Vegetarian Chow Mein Recipe

Vegetarian Chow Mein is a healthy and flavorful Chinese dish that I love to make and eat.  One mistake that many people make when making Chow Mein is using those horrible hard and crunchy chow mein noodles.  It is much better to use some dried Chinese egg noodles that turn soft when boiled.  Below is my recipe for a great Vegetarian Chow Mein that is made with Chinese egg noodles, carrots, onion, celery, mushrooms, cabbage, water chestnuts, bean sprouts and green onions.

Ingredients:

8 ounces dried Chinese egg noodles
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
1 cup of vegetable broth
1 tablespoon of cornstarch
1 tablespoon of soy sauce
1 tablespoon of a vegetarian oyster sauce
1 tablespoon of peanut oil, divided
3 carrots, cut julienne style (like match sticks)
1 medium onion, sliced thin
3 stalks of celery, biased sliced
1 cup of baby bella mushrooms, sliced
1/2 of a small Napa cabbage, thinly chopped
1 (8 oz.) can of sliced water chestnuts, rinsed and drained
1 cup of bean sprouts
4 green onions, cut into 2 inch pieces

Instructions:

You will want to begin by filling a medium saucepan with water and placing it over a medium high heat.  When your water comes to a boil add in your noodles and cook until al dente.  This should take about 3 minutes.  Then place your noodles in a colander, add in your toasted sesame oil and toss your noodles to coat them to prevent them from sticking together.  Then set your noodles aside for use later.

You should now mix together your sauce.  To do this, take a mixing bowl and add  in your chicken broth, corn starch, soy sauce and oyster sauce and then whisk them together.  Now set it aside for use later.

You should now take your wok or a large skillet and put your peanut oil in it and then heat your wok on high heat.  Now add in your carrot, onion, celery and mushrooms into the wok and stir fry your ingredients for about 2 minutes.  Now add in your cabbage, water chestnuts and bean sprouts and stir fry an additional 3 to 4 minutes.  You want your vegetables to be tender but still crisp.  You should now clear the center of your wok by pushing your vegetables up the side of the wok and add in your sauce to the center of the wok and stir it until your sauce has thickened.  Make certain you give your sauce a quick whisk to mix the ingredients together before you actually put it in the wok.  Your last step is to add in your noodles to your wok and then toss your ingredients together.  You will want to then transfer your Vegetarian Chow Mein to a serving platter and garnish with the green onions.