Vegetable Chow Mein Recipe - Dish Ditty (2024)

FAQs

What is the crunchy vegetable in chow mein? ›

Toss in the scallions and the mung bean sprouts, and stir fry for another 30-60 seconds, or until the bean sprouts are just cooked but still crunchy. Plate and serve your vegetable chow mein with your favorite hot chili oil!

Chow mein: thin, dried noodles that are parboiled for 5-6 minutes, and fried alongside veggies and meat. Lo mein: fat, chewy noodles that are boiled for a few minutes, then added to stir-fry after veggies and meat is cooked.

Vegetable Chow Mein made with celery, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, and bean sprouts mixed with chow mein noodles in a savory sauce, ready in under 30 minutes!

An expert chef's tip for perfect chow mein

The ideal Cantonese style chow mein is not soggy, with aromatic crispiness here and there. Before frying them, it's best to steam the noodles rather than boil them, then dunk them in the hot water for just a minute. Remember to let the noodles cool down.

Chow mein typically features crunchy noodles. These noodles are often fried or deep-fried until they become crispy, giving them a unique texture and flavor. Chow mein noodles can be served on the side or as a base for the dish, with stir-fried ingredients and sauce poured over them.

Combine soy sauce, light sesame oil, oyster sauce, granulated sugar, cornstarch, and chicken broth to make the signature sweet and savory sauce that makes chow mein taste authentic.

Chow mein noodles: I make chow mein with dried Chinese egg noodles, which are usually labeled “chow mein noodles,” “stir-fry noodles” or “lo mein noodles” in American grocery stores.

Healthy and vegan, Veggie Chow Mein! Adding a monster amount of cabbage to this recipe is a sneaky deaky trick, because it's not only delicious, but it blends right into the noodles, meaning you are getting more nutritional bang for your noodle buck. Yes, bring on the veggies!

Largely this is a matter of personal taste since both dishes can be made to your preference. If you prefer lightly sauced noodles with some crunch and vegetables with some snap, chow mein might be the way to go. If you like a more comforting noodle with richly flavored sauce, lo mein may be the better option.

Simple sauce: While chow mein sauce is unbelievably easy to make, it still brings a complexity of flavors to the dish. The careful combination of ingredients like soy sauce, sesame oil, oyster sauce and sugar results in a chow mein sauce that has hints of both savory and sweet notes.

What is authentic chow mein? ›

Chow mein (/ˈtʃaʊ ˈmeɪn/ and /ˈtʃaʊ ˈmiːn/, simplified Chinese: 炒面; traditional Chinese: 炒麵; Pinyin: chǎomiàn) is a dish of Chinese stir-fried noodles with vegetables and sometimes meat or tofu.

They're basically deep-fried egg noodles (or fried wonton wrappers or egg roll wrappers). Golden brown and crunchy, they're often served in little wooden bowls as a restaurant appetizer with duck sauce and Chinese hot mustard on the side.

Mein gon (面干 miàn-gān), informally referred to as crunchy noodles or crunchy chow mein, are a type of noodle-shaped cracker (or dried biscuit) used in American Chinese cuisine.

With chow mein, you cook noodles and add them to your wok of other ingredients, cooking everything together in one pan. However, with a chop suey recipe, you will cook the noodles or rice and other ingredients separately before combining them in a bowl, serving up the noodles or rice with the sauce served over the top.

Both dishes are flavorful and satisfying, but chow mein tends to be lighter and more noodle-focused, while chop suey is heartier and more sauce-focused. When it comes to choosing between the two, it ultimately comes down to personal preference and what you're in the mood for.