This is one of my favorite no-meat dishes that is super quick and easy to whip up on a busy weeknight, AND gets those random veggies that are about to spoil used up (I'm looking at you wilty red pepper, ha!) I will also say this recipe came from Damn Delicious! If you haven't heard of her, my gosh, look her up. She has the most useful, easy recipes that use actual items you'll easily find in your pantry/fridge.
TIPS!
- Use ramen noodles (or any other sticky Asian noodle... just make sure it's sticky. You use angel hair and the sauce will slide right off and defeat the whole purpose of this beautiful meal). Bonus: if you have kids, split the noodles out at the end, add some ramen seasoning and boom. Ramen 'snack' plates for the kids while the adults finally get to eat without the whining!
- Make sure you chop all the veggies first. This dish whips up quick once you get going so it's easiest to have everything prepped first.
Ingredients:
- Veggies!! Whatever's laying around in the fridge honestly works but some of my favorites to use are: mushrooms, carrots, bell peppers (any color but yellow/orange/red seem to work best), zucchini, cauliflower, and broccoli or broccoli discs (not sure if that's a word but instead of forcing the children to eat the stems of broccoli I save them and slice them into quarter inch thick round 'discs' that work perfectly for this dish!)
- 3 packages of ramen noodles (any flavor, we'll be tossing the seasoning packet... unless you have those picky children of course)
- For the sauce, whisk the below together:
- 2 tablespoons... or a few splashes more of soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1/2 teaspoon powder garlic (or use fresh if you have the time!)
- 1/2 teaspoon ginger
- 1 teaspoon white sugar
Make It:
- Chop up all your veggies first! This goes quick once you start cooking so you want to make sure all the veggies are ready to go.
- Heat your wok or deep skillet to a medium high heat, drizzle in olive oil and add the crispier veggies first. Think broccoli and carrots since those take a little longer to cook.
- Next get your large pot of water on high heat to bring to a boil AND don't forget to toss a few frozen eggrolls into the air fryer (you're welcome)
- After your harder veggies have cooked for 4-5 minutes, throw in the others - mushrooms, peppers, onions, etc. IF you have spinach, cabbage, greens going in... wait until you are about 3 minutes from being done before tossing those in. They should be the very last thing to cook since it only takes a few minutes to cook up!
- If you haven't done so yet, whisk up that sauce while continuing to stir the veggies
- **If you like your veggies a little softer, place a lid over the veggies for several minutes and add a splash of water (doesn't matter if it fits, whatever you have on hand that will give them some coverage will do) This ensures they steam up some on the inside but still have a nice browny cooked outside.
- Cook your ramen noodles to package instructions (about 3 minutes for the classic)
- Strain noodles and add about 2/3rds to the veggies along with the sauce and stir up. Done!
- With the rest of noodles? Add in a ramen seasoning packet and set aside for the picky eaters in the house! Don't forget to scoop out some of the hot cooked vegetables before adding in the lo mein sauce for those same picky eaters.