Veggie Chow Mein

Say goodbye to boring salads and eat your veggies while staying at home to cook this Chinese takeout staple. This is a nice change of pace from all the Italian food I’ve been making for this blog. This recipe is reminiscent of Chinese takeout, but I’m not sure you could call it authentic. Chow mein is a staple of Chinese cuisine, typically consisting of stir-fried noodles, vegetables, and (sometimes) meat or tofu. It's easy and delicious, and it doesn’t take a lot of wok! (That one hurt me too.)

Like I said, this recipe is very easy to make. The most complicated part is all the chopping. I hate chopping this many vegetables—but it’s worth it (it's even better if you can sucker someone else into chopping the vegetables for you). The Tasty recipe that I adapted this one from had ½ the vegetables in it that my recipe does. Why bother making chow mein and skip the vegetables? It’s the best part! Chloe loves veggie forward dishes and has never really cared for meat (aside from tuna; the girl loves her fish). We'll give it an 8/10 from Chloe this week.

Also, I left the meat out of this recipe; I really don’t understand some people’s obsession with meat—it doesn’t need to be in everything. (Most Americans get too much protein in their diets because of this ridiculous mindset. PLUS, it comes with a slew of health problems) You can have a filling, nutritious and tasty meal that is totally vegetarian/vegan. What is everyone so afraid of? It’s just meat-less, no need to blow a gasket over it.

(Getting off my soapbox now.)

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Recipe Notes

Adding Protein:

I know I made a big deal out of this earlier, but if you really want to, you can add chicken, pork, beef, or shrimp. You can also try tofu; it’s packed with protein. Yummy!

Adding Spice:

I recommend putting a squirt of sriracha on top of the chow mein after it’s been plated, but feel free to jazz it up however you want.

Picking Veggies:

One of the things I love about chow mein is how versatile it is. It’s essentially a blank canvas that you can pair with any vegetables you like. Some other veggies that would be really tasty in chow mein are peas, snap peas, bell peppers, mushrooms, and/or bok choy.

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Veggie Chow Mein

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 40 minutes

Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients:

• 4 tablespoons canola oil

• 1 package chow mein noodles

• 3-4 cloves garlic

• 1 tablespoon ginger paste

• 1 onion, sliced

• 2 carrots, shredded

• 2 heads of broccoli

• 1/2 a head of cabbage

• 1/2 cup teriyaki sauce

• Sesame seeds for garnish

• Sriracha, for garnish

Directions:

1. Bring a pot of large salted water to a boil. In the meantime, mince the garlic, slice the onion, shred the carrots and cabbage, and cut the broccoli florets.

2. Once the water has come to a boil, cook the chow mein noodles to package directions. Then, heat a wok to medium with 2 tablespoons of canola oil. Add the cooked noodles to the hot wok and fry for 2 minutes. Using a plate, flip the noodles over to fry the other side for another 2 minutes.

3. Remove the noodles and set aside. Add 2 more tablespoons of canola oil to the wok and add the garlic, ginger paste, onions, and carrots and cook for 2-3 minutes until softened.

4. Then add cabbage, and broccoli. Continue to cook the vegetables until they’re soft—about 2-3 more minutes.

5. Season with salt and pepper and add the noodles back to the wok along with the teriyaki sauce. Then toss all of the ingredients together until they are well combined.

6. Serve with an optional garnish of sesame seeds and sriracha.

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