Let's say a family member asked me to try cooking lo mein for dinner, but I don't have time to stop by a big enough grocery store to get Asian noodles. I do, however, have spaghetti in the cupboard.
Are spaghetti noodles a reasonable approximation for lo mein noodles? (As far I understand it, they're both wheat-based.) What textural or flavor differences would I encounter with this substitution?
Best Answer
Round lo mein noodles look veeeeery similar to spaghetti:
Spaghetti
Lo mein
The biggest difference, ingredient-wise is that dried pasta (mostly?) does not contain eggs and lo mein noodles do.
I know that at least once shopping mall food court chinese food place I've eaten from uses spaghetti for their lo mein. It's kind of obvious, but it's not bad. I feel that lo mein typically has a denser, chewier bite than spaghetti. In a pinch, spaghetti will make a tasty noodle dish. It won't quite be lo mein, though.
My advice would be to try it and see what you think. Be careful to not over-cook your spaghetti.