Vegetable chow mein

What is Chow Mein?

Chow Mein is a type of Chinese stir-fried noodle dish that is made both with and without meat. Chow means stir-fried and Mein means noodles.

It's very popular in India and a lot of other countries too, and most of them have a local version of this delicious noodle dish.

The vegetable chow mein recipe that I am sharing here is an Indian-style chow mein recipe. It's one of the most popular vegetarian Indo-Chinese recipes.

What's needed to make vegetable chow mein?

To make vegetable chow mein at home, you will need the ingredients shown in the image below:

Ingredient notes and substitute suggestions

The three main components of Vegetable Chow Mein are:

1. Noodles: Generally, chow mein is made with egg noodles. In India, you can easily find eggless chow mein noodles as a lot of Indians don't eat eggs. However, if you don't eat eggs too and can't find egg-free chow mein noodles then feel free to use any flour noodles of medium thickness. You can use Hakka noodles or instant ramen too.
2. Vegetables: The most commonly used vegetables in chow mein are cabbage, capsicum, carrots, and spring onion. You can also use bean sprouts, French beans, tofu, bok choy, mushrooms, or any other vegetable that you like in stir-fried noodles.
3. Sauce/ condiments: The sauces generally added in Chow Mein are soy sauce, red and green chili sauce, vinegar, and oyster sauce. In India, oyster sauce is not used in chow mein and also since this is a vegan recipe, I have skipped that. I have added some tomato ketchup, the way it’s done by street vendors in India. You won’t be able to taste ketchup in chow mein but because of it, the sauce will get nicely coated on the noodles. Instead of ketchup, you can also use tomato paste.

Other ingredient details and nutritional information are shared in the recipe card.

How to make (step-by-step instructions)?

To make chow mein with vegetables, just follow the easy step by step instructions given below:

Step 1: Boil water in a large pot. Add some salt. When the water starts boiling, add noodles. Boil until the noodles are almost cooked. It's best to follow the instructions given on the packet of noodles you are using as different noodles need different cooking time.

Step 2: Strain the noodles and discard the water.

Step 3: Rinse noodles with cold water to stop further cooking. Overcooked noodles turn mushy.

Step 4: Drizzle around 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil on the noodles and gently toss until the oil evenly coats all the noodle strands. This step will help to prevent the strands from sticking to each other. Keep the noodles aside.

Step 5: Put all the sauces, vinegar, salt, and ground black pepper in a bowl. Mix and keep aside.

Step 6: Heat oil in a large wok and add chopped garlic. Saute for a few seconds.

Steps 7 and 8: Add thinly sliced onion and saute until the onion turns translucent.

Step 9: Add shredded cabbage, carrot, bell peppers, and green chilies.

Step 10: Stir fry on high heat for 2-3 minutes or until the vegetables are cooked but still crunchy.

Step 11: Add the sauce mix.

Step 12: Stir fry the vegetables in sauce for about a minute on high flame.

Steps 13 and 14: Add boiled noodles to the wok.

Steps 15 and 16: Gently mix until the sauce evenly coats all the noodle strands. Keep the flame high flame as the noodles will also get stir-fried while getting mixed with the sauces and vegetables. It will add a nice smoky flavor to the chow mein.

Steps 17 and 18: Finally, add spring onion greens and mix.

Your delicious homemade veg chow mein is ready to be enjoyed!

Serving veg chow mein

Loaded with vegetables, this flavorful chow mein doesn't really need anything else on the side. However, if you want, you can serve any of the following dishes with veg chow mein:

1. Veg Manchurian (The most popular side dish with chow mein)
2. Baked gobhi manchurian
3. Kung pao cauliflower
4. Pineapple tofu
5. Vegetables in hot garlic sauce
6. Chili garlic tofu
7. Broccoli in garlic sauce
8. Chinese eggplant in garlic sauce

Storing and reheating tips

To store, put the chow mein in an airtight container and refrigerate. It will be fine for 2-3 days.

To reheat, transfer the chow mein to a microwave-safe container. Add 1 tablespoon of water and microwave for a few minutes. Take out the container once in between and stir. Microwave again until evenly heated.

You can also reheat it on the stovetop. For that, transfer the chow mein to a large pan or wok. Add 2-3 tablespoons of water. Cover and reheat for around 5 minutes then remove the lid and reheat on a medium flame, stirring in between until nicely heated.

Recipe tips, tricks, and variation suggestions

• Don’t overcook the noodles, take them out of the boiling water around 1-2 minutes before they are completely cooked. Rinse with cold water, apply oil, and keep aside while you stir fry the vegetables. Applying oil will help prevent the noodle strands from sticking to each other.
• Use a large wok or pan to stir fry the noodles.
• Stir fry the vegetables and noodles on high flame.
• Since chow mein is cooked on high flame, prepare all the vegetables, sauces, and noodles before you start the stir-frying step. Mix all the sauces, vinegar, salt, and pepper in a bowl so you can add them all in one go.
• Soy sauce is already salty, so only add more salt if needed.
• For extra flavor, drizzle a teaspoon of toasted sesame oil once the chow mein is ready.

Frequently asked questions

More easy vegan and vegetarian noodle recipes

If you also love noodles and want to try more easy noodle recipes at home then don't miss trying the following links:

1. Vegan Kung Pao Noodles with Charred Broccoli
2. Easy Vegetable Teriyaki Noodles
3. Easy Hot Peanut Butter Ramen noodles
4. Vegan Pad Thai
5. Thai curry noodles
6. Easy chili garlic noodles
7. Thai vermicelli noodle salad with mushrooms
8. Thai red curry noodle soup
9. Ho fun noodles with mushrooms
10. Mushroom noodles

If you liked this recipe, please leave a star rating ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ in the recipe card below. You can also follow me on Instagram, Youtube, and Pinterest.

Recipe