Homemade vegetable chow mein that ‘s better than takeout and about as easy ! With crisp noodles, stir-fried veggies and savory sauce, there ‘s lots to love about this vegan interpretation of a taiwanese classical .
Call me pathetic, but I ‘m a big sports fan of cooking lucky New Year ‘s dishes around the depart of the year. Am I the only one who does this ? Do you guys even know this is a thing ?certain dishes are supposed to bring good stuff in the New Year. For example, beans and greens are supposed to bring for money ( bean exemplify coins, greens represent dollars ), which is why hoppin ‘ John is traditionally served around the vacation. long noodles are foretold to bring forth longevity .
not that I ‘m superstitious. It ‘s all in good fun !
Reading: The Best Vegetable Chow Mein
This class I decided to perfect my vegetable chow mein recipe in readiness for the big day. I ‘m not sure if this one will bring me luck, but it ‘s surely delightful !
Chow Mein vs. Lo Mein
We ‘ve had an ongoing debate/discussion that comes in my family every fourth dimension we go out for chinese food. What ‘s the deviation between zhou mein and lo mein ?
I guess it makes sense that there ‘s some confusion, because they ‘re pretty similar. Both dishes are made with noodles, stir-fried veggies, and soy-based sauce. The difference is in the noodles.
- Chow mein noodles are a thinner than lo mein noodles.
- Chow mein noodles undergo a bit of extra frying to get them super crispy. Whereas with lo mein the noodles get thrown into the pan towards the end of cooking and stir-fried for a just a bit, with chow mein the noodles get fried first in a couple of tablespoons of oil, until they’re nice and crispy.
Ingredients You’ll Need
Noodles
We ‘re using dried zhou mein noodles for this recipe, because in my experience the bracing ones normally contain egg. You can buy dried vegan chow mein noodles at most supermarkets, or on-line .
If you ca n’t find chow mein noodles, try substituting ramen noodles, which are identical similar. What’s really important is the thickness — you want your noodles to be on the thinner side so they crisp up easily when you fry them.
Sauce
Our vegan chow mein sauce is a bare mix of soy sauce, dark mushroom soy sauce, hoisin sauce, brown sugar, cornstarch, and sesame petroleum. Just about all of these ingredients are available at the supermarket, except possibly the colored mushroom soy sauce, which you can buy online or in an asian market .
If you can’t get your hands on the mushroom soy sauce, substitute additional regular soy sauce — you might just need a splash extra (dark mushroom soy sauce is more intense than regular), which you can add at the end of cooking when you taste-test the noodles.
Veggies
Scallions ( a.k.a. green onions ), garlic, and ginger are our aromatics and will be adding some extra spirit to the chow mein .
Shiitake mushrooms, carrots, celery and pilfer are our stir-fry veggies. We ‘re making a mix vegetable chow mein here, so I ‘ve included lots of assortment ! Feel free to substitute with your favorites or whatever you have on hand, keeping in mind that harder veggies can be added to the skillet earlier, and softer ones later.
How to Make Vegetable Chow Mein
The following is a detailed photo tutorial on how to make this dish. Scroll all the way down if you’d like to skip right to the recipe!
Start by prepping everything. Mix your sauce, chop the veggies, and boil the noodles. The stir-frying march goes fast, so you want everything to be ready for you when you need it .
Heat some anoint in a wok or frying pan. Tip: use a cooking vessel with a good nonstick surface. A wok would be ideal, but I went with my cast-iron frying pan for the fudge coat .
once the oil is hot, add your cook noodles. Let them fry in the anoint for a couple of minutes, then take a fork or a spatula and redistribute the noodles in the frying pan. Keep doing this, giving the noodles a few minutes to fry each time, until you ‘ve got lots of browned and crisp spots .
now remove the noodles from the frying pan and transfer them to a plate .
Add a piece more anoint to the frying pan, let it heat up, and then add your mushrooms. Cook them for equitable a few minutes, until they start to soften up and brown in spots .
future, push the mushrooms to the side and add the white parts of your scallions, along with the garlic and ginger. Cook them for fair a hour, being careful to avoid burning.
Crank up the heat and get quick to stir-fry. Carrots and celery go in at this point. Use a spatula to keep them moving. After about 2 minutes they should begin to brighten in color .
nowadays add the cabbage. Stir-fry everything for about 1 minute more before adding the sauce and noodles .
