American meal that is inspired by Chinese cooking but is not traditionally made with Chinese ingredients. In contrast, chow mein and lo mein are both traditional Chinese foods.
Again, chow mein and lo mein each stand on their own as complete meals. They can be consumed on their own without the addition of anything else. On the other hand, chop suey is almost always eaten with rice.
Once more, chow mein and lo mein are almost always made from scratch, and even if they are bought pre-made from a store, the preparation time for both of these dishes is between twenty and thirty minutes. Chop suey, like virtually every other type of food available in the United States, can be purchased already prepared and consumed as a quick meal.
Finally, the main ingredients of chow mein and low mein are noodles, as suggested by their names. On the other hand, the main ingredients of chop suey are the vegetables used here, which can be modified as needed.
Final Words
To summarize, chow mein, low mein, and chop suey are three of the most popular Chinese-American dishes. despite the fact that many of the components and flavors in each of these items are very comparable to those found in the other, there are still some significant variances between them.
Chop suey is a dish that is primarily based on American concepts and incorporates Chinese ingredients, as opposed to chow mein and lo mein, which are both types of noodles that originated in China. However, irrespective of the differences, all three food items are extremely delicious and filling to enjoy.
Therefore, if you are a lover of East Asian food, you are guaranteed to enjoy all three of the items.
