Meatless Mondays: Inspiralized Vegetable Lo-Mein
Try this Meatless Mondays Inspiralized Vegetable Lo Mein recipe or contribute your own.
Try this Meatless Mondays Inspiralized Vegetable Lo Mein recipe or contribute your own.
- salt and pepper
- 1 tsp red pepper flakes
- for the sauce
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tbsp canola oil
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 3 tsp garlic minced
- for the noodles
- 3 large yellow squashes blade c
- 1.5 tsp ginger minced
- 2 cups of broccoli florets
- 10 snap peas
- 1 medium red bell pepper cut into 1/4 inch strips
- 1/2 cup of cooked edamame
- 2 heads of baby bok choy white ends removed
- 3/4 cup chopped carrots cut into 1/4 inch thick rounds
- 1/2 cup sliced water chestnuts
- 1.5-2 tsp sesame seeds for garnish
- 1/4 cup vegetable broth low-sodium
- 2 tbsp hoisin sauce
- 2 tbsp corn starch*
- Carbohydrate 50.1568274009213 g
- Cholesterol 0.48 mg
- Fat 22.2819093897172 g
- Fiber 7.09674991456656 g
- Protein 8.6986846377817 g
- Saturated Fat 2.21857825207757 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (499g)
- Sodium 418.149561489009 mg
- Sugar 43.0600774863547 g
- Trans Fat 0.908434626078042 g
- Calories 417 calories
Step-by-step
- Place a medium saucepan on high heat, filled with enough water to cover the broccoli and carrots. Once boiling, add in the broccoli and carrots and cook for about 2-3 minutes or until broccoli and carrots begins to soften but cannot be easily forked. Pour vegetables into a colander, pat dry and set aside.
- Next, combine all ingredients for the sauce and whisk together until cornstarch dissolves. Set aside.
- Put a large skillet over medium heat and pour in canola oil. Once oil heats, add in red bell peppers. Cook for about 2-3 minutes or until vegetables begin to soften. Add in the garlic, ginger, red pepper flakes, water chestnuts, snap peas, carrots, broccoli and season with salt and pepper.
- Cook for about 3 minutes and then add in squash noodles, bok choy, edamame and the sauce prepared earlier. Cook until squash noodles are covered with sauce and soften, about 3 minutes.
- Once finished, plate onto dishes and garnish with sesame seeds. Enjoy with chopsticks!
Most home cooks ruin vegetable lo-mein by dumping high-moisture vegetables straight into a cold skillet, resulting in a watery, grey puddle instead of a glossy, coated dish. Yellow squash contains a high water volume that releases rapidly upon heat contact. Controlling this moisture requires high heat and precise timing so the starches in the hoisin and cornstarch slurry can gelatinize correctly.
Blanching the broccoli florets and carrot rounds for two to three minutes in boiling water halts enzymatic activity and sets their bright color before they ever touch the pan. Patting those blanched vegetables completely dry with paper towels eliminates surface moisture that would otherwise thin out the sauce. Searing the red bell pepper strips in canola oil over medium heat for two to three minutes builds a foundational layer of flavor without scorching the minced garlic and ginger added later.
Introduce the spiralized yellow squash noodles, baby bok choy, and cooked edamame simultaneously during the final three minutes of cooking. Squash releases liquid quickly, so adding it near the end prevents mushiness and preserves a slight crunch. Whisking two tablespoons of cornstarch thoroughly into the liquid ingredients ensures that the sauce thickens uniformly once exposed to heat, coating the squash noodles rather than drowning them.
Visual cues dictate doneness entirely. The squash noodles are finished when they are thoroughly coated in the dark sauce and have softened just enough to bend easily around chopsticks without snapping. Garnish the plated portions with sesame seeds for a nutty contrast. Swapping the canola oil for peanut oil yields a deeper, more traditional aroma.
