Better Than Takeout Chow Mein

I’ll be honest, I am a sucker for chow mein. If you are not familiar with it, it’s an asian stir fry dish that is made with veggies, noodles, and usually meat or tofu. Sometimes, after a long day of cooking for a client, and I don’t feel like cooking anymore, I’ll order chow mein for takeout from a local spot down the street that serves up a really good one. Unfortunately there is a down side with many restaurant bought chow mein…. they usually have tons of sodium, they may use egg noodles or eggs in the stir fry, the tofu probably isn’t organic, and they may use a meat broth. Waah!

With so many uncontrollable variables, I decided to take this recipe over and give it a healthy plant based twist! I swapped out the soy sauce for coconut aminos which has 1/3 of the sodium, added gluten free brown rice pasta, bought organic tofu, and spiced it up with some lime and ginger! I present you with my better than takeout chow mein that’s super easy to make, great for meal prep, and budget friendly. Using a cast iron skillet really helps all the flavors from the veggies to come out into this amazing dish. Don’t forget this is all gluten free, dairy free, low sodium, and rich in colors & flavors.

Such a delicious healthy lunch or dinner that’s packed with fresh, clean ingredients that the whole family will love. Definitely make room for seconds!

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Makes 2-3 bowls:

The Goods:

• 1 tbsp sesame oil

• 1 package brown rice spaghetti noodles

• 1 package mushrooms, chopped

• 3 scallions, sliced

• 1 small cauliflower, stem removed and cut into bite size florets

• 1 bell pepper, chopped

• 1/2 of purple cabbage, rough chopped into strips

For the tofu:

• 1 block tofu, pressed and teared into chunks

• 2 tbsp tapioca flour or corn starch

• 2 tbsp sesame oil

• 1 tsp salt

For the sauce/dressing

• 1/4 cup Big Tree Farms gingerly lime coconut aminos

• 1 tbsp sesame oil

• 1 tbsp liquid aminos

• 1 tbsp agave syrup

• 1 tbsp rice vinegar

• 1 tsp tamarind sauce

• 1/2 tsp Chinese 5 spice

• 1/2 tsp ground ginger

• 1/2 tsp granulated garlic

The Method:

1. Preheat oven to 375. Add prepped tofu, tapioca flour, sesame oil, and salt into a mixing bowl. Mix until tofu is coated. Place tofu onto parchment paper/silicone silpat onto a baking sheet and cook for 20-25 minutes until browning.

2. Fill a large cooking pot with water and a pinch of salt, and bring to a boil.

3. As the tofu cooks and the water heats up, grab a mason jar, add all sauce/dressing ingredients, and stir until fulled mixed. Set aside.

4. Once water in the pot is boiling, add brown rice noodles and cook to package instructions. Once done, drain, rinse with cold water and set aside in the empty pot. Optional to drizzle a touch of sesame oil over the noodles to keep them from sticking to each other.

5. Check the tofu, once done, remove and let cool.

6. In a large cast iron skillet, turn on medium high heat and add sesame oil. Once hot, add mushrooms and scallions, sauté for 2-3 minutes.

7. Next add cauliflower, bell pepper, purple cabbage, and 1/2 of the sauce/dressing. Sauté all together for 3-5 minutes until the cauliflower is almost fork tender.

8. Toss in cooked pasta and pour the other 1/2 of the dressing over everything. Cook the chow mien for 2-3 minutes to make sure everything is nice and hot.

9. For the last minute or so, toss in the cooked tofu. Fold and mix everything together and remove from heat.

10. Grab your serving bowls, and with tongs, serve chow mein into bowls. Enjoy immediately! Optional to garnish with sesame seeds.

Thanks so much for checking out our recipes! I hope you find something here that satisfies your cravings or encourages you to try something new. Make sure to check back every week to see our new recipes!

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