Delicious Chow mein ready in just 20 minutes, easy to put together, a classic Chinese dish of stir-fried noodles with shredded vegetables and toasted tofu in a sticky fragrant sauce made from hoisin and soy sauce.
The secret to this is the preparation. Shred and chop everything before you start cooking and this dish can be ready to serve in 20 mins.
Prepare the vegetables
Begin by preparing the noodles by placing them into boiling water for 5 mins. Then drain and refresh with cold water and drain and put to one side.
Drain the tofu and pat dry. Chop the tofu into dice sized pieces and place in a bowl with the soy sauce, mix and let the tofu marinate while to prep the rest of the dish. stir occasionally during the prepping.
Shred all the other vegetables – the onion, cabbage, red pepper, carrots, and broccoli.
Slice the field mushrooms, finely chop the spring onions. Finally, mince the ginger and red chilli pepper. Now the prepping is done we can cook.
Cook the chow mein
Heat the wok and add a little oil. I usually add the hardier vegetables first, i.e. onions, cashew nuts, cabbage, carrot and lastly the broccoli and mushrooms. Stir fry the vegetables for several mins stirring and mixing it before it can burn and stick. If you find it drying out and burning, stir in a splash of water.
Cook tofu, by placing it in a separate frying pan and charring the sides of the tofu cubes – once charred all over add to the stir fry and mix in.
Add the spring onions, ginger, chilli and garlic to the wok and stir in.
While the vegetables are frying, make the sauce.
Make the sauce
Start by combining the cornflower, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, sweet chilli sauce and mirin rice wine and some cold water in a pan, heat over a gentle heat stirring all the time as the heat will thicken the sauce and stirring will stop it becoming lumpy. Keep stirring the vegetables.
Pour the sauce over the chow mein add the chopped coriander and sesame seeds and a final stir and take to the table to serve.
Ingredients 
boil the noodles for 5 mins 
drain and rinse and set to one side 
drain cube the tofu 
marinate in soy sauce 
mix while prepping 
grate the carrots 
shred the cabbage 
shred the broccoli 
finely slice the pepper and onion 
slice the mushrooms 
mince and dice the ginger, garlic and chilli 
Now ready to cook 
make the sauce and put to one side 
begin cooking the onions and cashews 
add the cabbage and carrots 
add the mushrooms, broccoli and stir and fry for several minutes 
while the veg is frying, fry the tofu in a separate pan turning until charred all over 
add the noodles 
mix in the noodles 
add cooked tofu and the coriander 
pour over the sauce and stir. scatter on sesame seeds
Chow mein
Ingredients
- 1 red bell pepper
- 1 white onion
- 2 clove garlic
- 1 red chilli
- 10 g ginger root – thumb size
- 200 g broccoli
- 200 g portobello mushrooms
- 1 carrot
- 200 g wholewheat noodles
- 30 g cashew nuts
- 3 spring onions
Method
- Begin by preparing the noodles by placing them into boiling water for 5 mins. Then drain and refresh with cold water and drain and put to one side.
- Drain the tofu and pat dry. Chop the tofu into dice sized pieces and place in a bowl with the soy sauce, mix and let the tofu marinate while to prep the rest of the dish. stir occasionally during the prepping.
- Shred all the other vegetables – the onion, cabbage, red pepper, carrots, and broccoli.
- Slice the field mushrooms, finely chop the spring onions. Finally, mince the ginger and red chilli pepper. Now the prepping is done we can cook.
- Heat the wok and add a little oil. I usually add the hardier vegetables first, i.e. onions, cashew nuts, cabbage, carrot and lastly the broccoli and mushrooms. Stir fry the vegetables for several mins stirring and mixing it before it can burn and stick. If you find it drying out and burning, stir in a splash of water.
- Add the spring onions, ginger, chilli and garlic to the wok and stir in.
- Cook tofu, by placing it in a separate frying pan and charring the sides of the tofu cubes – once charred all over add to the stir fry and mix in.
- While the vegetables are frying, make the sauce. Start by combining the cornflower, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, sweet chilli sauce and mirin rice wine and some cold water in a pan, heat over a gentle heat stirring all the time as the heat will thicken the sauce and stirring will stop it becoming lumpy. Keep stirring the vegetables.
- Pour the sauce over the chow mein and stir in
- Add the chopped coriander and sesame seeds and a final stir and take to the table to serve.
Nutrition
(All nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered estimates. Actual nutritional content will vary with brands used, measuring methods, portion sizes and more).