Hurry The Food Up Vegan and Vegetarian Recipes For Busy People
I always wanted to post a stir fry recipe! But there were always problems when I tested various recipes.
First: I don’t have a wok, so I have to be able to use a pan.
Second: I don’t have cooking oil suitable for high temperature frying (eg. peanut oil). Without such an oil it’s actually quite unhealthy to prepare a stir fry (1).
Third: I don’t have ingredients like Shaoxing wine, five spice powder, and sesame oil for this extra Chinese-y flavor.
If this sounds familiar, then let me present you with this simple Chinese inspired Delicious Fake Lo Mein that tastes just as awesome!
If you can’t relate to this, then you might as well just make your own fancy pants wok recipe right now. See you later. Just kidding. No, not really. Or am I?
Back to the recipe: the balancing act is clearly the sauce.
On the one hand you can drown your pasta in soy sauce. Sure, you’ll then have lots of flavour, but your salt intake flies through the roof (a common problem with takeaway stir fries).
But on the other hand, if you’re too tight with the soy sauce then the dish ends up being bland.
With this in mind I think the sauce mixture for our Lo Mein is just great! Try it for yourself and see what you think. This Lo Mein only takes 20 minutes anyway.
Health Benefits – Lo Mein
This dish has your Vitamin A and Vitamin C intake more than covered for the day.
It contains more than 100% of both, which benefits your immune system (2) and keeps your bones and teeth healthy (3).
As already mentioned, don’t go too overboard with the soy sauce.
This Lo Mein adds about 45% of sodium to your daily recommended intake, if you choose a low sodium soy sauce and about 70% if you choose a regular soy sauce.
I suggest making this your only salty dish for the day to keep your blood pressure in check, ok? (4)
Delicious Fake Lo Mein
Ingredients
- 7 oz pasta (wholegrain would be best)
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 handful mushrooms (1 handful = 1 cup, sliced)
- ½ bell pepper, red
- 1 carrot (sliced)
- 3 tbsp white wine (3 tbsp white wine = 1 tbsp white wine vinegar)
- 1 handful peas
- 1 handful leafy greens (eg. spinach)
- 3-4 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tsp maple syrup (or honey, if that’s ok for you)
- 1 thumb ginger, fresh (ginger powder is fine too)
- 2 tsp Sriracha (or similar hot sauce)
Instructions
- Cook the pasta according to package instructions; drain well.
- Finely dice the garlic, slice mushrooms and bell pepper. Slice carrot into sticks
- Get a large pan or wok, and heat olive oil over medium high heat. Add garlic, mushrooms, bell pepper and carrot. Stir frequently until tender (3-4 minutes).
- Then hit it with the white wine. Afterwards add the peas and leafy greens. Let it simmer and take care of the sauce.
- Get a bowl, add soy sauce and maple syrup, minced ginger and sriracha. Whisk together and set aside.
- When ready, stir it in the pasta and soy sauce mixture. Toss to combine.
- Taste test and see, if it needs more soy sauce!
- Ready to serve, enjoy!
I love stir frys and this look delicious.
I have the same problem with salt. My chicken chow mein has 49% of the recommended daily intake of salt. I tried reducing the soy but like you said, the flavour just isn’t as good. If you ever find a solution then let me know.
Thanks!
I’ll ask around. I’m sure there’s a way to reduce the sodium even more. It’s tricky though 😉
Have to check out your chow mein too!
Like you I cook with low sodium soy sauce and it’s OK because it tastes like the “normal” one. Beautiful recipe!
thanks 🙂
Gah – am definitely in your boat – I am wok-less, special Chinese spice-less, and peanut oil-less – so fake lo mein in a pan with white wine and soy is my kinda stir fry! I found these black rice noodles here and I bet they would be wonderful in this dish! Thanks so much – now I can stir fry happily! 🙂
I never heard of black rice noodles! Thinking about it I never heard of black rice. Well, only black rice that you prepare with squid ink.
Thanks for reading!
have you ever used this with zoodles?? im trying to find good tasting Asian recipes that incorporate zucchini noodles, suggestions are welcomed wink wink!!
Hi Kymberlye,
That’s a pretty smart idea, I guess that would work! 😀
Oh, actually I wrote a roundup on zoodle recipes the other day, let me share it with you: https://hurrythefoodup.com/zoodle-zucchini-pasta-recipes/
Hope you find some tasty looking recipes in there 🙂
Yep, there’s no excuse not to use zoodles really 😉
I am a new vegetarian convert…since January 1. This website has been a valuable resource. Quick, easy and protein packed recipes are just what I need to maintain my commitment to a plant-based diet. Keep the recipes coming, please. The fake lo mein is a winner. Yummy!!!
Hi Sonya!
How cool is that?! Thanks for the great feedback! Honestly, this is exactly the goal with our blog. Finding easy veggie recipes that make the switch to a vegetarian diet smooth 🙂
Glad we could help out a little!
I clicked on this just because of the “Who has all these Chinese ingredients anyway” part of your Pinterest pic. OMG. I’m cracking up over here.
Hi Missy! Thanks for the comment! Haaa, yes I bet that’s what many people think when they want to make their first Asian stir fry. Sth along “okay now I need to go to the Asia store, buy five ingredients that I will never use up and leave in the cupboard for the next couple of years, Much better then a take-away. Not.” 😀
One of the best chinese dishes . Definitely I will do this again ( more than once) ❤️
Thanks Alice! Really glad to hear you enjoyed it 🙂
So, the third issue is you don’t have any specialty items, but then list Sriracha as an ingredient, and leave it up to the reader to find an appropriate substitute. Back to my search, I guess 🙁
Oh dear! I didn’t realize Sriracha is not readily available anywhere! Substitutes would be sambal oelek or any other spicy chili sauce. Thanks for the heads up, will update the post!
I don’t know if it fits the flavor profile for this recipe but when I want to cut back on soy sauce I add either lime or lemon juice. So 3tbs of soy sauce would be 2tbs soy sauce and 1tbs juice.
Sounds good to me, Kevin! I definitely like the idea, will try. Thanks!
I have noticed tummy cramps and gassy feeling and state when I try to stay vegan. Any suggestions to avoid or cut it off.
Hi D, is it one particular type of food that sets it off? It might be worth trying to find out exactly what causes it – could you get a test done?
Don’t know why I took so long to try this. It is delicious and easy. I use 80g pasta (rather than (200g) because I’m more interested in the veg, so 2 tbsp soy is plenty. Second time I also threw in some cauliflower and asparagus – fabulous!
Woop! I’m glad you tried it too. Yes, this one has been around for a while – and cool idea with more veg and less pasta. You’ve made me fancy it again now too 😀
I’ve made this twice now! Both times i added broccoli with the carrots. Second time i also added a handful of shredded cabbage and onion. I started my vegan journey in August 2020 and wanted to find other uses for all my spaghetti noodles. This recipe is BOMB! (that means delicious ) and literally cooks in 20 minutes for me once all my veggies are chopped. Thank you so much for posting!
Ah wow, thank you for the kind compliments! Really glad you’re enjoying it so much! Glad you’re getting on so well with your vegan journey, too 🙂