Better than takeout vegetable chow mein recipe ready to serve in just 20 minutes! Find all the classic savory, nutty and umami packed flavors of chow mein in this simple and delicious recipe. It’s the best!
Once a month I make a trip to Hong Kong supermarket on Hester street and hit the noodle aisle downstairs where I fill my basket with plenty of carbs. Egg noodles, glass noodles, ramen noodles, chow mein noodles.. You name it, I’ve got it.
I do this because dried noodles keep for a long time and multiply my options when it comes to Asian cooking. They’re easy to cook and make a fantastic substitute for a bowl of rice. Cook and dump them in your pan with a few veggies and a homemade stir fry sauce and dinner is served! This vegetable chow mein recipe took less than 20 minutes to make (which I served with beef yakitori) and cost about ten dollars. Not bad uh?
My original idea was to make Korean japchae but I didn’t realized I was out of potato noodles until all my prep work was done! No point in stressing out about this though, noodles are noodles and I don’t see a big deal in switching them around once in a while. Plus, many Asian stir fry recipes are similar to one another so making a vegetable chow mein recipe with jap chae sauce didn’t seem too far fetched.
I added some Japanese dried red chilies (chile japones) to this chow mein recipe – an ingredient I’ve taken a strong liking to lately. They’re a little hot but mostly smoky, great for intensifying the authentic flavors only found in Asian cuisine.
They’re really easy to find, most Asian supermarkets sell them already chopped or whole (I get mine at Sunrise Mart on Broome street). The key to a successful smoke is to infuse the oil (just like when you fry garlic), so add them to the pan at the earliest stage of cooking. De-lish!
The verdict:
We loved this chow mein recipe, especially the texture the sauce gave the chow mein noodles. It wasn’t as firm as classic jap chae sweet potato noodles but just as satisfying -if not more!
Did you like this Vegetable Chow Mein Recipe? Are there changes you made that you would like to share? Share your tips and recommendations in the comments section below!
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Vegetable Chow Mein Recipe
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 4 people 1x
- Category: Noodles
- Method: Skillet
- Cuisine: Chinese
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
Better than takeout vegetable chow mein recipe that’s earthy, savory and ready in just 20 minutes!
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon dried red chilies (optional)
- 6 ounce dried chow mein noodles or egg noodles
- 1 carrot, cut into strips
- 1 small onion, finely chopped
- 2 cups baby spinach
- 7 shiitake mushrooms, cut into strips
- 4 scallions, cut into thin strips
- 1 tablespoon sesame seeds (optional)
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
Sauce
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons dark soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
Instructions
- Bring a pot of water to boil.
- In a small mixing bowl, add all the ingredients for the sauce and stir until sugar has melted.
- In a large pan or wok over high heat, add vegetable oil, garlic and dried chilies and cook for one minute. Add the remaining vegetables and cook for 7 minutes, until tender but still a little crunchy.
- Boil noodles according to directions on the package (usually about 2-3 minutes). Drain, rinse under cold water and drain well.
- Add noodles to the pan, lower the heat to medium and cook for a minute.
- Add sauce, sesame seeds and stir well until all the noodles are coated.
- Turn the off the heat, drizzle sesame oil and serve immediately.
Notes
Save the leftover chow mein in a storage container and refrigerate for up to 4 days.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 208
- Sugar: 6.3g
- Sodium: 872mg
- Fat: 11.5g
- Saturated Fat: 6.2g
- Unsaturated Fat: 1.9g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 23.3g
- Fiber: 3.1g
- Protein: 5g
- Cholesterol: 12.3mg
Good but I’m he soy sauce over powered the other flavours in the dish.
What a great recipes! I loved it. I was wondering if I could substitute snow peas for the carrots? I really care for carrots.
Hi Tanya! You can substitute any veggie you’d like, plus, snow peas and yakisoba are super yummy together!
This was such a great recipe! This chow mein is the perfect heat and has a beautiful depth of flavour that rivals any takeaway. I’m so glad I found it!
Thank you so much Summer! 🙂
hi, could i use ramen noodles if i do not have chow mein ones? or will it go as great with rice?
Hi Cata! You could use fresh ramen noodles but I wouldn’t recommend instant ones as they would get mushy really quickly. I have never tried this recipe with rice but since it’s a simple vegetable stir fry, I bet it would be tasty as a topping! 🙂
Hello I’m just wondering what the portion size is as I’m going to serve this as an entree. Thank you
Hi Chloe, this should be good as a main for about 4 people. If your household eats a lot I would suggest adding a side dish to make sure it’s enough 🙂
I can’t find dark soy sauce anywhere!! Is there something I can use instead?
Hi Alexis, you can use regular sauce since it’s very similar to dark soy sauce 🙂
The ingredients include sesame seed oil but you don’t say when or where to add it
Hi Vanessa, the sesame oil should be drizzled in the end, when everything is done cooking. Thanks for letting me know!