A homemade vegan chow mein that’s better than take-out! Noodles are tossed with assorted stir-fried vegetables and a simple sauce that uses hoisin, soy sauce, Chinese cooking wine, and a touch of sugar. The crunchy vegetables, slippery noodles, and salty sauce combine to create noodle greatness!
My kids and husband love Chinese take-out, and their absolute favorite are the noodles dishes from lo mein, wontons, to chow mein!
There’s something so satisfying about warm noodles dishes tossed in sauce, and served with your favorite vegetables. While my family loves Chinese take-out, it’s not always the most healthy, and it’s rarely vegan as the typical sauce includes oyster sauce which is derived from Oyster juices. I’ve prepared homemade chop suey, which they loved, and today I’m bringing to you another take-out favorite, chow mein!
I decided to take this family favorite take-out dish and put my personal spin on it to make it healthier and vegan-friendly!
This recipe is loaded with vegetables, uses regular or whole wheat spaghetti, and is tossed in a vegan-friendly sauce. It’s uber flavorful, simple to make, and family-friendly! There were no leftovers at the end of the night!
Why This Recipe Works
Healthier than Take-Out: My biggest challenge with take-out is the amount of oil that is used in stir-fry noodle dishes. This added oil significantly increases the calories and fat of an otherwise healthy dish. This recipe uses only 1 teaspoon of sesame oil for all 6 servings! Plus, this recipe has a ton more veggies. Instead of frying the noodles, the noodles are boiled and then tossed with the sauce. This gives the noodles a great flavor, without the additional oil.
Family-Friendly: My family loves noodles, and I don’t know any family that doesn’t! This recipe is a great way to incorporate vegetables into your diet without serving your kids a salad, or raw vegetables.
Authentic Flavor: To ensure that this recipe has an authentic flavor, I adapted the standard chow main sauce to make it vegan-friendly with a few simple swaps, like using hoisin sauce instead of oyster sauce, reducing the amount of oil, but still using a bit of sesame oil, and sesame seeds to bring in that sweet and nutty taste.
Ingredients and Notes
Noodles: When it comes to choosing your noodles, you have a few options. The most authentic noodles to use would of course be chow mein noodles. You can find them in the international aisle of your grocery store. Many brands are vegan, but if you are avoiding processed ingredients, then you might want to opt for something else, as they have palm oil, among other stabilizers. I opted for regular spaghetti noodles. You could also use whole wheat spaghetti or a gluten-free noodle too.
Vegetables: When it comes to vegetables you can add in whatever you have or your family likes. In this recipe, I used carrots, red pepper, broccolini, green beans, and cabbage. Some other vegetables that you may want to add include ginger, mushrooms, snow peas, bean sprouts, or bok choy.
Chow Mein Sauce: The sauce is made up of a combination of soy sauce, hoisin, Chinese cooking wine (Shaoxing Cooking Wine), sugar, and a little bit of corn starch to thicken it. If you don’t have Shaoxing cooking wine, you can sub a dry sherry instead.
Step by Step Instructions
Step 1: Prepare the vegetables. Mince the garlic, thinly slice the carrots and red pepper. Then cut the broccolini into florets, and trim the green beans.
Step 2: Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add a teaspoon of salt. Cook the noodles according to package directions.
Step 3: While the noodles are cooking, prepare the sauce. Whisk together the soy sauce, hoisin, Chinese cooking wine, sugar, and corn starch. Set aside.
Step 4: While the noodles are cooking, get started on the vegetables. Over medium heat, add 1 teaspoon of sesame oil to a non-stick pan. Add the minced garlic, and cook for 1 minute. Then add thinly sliced carrots and red peppers. Cook an additional 3 minutes or until tender.
Step 5: Add the broccolini and the green beans. Cover and cook for about 5 minutes or until the broccolini turns bright green in color.
Step 6: Add the shredded cabbage, and cook for 3 additional minutes.
