Veggie Lo Mein

This recipe is perfect for a weeknight dinner or as a cheaper alternative for a Friday night takeaway. Just bear in mind that while the dish looks and tastes quite similar to chow mein – and the ingredients are similar too – the cooking method is different.

India Hobson

Serves
Serves 4
Total Time
36 Minutes
Ingredients
2 tbsp of light soy sauce
2 tsp of dark soy sauce
1 tsp of light (soft) brown sugar
About 400g of fresh egg noodles, or 250g of dried egg noodles
2 tsp of sesame oil
1 tbsp of neutral oil
2.5cm piece of fresh root ginger, peeled and grated
3 spring onions, 2 julienned and 1 thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, grated
150g of mushrooms, sliced
150g of pak choi (bok choy) or any leafy green, sliced
1 red pepper, julienned
1 orange pepper, julienned
1 tbsp of Shaoxing rice wine
2 tsp of sesame seeds, to garnish
Method
Step 1

Mix the light and dark soy sauces and sugar together in a mug or shallow bowl with a dash of hot water to dissolve it. Cook the noodles until al dente according to the instructions on the packet. Drain and rinse in cold water, then add the sesame oil to the cooked noodles and toss to coat. This will prevent them from sticking together.

Step 2

Heat the neutral oil in a wok or large frying pan over a high heat. Add the ginger to the pan and stir quickly, followed by the julienned spring onions and the garlic, mushrooms and pak choi (bok choy). Stir-fry for 3-4 minutes until the mushrooms become a little darker and the pak choi leaves begin to wilt. Add the red and orange peppers and continue to stir quickly. Add the rice wine and let it bubble away.

Step 3

After a minute, tip in the drained noodles, followed by the soy mixture, and toss everything together. Stir-fry for 1 minute more. Serve immediately, garnished with the sliced spring onions and sesame seeds.

NOTE
You can add or substitute any vegetables that you like in this recipe – bean sprouts, carrots, broccoli, mangetout (snow peas), water chestnuts, etc.

Recipe courtesy of Dumplings and Noodles by Pippa Middlehurst (Quadrille, £16.99). Photography by India Hobson.

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