Use a branch or spatula to distribute the ingredients, making indisputable the sauce evenly coats the noodles .
Take the frying pan off of the heating system and add the green parts of your scallions .
Serve your chow mein right away, while it ‘s hot and the noodles are crisp !
Leftovers & Storage
Leftover veggie zhou mein will keep in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Pro Tips
- Prep everything before you start cooking and have it ready to go. Once you begin the process of stir-frying you won’t have time to do any additional prep work.
- Want to add some protein to your chow mein? Pan-fry some tofu according to this method and add it at the end of cooking.
- Feel free to switch up the veggies with your favorites. Broccoli, snow peas, and bell peppers would all be delicious in this dish. Keep in mind that harder veggies cook slower, so add them first, while softer veggies cook faster, so add them last.
More Asian Noodle Recipes
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Vegetable Chow Mein
Homemade vegetable chow mein that ‘s better than takeout and about as easy ! With crisp noodles, stir-fried veggies and savory sauce, there ‘s lots to love about this vegan version of a chinese authoritative.
Prep Time
25
minutes
Cook Time
20
minutes
Total Time
45
minutes
Servings
4
Calories
419
kcal
Ingredients
-
8
ounces
dried chow mein noodles ( you can substitute with ramen noodles if needed ) -
2
tablespoons
soy sauce -
1
tablespoon
dark mushroom soy sauce sauce -
1
tablespoon
hoisin sauce -
2
teaspoons
organic brown boodle -
2
teaspoons
cornstarch -
1
teaspoon
toasted sesame oilRead more: Beef Chow Fun (Beef Ho Fun)
-
4
tablespoons
insignificant vegetable oil ,
or high heat petroleum of choice, divided -
6
ounces
shiitake mushrooms ,
stems removed, cleaned, and sliced -
4
scallions ,
white and green parts separated, white parts finely chopped, green parts cut into 1-inch lengths -
4
garlic cloves ,
minced -
2
tablespoons
newly grated ginger -
1
cup
julienne reduce carrots
( about 2 metier carrots ) -
1
cup
chopped celery
( about 2 medium stalks ) -
1 ½
cups
sliced boodle
US Customary – Metric
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil .
- Add the noodles and cook them according to the software directions .
- Drain the noodles into a colander, rinse them with cold body of water, and then return them to the pot. Toss the noodles with a dash of anoint to prevent perplex .
- Whisk the soy sauce, mushroom soy sauce, hoisin sauce, brown sugar, cornstarch, and sesame oil in concert in a small bowl, making certain to dissolve the sugar .
- put a large frying pan or wok with a nonstick surface over medium heat. Add 3 tablespoons of oil to the frying pan .
- Give the anoint a few minutes to heat up, and then add the noodles, arranging them in a relatively even layer .
- Fry the noodles in the oil for about 2 minutes until they begin to crisp on the bottomland, then use a branching or spatula to redistribute the noodles. Continue cooking and redistributing the noodles every 2 minutes or thus, until they have lots of crisp spots. This should take a full of about 8 minutes .
- Remove the noodles from the frying pan and transfer them to a plate .
- Add the remaining tablespoon of oil to the frying pan. Give it a moment to heat up, then add the mushrooms .
- Let the mushrooms cook for about 4 minutes, until they begin to soften up and brown on the bottoms .
- Push the mushrooms to the side and add the garlic, ginger, and white parts of scallions to the frying pan. Cook the aromatics for about 1 moment, until very fragrant, being careful to avoid burn .
- Raise the hotness to high and add the carrots and celery to the frying pan. Stir-fry the veggies until they brighten in color slenderly, about 2 minutes .
- Add the boodle and continue to stir-fry for about 1 minute, until it merely begins to soften .
- Return the noodles to the frying pan and add the soy sauce mix. Use a fork or spatula to distribute the ingredients, making certain to get an flush coating of the sauce on the noodles .
- Remove the frying pan from the heat and stimulate in the k parts of the scallions .
- Divide onto plates and serve .
nutrition Facts
Vegetable Chow Mein
Amount Per Serving
Calories 419
Calories from Fat 136
% Daily Value*
Fat 15.1g
23%
Saturated Fat 2.6g
13%
Sodium 1291mg
54%
Potassium 370mg
11%
Carbohydrates 62.2g
21%
Fiber 4.6g
18%
Sugar 9.3g
10%
Protein 10g
20%
Calcium 4mg
0%
Iron 7mg
39%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet .
