Easy Vegetable Chow Mein is a Chinese stir-fried noodle dish and a common Asian Takeout meal.
This chow mein with fresh veggies and perfectly cooked noodles is a very popular at home, and you can easily recreate it.
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TL;DR
Chow mein is a quick dish to prepare at home, and it won’t take you more than 15 minutes of cooking time altogether.
There are countless Chow Mein versions in this world, this is my easy Vegetable Chow Mein take on this dish. Other versions include my chicken chow mein and shrimp chow mein.
The simple Chow Mein is prepared in a short time frame and the ingredients are cooked quickly.
The vegetable or protein is stir-fried first, then the semi-cooked noodles are added, and the sauce is poured over everything. Everything is then stir-fried without delay and served directly hot.
This recipe will come handy when you don’t know what to cook. And when you need something quick without much effort, while still enjoying premium flavors and real food!
Ingredient Notes
For the Sauce:
- Soy Sauce — I like plain thin Kikkoman soy sauce, but also Thai mushroom soy sauce is nice. Just make sure it's a thin liquid soy sauce type and not a thick soy sauce variety.
- Rice Vinegar — or any other neutral flavored low percentage acidity vinegar.
- Chili Sauce — as in Sriracha Sauce or any other hot sauce that you like. It can be substitutes with Ketchup if you don't want heat.
- Sugar — I like brown sugar but normal sugar will do too.
To assemble the Dish:
- Lo Mein Noodles — Chinese or Asian long noodles. I prefer egg noodles.
- Oil — My favorite oil is peanut oil for the flavor, but you can use a sesame oil that can take high heat or a simple vegetable oil, if that's what you have at home. Try to get cold-pressed oils for the best quality and flavor experience.
- Ginger & Garlic — I use ginger garlic paste because it's the easiest and least complicated way to flavor a chow mein (homemade ginger garlic recipe). If you prefer fresh flavors, grind your ginger and garlic fine with a 1:2 ginger garlic ratio.
- Cabbage — If you want crunch, use regular white or green cabbage or else napa cabbage, which is more delicate.
- Carrot
- Green Onions — The bulbs and stalks are separate because the bulbs are stir-fried, while the stalks serve as a green, fresh topping.
The Chow Mein Sauce is prepared by simply mixing soy sauce, vinegar, chili sauce and sugar. Hence, the sauce is a bit hot but also tart and sweet.
This veg chow mein sauce is without fish or oyster sauce, and
Instructions
Step 1
Prep everything first before you start cooking.
That means, cut your vegetables small and mix the sauce ingredients for the stir-fry.
Step 2
Heat up a pot with water and cook your Asian noodles al dente, as per package instructions.
Heat up your wok or large pan with the oil and add in your ginger and garlic to stir cook quickly.
Add in your vegetables and stir cook for a minute or two on high heat.
Step 3
Add your cooked noodles into the wok with the vegetables.
Pour the stir-fry sauce and some water (I like to use the noodle water) over the noodles.
Stir cook your chow mein over high heat for 2–3 minutes, so that the ingredients get mixed up, and the noodles get cooked further.
Serve directly hot and garnish with chopped green onion stalks.
📖 Recipe
Vegetable Chow Mein Recipe
Ingredients
For the Sauce:
- 3 Tablespoons Soy Sauce
- 1 Tablespoon Rice Vinegar or White Wine Vinegar
- 2 Teaspoon Chili Sauce e.g., Sriracha
- ½ Tablespoon Sugar
For the Vegetable Chow Mein:
- ⅔ cup Carrot cut into matchsticks
- 1 cup Green Cabbage shredded
- 3 Green Onions
- 7 ounces Lo Mein Noodles
- 2 Tablespoons Oil
- 1 Tablespoon Ginger + Garlic *see Notes
- 2 Tablespoon Water
Instructions
- Prepare the stir fry sauce. Mix the soy sauce, vinegar, chili sauce, and sugar together. Keep aside.3 Tablespoons Soy Sauce, 1 Tablespoon Rice Vinegar, 2 Teaspoon Chili Sauce, ½ Tablespoon Sugar
- Prepare your veggies, shred cabbage, cut carrots into matchsticks, separate green onion bulb from the stalks. Slice onion bulb and stalks but keep them separate.⅔ cup Carrot, 1 cup Green Cabbage, 3 Green Onions
- Grab a pot and fill it with water to cook the noodles. Let it boil and then add all the noodles. Get a timer and time it at 3 minutes (or prepare according to packet instructions). We need to cook the noodles half way, or they will get mushy while stir-frying.7 ounces Lo Mein Noodles
- Place your wok or large pan over a low fire and add the oil and stir-fry your Ginger and Garlic and sliced onion bulbs shortly.2 Tablespoons Oil, 1 Tablespoon Ginger + Garlic
- Then add the shredded cabbage and carrot and stir-fry on high heat for 1–2 minutes so that the ingredients get slightly soft.
- Now stir in the cooked noodles.
- Pour the previously prepared sauce and 2 tablespoons of water, over the noodles. Stir-fry and mix the whole content for 2 minutes on high heat, or until all the ingredients are slightly soft (don't overcook!). The content should not stick to the wok.2 Tablespoon Water
- Finish by topping the noodles with the sliced green onion stalks and serve hot directly.
Notes
- Use fresh Ginger and Garlic chopped fine (⅔ garlic and ⅓ ginger ratio) or Ginger Garlic Paste (convenient and mixes in easily).
- You can try this recipe with more or other vegetables. See vegetable ingredient suggestion in the post, above this recipe card.
- You can also break in an egg right after stir frying the vegetables by making some space in the pan and pushing vegetables to the border. The egg is then cooked on high heat for a minute and then you just need to break the egg into pieces and you can continue to sitr cook and add the remaining ingredients.
Equipment
- Small Mixing Bowl to prepare the sauce
- Wok or Large deep Skillet
- 2 Wooden Cooking Spoon or Spatula
Nutrition
More Vegetable Ideas
I always end up using the same ingredients in my vegetable chow mein, which is carrot, spring onion, and cabbage.
This is because I like it that way the most and besides, I always have these ingredients at home.
You can add the following ingredients as well if you want to add more flavor or veggies:
- Red Cabbage
- Broccoli or Broccolini
- Mung bean sprouts
- Celery stalks
- Mushroom (technically not a vegetable)
- Bok Choy
- Spinach
Serving and Storing
Enjoy your stir-fried Asian noodles hot. You can keep leftovers in the fridge for up to 7 days.
I like to make a larger batch to fill up my meal prepping containers for the week. The noodles can be easily reheated in the microwave.
If you reheat them in the oven, be aware that they will get a bit crispy. Or take them back to a large deep skillet or wok to reheat. If it's too dry, add a tablespoon of oil.
More Asian Noodle Meals
Literally printing and making this tonight! Looks amazing!
I've never made my own chow mein but now I'm excited to try. Your recipe looks amazing and I love all the flavors and ingredients you've used!! Thanks for sharing this!
nice ! easy and quick to made recipe! thanks for sharing! Helena its not necessary to wash the noodles after boiling so that they do not get sticky? and is it necessary to add salt while boiling noodles??
Hi,
We were taught so in school some 15 years ago to take the noodles through cold water after boiling so that they don't get sticky. I learned from some Italian friends back in Italy that most people don't do that there and then I decided to skip the "washing" after boiling. Instead I boil the noodles, strain them and add them directly to sauces or in this case I stir fry them quickly with the other content. That way I don't have sticky noodles and they are not soaking wet nor cold because after all I want warm noodles. You can add salt while boiling, however I skip that part too because I try to not add so much salt, especially when I work with other flavorful seasoning.
I prefer to fry vegetables separately, because Cabbages can burn if wok gets overheated. And also after boiling the noodles (not more than 4 mins), pour them into cold water for a minute. So, they don't get extra soft.
Hi Nadia, thanks for sharing your experience. 🙂
The point of Chinese cooking is to stir fry very quickly by keeping the whole wok content moving all the time. It's necessary to work quickly so that the veggies get cooked but still stay crunchy. Since this recipe is derived from Chinese cuisine, the way of cooking it in India, especially in the road side stall, hasn't changed much. We used to learn in school that one would need to keep pasta or noodles under cold water so that it doesn't stick. I stopped doing that because once I finish cooking the content of the wok, which takes a few minutes only, the noodles have finished cooking as well. It's a quick and smooth process. 🙂
you can try this way next time:
1.after cooked the noodle ,place it into a pot which is filled with water(cold).
my english is poor ,i don't know how to express the benefit ,firstly using hot water ,then cold water...
in simple words,it can make the noodle have more elasticity。
2.after ade the oil ,before the vegetable,fried the onions firstly, it would be more rich in flavor
Hi Linda thanks for the cool tips. Can't wait to try them out. 🙂
Beautiful photography and scrumptious food!
Thank you! =)
My son and his friend spent almost a month in Vietnam and ate everything and everywhere. His friend only got sick once and that was from a sausage bought at a train station. I remember getting sick in Israel once. I think that this is the risk to take if we want to be adventurous! A friend told me she knew someone who was in Vietnam for work for something like a year and never at outside her hotel! The food of any country is an integral part of the culture... but you know all of that. Your post just brought all of these thoughts bubbling up 🙂
I love this Chow Mein, how tasty and how simple! Another recipe I have bookmarked!
Exactly, food of any country is an integral part of the culture and one shouldn't miss that just because of fear of getting sick. Thank you Jamie for your thoughts, they are oh so true. 🙂
This really brings back some happy memories. One of my favorite dishes to eat. Simple, healthy and so delicious!
This bowl of chow mein looks so good I can imagine why you have been tempted by it during your trip. I have already heard that in some countries street food is actually the best option to eat safest meals... and street food is also often the best I guess!
Good that you dared to eat that street food. Vegetable chow mein brings to me lots of memories of my childhood spent in Delhi, where a chowmein vendor used to come to our locality every evening. The aroma is irresistible. I loved the way you recreated this dish at home. Looks perfect!
Like I said before.. I want to dive in head first into that pot. 🙂 Looks amazing.
I haven't had Chow Mein in so many years but always loved it. I'd almost forgotten about it. Yours sounds so tasty and easy to make. This would make a perfect fall meal or even side dish. Thanks for sharing your recipe.
I love this veggie stir-fried noodles! So simple yet so good!
I always have a spare packet of noodles in my pantry for dishes like this, it's wonderful to be able to whip up a quick stir fry with any leftover veggies in the crisper at short notice. Great recipe 🙂
I love all kinds of chow mein. I like the idea of just using vegetables as it makes it very light and delicious. 🙂