Veggie Lo Mein
by: Three Many Cooks
Serves: 4
Ingredients
- Salt
- 8 ounces each: broccoli crowns, cut into small florets, and sliced mushrooms
- ½ box (8 ounces) spaghetti
- 7 to 8 ounces drained extra-firm tofu (1/2 package), cut into bite-size chunks
- 1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce
- 1 recipe Lo Mein Sauce (see below)
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 medium-large onion, halved from pole to pole, each half cut into sixths
- 1 tablespoon each: fresh garlic and ginger
Instructions
- Bring 2 quarts of water and a generous sprinkling of salt to boil in large pot. Add broccoli; cook until crisp-tender, about 2 minutes. Transfer to a plate with a slotted spoon. Add spaghetti, cook, stirring frequently, until just tender; drain and set aside.
- Toss tofu with soy. Mix Lo Mein Sauce.
- Meanwhile, turn on vent fan and heat a 12-inch nonstick skillet over high heat until very hot. Add 1 tablespoon of oil and the onion; stir-fry until crisp and spotty brown, about 1 minute. Add mushrooms; stir-fry until just cooked, about 2 minutes. Add tofu; stir-fry until lightly browned, about 1 minute longer. Add broccoli; cook until heated through, about 1 minute. Add garlic and ginger; stir-fry until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Transfer to a plate and add remaining 1 tablespoon of oil to the empty skillet; heat until shimmering. Add spaghetti; stir-fry until heated through, about 2 minutes. Return meat/vegetable mixture to pan, along with Lo Mein sauce; stir-fry to combine. Serve immediately.
- Lo Mein Sauce
- Mix ¼ cup each low-sodium vegetable broth and low-sodium soy sauce, 2 teaspoons each rice vinegar and toasted sesame oil, and 1 teaspoon each hot red pepper flakes and sugar.
This looks very good. Oddly, when printed in the USA Weekend, it called for chicken broth. I’m glad to see that the recipe online calls for vegetable broth. That makes more sense and it’s what I would have used anyway.
I was about to say the same thing as Dorothy. I came to your site to comment about chicken broth being in a vegetarian recipe, and am glad to see that the version shown here calls for vegetable broth. I guess it must have been a USA Weekend editorial decision to list the ingredient as chicken broth, so maybe they will also get a comment. I was concerned because when the average non-vegetarian sees something like chicken broth listed in a recipe that had been classified as vegetarian, it promotes the idea that a true vegetarian would find that acceptable, and that certainly isn’t true. Can’t wait to try this recipe!
Made this for dinner today–delicious! Had no idea you could make lo mein out of spaghetti, but it totally works. Thanks for a keeper!
I made this for dinner last night with broccoli & carrots (no protein this time) and it was DELICIOUS! Thanks for another winner, Pam.
Couple of typos — “medium fresh garlic” and “vent fat” — otherwise looks like a delicious recipe! (Sorry, I’m a cookbook copyeditor!)
Good eye, Karen. Thanks to you, the typos are gone. BTW, we welcome your corrections any day!
I am making this for dinner tonight…with the addition of one red pepper and one yellow pepper, sliced, to add some color to these bleak February days (it is below zero in my neck of the woods, Spokane, WA). This promises brighten things up.
Excellent flavor and so quick to make.
I loved this! Except it was wayyy too spicy…next time i will cut down on the red pepper flakes.
I decided to make this last minute tonight & that was a big mistake. If you really want this to be “quick & easy” Lo Mein ( as described for video clip)…you really need to prep! Make ahead the lo mein sauce, chop all your veggies,and mince/grate the garlic & ginger. I like to bake the tofu instead of frying and I use a marinade recipe given on Whole Living website. Let it marinate in fridge for awhile, then add about a tsp. of oil & toss w/tofu. Bake @450/about 25 min.& toss it approx. 1/2 way thru. Try to time it so it gets done same time as the pasta & veggies. The tofu I use is from Twin Oaks(sold @ whole foods)& it is the best I have used. It is very dense & most importantly not wet! I also use veg broth to “fry” the veggies. Use a little @ a time as needed. The end results might differ a bit but I
don’t end up with oil splatters on everything & I
cut down on my fat intake. Someone mentioned that it was very spicy & I agree. If you don’t like very spicy food, I think 1/2 tsp.of pepper flakes will do fine.
Pam,I just found your website a couple of days ago & your daughters & you are doing a great job. Thank you!
I added shrimpto mine for a great Lenten dish.
Hi Pam! Loved this recipe when I found it back in February, and made it several times while I was living in D.C. I have since come back to Georgia, and realized that I had misplaced the recipe….but thankfully, I remembered that it was one of yours, so I looked you up online, and happily, found the recipe again! I added strips of red pepper for color like one of the other people did and it was great!
Also, just a side note….I’m a friend of Steve Hickok’s :)….I met him when he used to come into my cafe here in Lawrenceville…super nice, and quite talented, guy!!!
i was wondering if the lo main sauce could be omitted and then just cover it with a brown garlic sauce? (ilke the one that comes with sautéed vegetables in the chinese places)
I think I would still marinate the tofu, but yes, I think the brown sauce would work just fine here. Good luck!
ok sounds perfect! ill let you know how it all works out 🙂
i just made this for my husband and myself and it was yummy. husband gives it a 10.5 on a scale of 1 to 10.. it does have a bit of kick to it with the red pepper, but we like spicy so it was perfect to us. the only thing i would do differently next time is to add more noodles (we are carboholics in this household!)… definitely adding this to the rotation. thanks for creating these recipes pamela! it’s the 4th recipe i’ve tried from here.. and so far every single one of them has been a hit in my household!
I found some brown rice noodles at the grocery store that were great in lo mein. 1 g fat,no sodium, no cholesterol…great product and good texture. The brand name is Thai Kitchen. Check it out
Could you give the nutrition information on this? Or if you know off the top of your head, how many old system weight watchers points?
Hey AshLeigh.Sorry I don’t have nutritional info in this recipe, and even if I did, it’d vary depending on the vegetables. But there are websites dedicated to helping people figure these sorts of things out. Good luck and enjoy!
This is a great recipe. I have made it several times, and used spaghetti and lo mein noodles. I leave out the hot red pepper from the sauce because my husband prefers food that is not spicy, but it is still terrific. I use sesame oil to coat the noodles until I am ready to cook them. I also add red and green pepper to the vegetable mix. I never thought I could turn out an oriental dish so good!
This is really good if you add Napa cabbage to it. It really makes the dish. I love it.
This is a great recipe to add to your rotation of quick, healthy flavorful meals. I’ve made it a few times & it’s always turned out good. At the hubby’s request I’ve added egg to it to for a little protein and it stays just as tasty.
How much garlic and how much ginger? Those ingredients are not listed
Hey Janett The ginger and garlic are listed–they’re the last ingredients in the recipe. Enjoy!
What a great recipe! I made this last night for my family and added some frozen organic peas, and it turned out AH-MAZING! This is definitely my new favorite meal.
Made this tonight and it was delicious! I used gardien beef tips in place of the tofu but felt that “meat” element wasn’t really necessary. I think I’ll just bulk up on the veggies next time I make it. Thanks for this easy and delicious recipe. 🙂