Spicy Vegetable Lo Mein. Thick chewy egg noodles smothered in a spicy soy oyster sauce with fresh vegetables. Ready in 25 minutes. Great as a side for dinner or lunch.
Growing up lo mein was often made in our home of 5. My mom would throw all sorts of ingredients left in the fridge to make lo mein. Sometimes it would be beansprouts, leafy greens with carrots and protein. Honestly, when it comes to lo mein the world is your oyster. There are more traditional ingredients when it comes to lo mein but I’m sharing a version that is so delicious, versatile and easy to make.
Easy to make!
This Chinese noodle dish is incredibly easy to make. It comes together in less than 25 minutes. The preparation time is what takes the longest but cooking time is less than 5-7 minutes!
Ingredients
For this spicy lo mein recipe, you’ll need the following ingredients:
- Pre-cooked thick yellow egg noodles
- Carrots, thinly sliced
- Red bell pepper, thinly sliced
- Gai lan aka Chinese Broccoli, chopped
- Garlic, minced
- White onion, thinly sliced
- Vegetable or avocado oil
- Optional: sesame seeds (garnish)
Spicy Lo Mein Sauce:
- Cornstarch
- Water
- Oyster sauce
- Dark soy sauce
- Regular soy sauce
- Sugar
- Sesame oil
- Chilli garlic sauce, store bought
Get pre-cooked thick egg noodles!
Because we’re using more sauce, I highly recommend buying thick egg noodles for this recipe. The thick egg noodles will soak and absorb that delicious sauce. You also want to make sure they are the kind that is pre-cooked. It should say on the label.
However, if you can’t find pre-cooked noodles opt for the kind that isn’t and boil for 30-45 seconds or until loosened in hot boiling water, then strain the water.
Where can I buy thick egg noodles?
Any Asian grocer will carry them in the refrigerated aisle. There are many brands that carry them so pick one you think would work best.
Other noodles substitutes?
You may use any thick noodles like frozen udon noodles that have been blanched and loosened in hot water, then strained.
Can I use any type of veggies?
You can, to a limit. I highly recommend leafy greens such as gai lan, yu choy, bok choy or regular cabbage. I also suggest adding hard colourful vegetables like carrots, bell peppers, snow/snap peas.
Avoid any vegetables that release too much water like zucchini, cucumber, celery, tomatoes as this will distort the taste of the sauce.
Can I add protein?
Yes! That’s why these Chinese noodles are so versatile. You can add chicken, pork, beef, seafood such as shrimp, squid, fish cakes (not fish) or tofu.
I would avoid fish unless it’s fish cakes.
Is your lo-mein vegetarian?
No, unfortunately not. The oyster sauce in this recipe contains animal products. If you’re vegetarian or vegan, omit and add more regular soy sauce to taste while pre-mixing your sauce.
Where do I buy chili garlic sauce?
This is also known as Sambal Oelek which is often used in South-East Asian cooking. At the grocer, the jar should say Chili Garlic Sauce or Sambal Oelek and looks something like the below:
How to make Spicy Vegetable Lo Mein
- In a small bowl, mix noodle sauce ingredients.
- Prepare your vegetables and aromatics ahead of time as instructed under Ingredient section.
- Heat your pan to medium heat. As it heats, add cooking oil, minced garlic, and white onions. Allow this to fry until onions have softened and become translucent.
- Add all the vegetables and fry for 30 seconds.
- Next add pre-cooked egg noodles and noodle sauce. Mix everything together. Once steam starts to form, remove off heat and enjoy with optional sesame seeds for garnish.
Tips for Spicy Lo Mein
Below are tips on making my spicy lo mein:
- Buy the pre-cooked thick yellow egg noodles. They must be thick! Do not opt for the thin ones as the sauce proportions and ingredients listed in the recipe card are not meant for the thin ones.
- Pre-slice your carrots, gai-lan, bell peppers and onion ahead of time.
