Veggie Lo Mein (PF Chang's Copycat Recipe) (2024)

FAQs

What is vegetable lo mein sauce made of? ›

Lo mein is also made of various stir fried veggies, fresh garlic and ginger for lots of flavor, and a simple sauce made with soy sauce, sesame oil, sugar and sriracha for spice!

The best kind of restaurant-style stir-fried lo mein is subtle in flavor, with plenty of wok hei, the smoky flavor that results from the powerful flame of a restaurant wok burner licking up and over the back of the wok, singeing the oil and noodles.

The biggest difference between chow mein and lo mein lies in the translations of their names: chow mein is fried, and lo mein is tossed. The experience is somewhat different between the two. Lo mein tends to be saucier and more toothsome, with a texture some describe as “slippery” because of the noodles' softness.

Most commonly, lo mein involves chicken, beef, pork, turkey, shrimp or tofu. Sauce components: Lo mein sauce is mainly composed of sesame oil, light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, garlic, ginger, oyster sauce and a dash of sugar. If you like your noodles to have a little heat, you can sprinkle in some red pepper flakes.

The sauce is what makes this dish so addictive. It's a simple umami filled mix of light and dark soy sauce, toasted sesame oil, sugar, and a hint of ginger. It's super easy to make a batch of lo mein sauce and keep it in the fridge so you can easily make lo mein whenever the craving hits.

Aromatic ingredients like garlic, ginger, green onions, chilies and spices. These ingredients are typically added to the oil first to infuse it with flavor. You won't need much; a few teaspoons to a tablespoon of total aromatic ingredients per person adds a serious amount of flavor.

You want to buy an egg noodle or pasta that's relatively thin and has some tooth. Some common names will be lo mein, chow mein, egg noodles or pancit noodles. Most markets have Japanese yaki soba noodles in the cold case, and those would work perfectly.

Vegetable lo mein, which typically consists of spaghetti-type noodles and vegetables with a soy-based sauce, can fit into a healthy diet if you watch your portion size.

Safe to say, you may not always have the right noodles on hand for when a craving strikes, but luckily enough, it's easy to swap them around, especially if it's lo mein that you're making. The best substitute for lo mein noodles are chow mein noodles because they are both essentially the same thing.

Heat oil in a large skillet or wok over high heat. Cook and stir celery, carrots, onion, and green onions in hot oil until slightly tender, 5 to 7 minutes. Add spaghetti and soy sauce mixture. Cook, stirring frequently, until heated through, about 5 minutes.

What is hoisin sauce used for? ›

Hoisin sauce is a thick, fragrant sauce commonly used in Cantonese cuisine as a glaze for meat, an addition to stir fry, or as dipping sauce. It is dark-coloured, sweet and salty. Although regional variants exist, hoisin sauce usually includes soybeans, fennel, red chili peppers, and garlic.

Cornstarch! In his book How to Cook Everything Vegetarian, Mark Bittman recommends mixing 1-2 tablespoons of cornstarch with the same amount of water, and tossing this into the stir fry just when it's almost done. It thickens in seconds, picking up the flavors of everything already in the dish and coating evenly.

Meanwhile, vegetables and meat or seafood are stir-fried, then everything gets tossed together with a sauce before serving. (That's another distinction between chow mein and lo mein: Lo mein is a saucy dish, while chow mein is typically drier or less liquid-y.) The final dish is soft and coated in sauce.

Combine soy sauce, light sesame oil, oyster sauce, granulated sugar, cornstarch, and chicken broth to make the signature sweet and savory sauce that makes chow mein taste authentic.

While Doubanjiang can be considered the "mother sauce" of Sichuan cuisine, there are some prominent flavors in modern Sichuan cooking that are often referenced as sauces but are composed of other ingredients and sauces during cooking. These include: Yuxiang (魚香)

Though regional variations exist, most modern hoisin sauce recipes contain some combination of the following ingredients: fermented soybeans, five-spice powder, garlic, red chili peppers, and sugar. "Hoisin" comes from the Cantonese word for seafood, though it's not commonly associated with seafood dishes.