Step 7: Drain the noodles and return them back to the pot. Add the stir-fried vegetables to the sauté pan, then pour over the sauce.
Step 8: Toss everything together. Garnish with sesame seeds and scallions.
Recipe FAQS
Chow mein is a Chinese dish that most likely originated in Northern China. The name comes from the Mandarin word chǎomiàn and the Taishanese word chāu-mèing which mean fried noodles.
Lo mein refers to tossed noodles, whereas chow mein refers to fried noodles. Both are prepared with vegetables and often various types of protein.
Prepare your vegetables in a wok or non-stick skillet.
Most packaged chow mein noodles are vegan. However, some are made with eggs. Before purchasing check the ingredient label or opt for a different type of noodle such as whole wheat spaghetti.
Allow the noodles to cool to room temperature. Transfer to an airtight container. Store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Reheat on the stovetop or in the microwave. You can freeze it for up to 3 months. When ready to eat, transfer it to the refrigerator to thaw overnight, then reheat on the stove over medium heat.
Expert Tips
- If you don’t have Chinese Cooking Wine, or you can’t find it, you can use dry sherry. Although, I highly recommend using it. You can find it in the International aisle of your grocery store, specialty markets, or online. It really gives the sauce that authentic flavor!
- Use any veggies you like!
- Add some protein by throwing in some pan fried tofu or cashews!
- Don’t overcook the vegetables. They pair nicely with the noodles when they have a bit of crunch.
More noodle recipes!
Recipe
Vegan Chow Mein
Equipment
Ingredients
Noodles
- 12 ounces chow mein noodles or spaghetti
Sauce
- 2 tablespoon soy sauce
- 2 tablespoon hoisin sauce
- 2 tablespoon Shaoxing Cooking Wine or Dry Sherry
- 2 teaspoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon corn starch
Vegetables
- 1 teaspoon sesame seed oil
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 carrot thinly sliced
- 1 red pepper thinly sliced
- 2 cups broccolini florets or broccoli
- 1 cup green beans
- 2 cups shredded green cabbage
Toppings
- 2 teaspoon sesame seeds
- 3 scallions thinly sliced
Instructions
- Prepare the vegetables. Mince the garlic, thinly slice the carrots and red pepper. Then cut the broccolini into florets, and trim the green beans.
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add a teaspoon of salt. Cook the noodles according to package directions.
- While the noodles are cooking, prepare the sauce. Whisk together the soy sauce, hoisin, Chinese cooking wine, sugar, and corn starch. Set aside.
- While the noodles are cooking, get started on the vegetables. Over medium heat, add 1 teaspoon of sesame oil to a non-stick pan. Add the minced garlic, and cook for 1 minute. Then add the thinly sliced carrots and red peppers. Cook an additional 3 minutes or until tender.
- Add the broccoli and the green beans. Cover and cook for about 5 minutes or until the broccoli turns bright green in color.
- Add the shredded cabbage, and cook for an additional 3 minutes.
- Drain the noodles and return them back to the pot. Add the stir-fried vegetables to the sauté pan, then pour over the sauce.
- Toss everything together. Top with sesame seeds and scallions.
Video
Notes
- If you don’t have Chinese Cooking Wine, or you can’t find it, you can use dry sherry. Although, I highly recommend using it if you can find it. It really gives the sauce that authentic flavor!
- Use any veggies you like!
- Add some protein by throwing in some pan-fried tofu or cashews!
- Don’t overcook the vegetables. They pair nicely with the noodles when they have a bit of crunch.
- Keep in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Freeze for up to 3 months.
Alison Corey
Add some crispy tofu for protein!
Sara Welch
Love a great vegan recipe that is quick and packed with veggies; looks too good to pass up, indeed!
Tara
Oh yum! Such an easy and delicious weeknight meal. I love the addition of all the vegetables.
Andrea
What a great recipe! I’m super excited about the ingredients used in this recipe. So healthy!