The Best Way To Reheat Those Lo Mein Noodles Sitting In Your Fridge

You open up your fridge, looking to see if there's anything you can make for lunch. Between the half-empty carton of orange juice and the carton of eggs is a take-out box full of lo mein noodles. "Oh yeah," you remember, pulling the box out from the fridge, "I had Chinese a day ago." To your surprise, the noodles still look pretty good! All you really need to do is reheat them, but the last time you used your microwave to reheat noodles — well, things could have turned out a little better.

Lo-mein noodles, and any sort of leftover noodles in particular, are a bit trickier to reheat than usual leftovers. Unlike some cold pizza or leftover macaroni and cheese, you don't want to just toss your leftover noodles in the microwave, or else they clump together and develop a dry, almost mushy texture. While there are no doubt ways you can microwave your noodles without turning them into a clumped-up mess, you'd rather prefer to reheat it in such a way that the noodles will taste as fresh (or as close to fresh as you can get) as the day you got them.

Fortunately, such a method does exist. Although a bit more time-consuming than just microwaving the noodles, this method uses a wok or frying pan to reheat your lo-mein to make them moist and flavorful without running the risk of the noodles drying out.

If you want to make your lo-mein noodles taste as fresh as they can be, you're going to need a wok and some oil. If you don't happen to have a wok on you, that's fine — an average frying pan will do just as well. What's important is that you have a pan, some oil, and your leftover noodles.

First, oil the wok or pan over medium heat and wait until the oil begins to simmer. Once the oil begins to simmer, add your lo-mein noodles and begin to toss them. Rather than stirring your noodles, tossing them keeps the noodles from sitting in the pan for too long, as the heat of the pan's surface could end up overcooking the already-cooked pasta faster than you would like. If your noodles still begin to clump together, add liquid such as water, stock, or soy sauce until the noodles begin to break apart. After around 4 minutes have passed, your noodles should be sufficiently cooked through and ready to eat.

You can also add your choice of meats or vegetables to the lo-mein. This may be more about keeping the texture and flavor of the lo-mein consistent, as the vegetables in your lo-mein (should there be any) may have become somewhat wilted or discolored following their stay in the fridge.

While the frying pan or wok method may be "better" than the microwave, this isn't to say that using your microwave to reheat your lo-mein is bad. You just need to take a few extra steps to ensure that your noodles don't wind up drying or clumping together.

First, put your lo-mein in a microwave-safe bowl and add your choice of water or soy sauce. A tablespoon of liquid is enough, but you may need more depending on how much lo-mein you have left. Cover the lo-mein with plastic wrap or a lid, but don't cover it too tightly, as you'll want to vent the steam out. Heat the noodles for 30 seconds before removing, stirring the noodles, and then reheating again for another 30 seconds. Repeat this process of stirring and reheating until the noodles are sufficiently heated.

Of course, there are some perks and drawbacks to this method. While it is very quick and gives you a pretty decent lo-mein meal that will satisfy your craving for Chinese food, it may leave the noodles somewhat mushy and not as fresh-tasting as they were before. Whether or not this is a deal breaker is up to you. So long as you enjoy your lo-mein noodles, any method — microwave or wok — is a perfectly acceptable method.