- Pre-mix your noodle sauce ahead of cooking time. This is important as you won't have time to be fumbling around with sauce jars.
- Have the ingredients ready to throw into the pan. Remember the cooking process is super quick, especially if you’re frying in a carbon steel or cast-iron wok that can withstand high temperature.
- As your pan heats, then throw in the oil and garlic. As the oil heats, it’ll gradually cook your minced garlic versus throwing it into a very hot pan.
- Do not overcook the veggies, just cook until the gai-lan has wilted slightly.
- Once you’ve mixed in your noodles, sauce and the ingredients in the pan, and you see steam coming from the noodles remove off heat immediately. You do not want to overcook the noodles as they come pre-cooked.
FAQ
Below are frequently asked questions about this spicy lo mein:
Is lo mein Spicy?
Not usually but my recipe is! If you can’t tolerate spice, omit the Chili garlic sauce altogether and it will still taste delicious!
What is in Chinese vegetable lo mein?
In traditional Chinese vegetable lo mein, you will find egg noodles, bean sprouts, some form of leafy greens like cabbage, carrots, green onions, or white onion tossed and fried in soy sauce and oyster sauce.
What's the difference between lo mein and chow mein?
The “lo” in lo mein means to mix so lo mein is mixed noodles with sauce, veggies, and proteins. On the other hand, the “chow” in chow mein means to fry.
What is the smoky flavor in lo mein?
The smoky flavour comes from the “breath of wok” aka “wok hei” in Cantonese. When cooking this dish in a carbon steel wok or cast-iron wok, the extremely high heat will create a wisp of smoke in the pan which offers that smoky flavour to your dish.
This would not work in a non-stick wok.
What is in dark soy sauce?
Water, salt, caramel color, sugar, soybeans, wheat.
Other Chinese recipes you may like!
If you enjoyed this spicy veggie lo mein, you may enjoy these other Chinese dishes:
BEEF CHOW FUN
INSTANT POT CHINESE WATERCRESS SOUP
HK STYLE FISH FILLET IN CREAM SAUCE PASTA
CANTONESE SOY SAUCE CHOW MEIN
AIR FRYER SWEET AND SOUR TOFU
10 MINUTE EGG FRIED RICE
BLACK BEAN SAUCE BEEF AND BROCCOLI
Try it!
Well, I hope you give my Spicy Vegetable Lo Mein a try! It always excites me when you make my recipes and I hope this is one you try.
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Take care,
Christie
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Spicy Vegetable Lo Mein
Ingredients
- 400 g pre cooked thick yellow egg noodles
- 1.5- 2 cups of packed Gai-lan (Chinese Broccoli) chopped into 1 inch pieces
- 1 cup red bell pepper thinly sliced
- ½ cup carrot thinly sliced
- ½ cup white onion thinly sliced
- 2 teaspoon garlic minced
- ½ tablespoon vegetable oil or avocado oil
- ½ teaspoon sesame seeds optional garnish
Noodle sauce:
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- 2 tablespoon water
- 2 tablespoon oyster sauce
- 2 tablespoon dark soy sauce
- 2 teaspoon regular soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon white granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoon sesame oil
- ¾ - 1.5 tablespoon chilli garlic sauce ¾ tablespoon = mild, 1.5 tablespoon = spicy. Add more if you like it very spicy!
Instructions
- In a small bowl, mix noodle sauce ingredients.
- Prepare your vegetables and aromatics ahead of time as instructed under Ingredient section.
- Heat your pan to medium heat. As it heats, add cooking oil, minced garlic, and white onions. Allow this to fry until onions have softened and become translucent.
- Add all the vegetables and fry for 30 seconds.
- Next add pre-cooked egg noodles and noodle sauce. Mix everything together. Once steam starts to form, remove off heat and enjoy with optional sesame seeds for garnish.
Rosemary
oo thick spicy lo mein looks so good! I love the rich color that the oyster sauce and soy sauce adds to the noodle