Vegetable Lo Mein with Mushrooms and Greens
Inspired by techniques from America's Test Kitchen and Serious Eats.
This vegetarian version follows the classic lo mein method but leaves out meat, stock and oyster sauce, relying on browned mushrooms, red pepper, carrot and greens in a soy sauce for depth.
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Method
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Why it's healthy
- Total fat: 24.8 % of energy (limit ≤ 30%)
- Saturated fat: 2.5 % of energy (limit < 10%)
- Free sugars: 0.9 % of energy (limit < 10%)
- Salt: 1.61 g (limit ≤ 1.7 g)
- Fibre or fruit & veg: 3.9 g fibre / 323 g veg (limit ≥ 5.5 g fibre or 80 g fruit & veg)
Per serving, worked out from the nutrition table against our WHO-based rule. Not endorsed by WHO.
Equipment
- large pot (at least 4 litres)
- colander
- wok (35 cm) or large non-stick frying pan (30 cm)
- wok spatula or tongs
- small bowls for the prepared ingredients
Nutrition per serving (estimated values)
| Per serving | Amount |
|---|---|
| Energy | 436 kcal |
| Protein | 15.3 g |
| Carbohydrate | 68.5 g |
| of which sugars | 6.1 g |
| of which free sugars | 1 g |
| Fat | 12 g |
| of which saturates | 1.2 g |
| Fibre | 3.9 g |
| Salt | 1.61 g |
Protein per 100 kcal
3.5 g High Protein needs ≥ 10 g
Calculated from USDA FoodData Central ingredient values
Metric · 4 servings
Noodles
- 400 g fresh egg noodles (lo mein)
- 2 tsp toasted sesame oil
Sauce
- 2 tbsp light soy sauce
- 2 tsp dark soy sauce
- 4 g sugar about 1 tsp
- 120 ml water
- 1 tsp cornflour
Stir-fry
- 2 tbsp neutral oil (rapeseed, sunflower or vegetable)
- 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 10 g fresh ginger, finely grated
- 200 g shiitake or chestnut mushrooms, sliced
- 1 red pepper, in thin strips
- 1 carrot, cut into matchsticks
- 250 g pak choi or choi sum, stems sliced, leaves halved
- 4 spring onions, cut into 4 cm lengths
- 1
Cook the noodles. This vegetable version follows the same soft-tossed noodle method as the chicken lo mein, with browned mushrooms standing in for meat and no oyster sauce, so it's vegetarian. Boil the noodles in 3 litres of unsalted water for 2-3 minutes until just tender, then drain and rinse briefly under warm water to remove surface starch. Shake dry and toss with the sesame oil.
- 2
Mix the sauce. Whisk together the light and dark soy sauces, sugar, water and cornflour in a small jug, ready to pour in later.
- 3
Brown the mushrooms. Heat 1 tbsp of oil in the wok over high heat and stir-fry the mushrooms for 3-4 minutes without crowding the pan, until they're browned and any liquid they've released has cooked away. Well-browned mushrooms bring a deep, savoury flavour that fills in for the meat in this version.
- 4
Stir-fry pepper and carrot. Add the remaining oil with the red pepper and carrot and stir-fry for 2 minutes until they soften slightly but keep some bite.
- 5
Add aromatics and pak choi. Stir in the garlic, ginger and pak choi stems for 1 minute, then add the leaves for a final 30 seconds, just long enough for them to wilt.
- 6
Toss noodles in sauce. Add the noodles and sauce to the wok and toss everything together for 1-2 minutes until glossy and evenly coated.
- 7
Finish with spring onion. Scatter over the spring onions, toss once more and serve straight away while hot.
Storage
Keep in a covered container in the fridge for up to 2 days. Reheat in a hot wok or microwave with a splash of water until piping hot throughout. This dish doesn't freeze well, as the pak choi and noodles turn soft and watery once thawed. Cool leftovers in a shallow container and refrigerate within 2 hours (within 1 hour on a day above 32°C).
