Vegetable Chow Mein: Easy Recipe

I have recently become a fan of making dishes with noodles as the central ingredient. This is predominantly because we stocked up on lots of dried ingredients when we were preparing for the lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic. One of my new favourite dishes to make is a spicy vegetable chow mein.

I have made this dish several different ways so far, depending on what we have in at home. It is the sort of dish that you can adapt to suit your own tastes by changing the vegetables or altering the levels of spice. After a little experimentation, I think I have now created the perfect recipe.

This dish is a budget-friendly option for families who are trying to keep down the cost of their groceries. It is also quick to make and an easy option for cooking novices. Here is how to make vegetable chow mein.

Preparation time:	15 minutes
Cooking time:	15 minutes
Servings:	4-6
Vegetarian/ vegan:	Vegetarian- YES Vegan- NO (use vegan noodles)
Dairy-free:	YES
Gluten-free:	NO

Ingredients for Vegetable Chow Mein

• 300g medium egg noodles
• 1 red, 1 yellow, and 1 green pepper, sliced
• 6 spring onions, thinly sliced
• 8 medium button mushrooms, sliced
• 1 leek, sliced
• 6 carrots, peeled and grated
• ¼ spring cabbage shredded
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 2 chillies, 1 red and 1 green
• 1-inch of fresh garlic, grated
• 5 tbsp. dark soy sauce
• Black pepper to taste
• 2 tbsp. olive oil

How to Make Vegetable Chow Mein

1. Prepare all your vegetables, garlic, chillies, and ginger.
2. Heat the oil in a large wok or frying pan over medium heat on the hob.
3. Add the pepper, leeks, and spring onions and fry for 2 minutes.
4. Next, add the garlic, ginger, and chillies. Fry for a further 2 minutes.
5. Then, add the mushrooms, cabbage, and carrots to the wok.
6. Continue to fry for a further 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
7. Add a splash of water to the pan if the vegetables begin to stick, and this will prevent them from sticking and steam the vegetables a little.
8. Meanwhile, bring a large pan of salted water to the boil.
9. Drop the noodles into the boiling water and then to down the heat to a simmer.
10. Cook the noodles for four minutes, or according to the instructions on the packet.
11. Use a slatted spaghetti spoon to transfer the cooked noodles form the water into the wok with the vegetables.
12. Add the soy sauce and black pepper.
13. Toss the noodles and vegetables together, then serve.

Additional Tips

• It is easier to make this recipe if you split the ingredients into two woks or frying pans. The models and vegetables will toss together more easily if you do this.
• This recipe uses three colours of peppers and two colours of chillies. This is purely to make the dish look colourful. You can use whatever colour of peppers or chillies you have in the refrigerator.
• Adjust the spice levels to suit your own tastes.
• Feel free to interchange the vegetables in this vegetable chow mein recipe. For example, you may prefer to use pak choi to cabbage or to use onion instead of leeks.
• For more vegetarian recipes, read our reviews of the best vegan cookbooks.