A few minutes is all it takes to whip up this easy garlicky vegetable lo mein recipe! This is a great quick takeaway “copycat” recipe for weeknight meals.
This recipe is once again, courtesy of my recipe club. Recipe club is one of my few social outings each month, and the one meal I can count on eating without cutting food for tiny humans, and these things are a Big Deal right now. I also get to cook based on a theme someone else chooses, which is nice. Well, except for this recipe because I was the hostess and I picked the theme… childhood favorites.
My mother was visiting, so I made pineapple upside down cake for her “contribution”, and this garlicky vegetable lo mein for mine. Why? Because my mother said when she made this during my toddler years, I’d hop around the table and eat noodles from everyone’s plate. I don’t remember, but I’m not one to turn down the opportunity to make a good noodle dish.
If you’re fortunate enough to live near a store where you can purchase freshly made lo mein noodles, do it! The texture and flavor is wonderful, but if you can’t find freshly made, I’d recommend the refrigerated lo mein noodles over the dried if you can find those. I used the refrigerated kind and believe I found them near the produce where the grocery store stocked other “Asian” items like kimchi and egg roll wrappers.
The nice thing about this garlicky vegetable lo mein recipe is that once you know the basic ingredients and ratios, it’s easy to “eyeball” ingredients and throw things together. There’s a good amount of margin for adjusting flavors to fit your taste preferences. The recipe is prepared rather quickly too, which is great for weeknight dinners. Honestly, it probably takes as long to make this dish as it would to call and then go fetch takeout. Enjoy, darlings!
Garlicky Vegetable Lo Mein
Ingredients
- 1 lb fresh lo mein noodles (or dried, or spaghetti if you don't find lo mein noodles), 454 g
- 2 tbsp dark soy sauce, see notes
- 2 tbsp light soy sauce
- 1 1/2 tsp sesame oil
- 1 tsp honey or sugar
- 2 tbsp neutral-flavored oil
- 6 cloves garlic, minced, divided
- 8 ounces mushrooms, sliced, 227 g
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 2-3 carrots, finely diced or shredded
- 1-2 handfuls leafy greens like spinach, baby kale, or bok choy
- 1 small bell pepper
- 1 tbsp rice vinegar
- hot sauce for topping, optional
Instructions
- Cook the lo mein noodles according to the package directions. If you were lucky enough to acquire fresh noodles, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the noodles until al dente - about 5 minutes. Drain and set aside. If you haven't already, it's a good idea to prepare your vegetables while the noodles are cooking.
- In a small bowl, stir together the soy sauces, sesame oil, honey, and half the garlic. Set aside.
- Place a wok or large skillet over high heat and warm the oil. When the oil is hot (it will have a shimmery look at the surface), add your vegetables and the other half of the garlic cook for about a minute or two, stirring constantly, until the vegetables start to soften.
- Add the lo mein noodles and the sauce to the skillet. Toss gently to evenly distribute the sauce and vegetables.
- Adjust seasoning to taste, serve warm with optional hot sauce to top. Enjoy!
Notes
*Feel free to get creative with the vegetables! Use what you have on hand, add or subtract things as you'd like. Additional options include: water chestnuts, baby corn, snow peas, broccoli, etc.
**If you can't find dark soy sauce, use light soy sauce. You might want to add a little extra sesame oil (like 1/2 tsp) to the sauce since dark soy sauce has a rich flavor that you don't get with the lighter sauce.
Adapted from Woks of Life.
