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Lo mein with veggies and ginger sauce
I attended college at the University of Nevada in Reno where my aunt and uncle also lived. My aunt is a fantastic cook and I’m shocked she has never come out with a cookbook. I had the pleasure to go over to their house and eat many fantastic vegetarian dishes–not to mention many bottles of great wine–that she would prepare for me. She can handle vegetarian, vegan, even raw food no problem, all while preparing meat dishes for herself.
One particular dish was a lo mein dish that she served along with seasoned tofu steaks. The sauce was is simple, but flavorful and great for quick dinners that do not seem like they were quick. She typically used snow peas, cherry tomatoes, and strips of yellow pepper–which made it quite colorful–but pretty much any veggies will do.
Recipe
First get some water boiling for the lo mein noodles… spaghetti, angel hair, even fettuccine would work. Next mix half a cup of water, a sixth of a cup of sugar, and two tablespoons of soy sauce in a saucepan and bring them to a boil. Let is simmer after it reaches a boil. In the meantime mix one tablespoon of corn starch with a quarter cup of water. After the soy/sugar/water mixture simmers, mix in the cornstarch mixture and cook for a couple more minutes. Preferably you have ginger root as opposed to ground ginger here, but either will work. Use about one tablespoon of fresh ginger or a half a teaspoon ground ginger. Once the ginger is mixed in set the saucepan aside, but keep the sauce warm.
In a wok or frying pan cook about two cups of veggies of your choice. Broccoli, onions, peppers, edamame, and peas are all obvious but good choices. I usually have all of those around anyway, so I do usually use those. I haven’t tried, but I suspect this could be pretty interesting with something like sweet potato or pumpkin for an interesting fall take on the dish. Personally, I like to keep my veggies out of the sauce to get a larger variety of flavors in the completed dish.
Ingredients
- 2 cups cooked pasta
- 2 cups cooked veggies of choice
Sauce
- 3/4 cup water divided into 1/4 and 1/2
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1/6 cup sugar
- 1 tablespoon fresh or 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
Sides
Tonight I served this with some white rice and store-bought veggie egg rolls. I wish I had the time to make the seasoned tofu steaks my aunt used to make as they are fantastic and go with the lo mein quite well.
