Hunan-Style Vegetable Chao Mian
2 min readYou can tone down the heat of this tasty vegetable chao mian, literally ―fried noodles,‖ known in American Asian restaurants as chow mein, by omitting the chili peppers and replacing with a few pinches of cayenne pepper, if desired. You can also omit the Crispy Noodle Pancake and chow mein noodles and serve over plainly cooked noodles or rice for an equally delicious meal.
MAKES 4 SERVINGS
1 tablespoon peanut oil
4 dried shiitake mushrooms, soaked in hot water to cover 20 minutes, or until softened, rinsed, drained, stemmed, and thinly sliced
4 scallions, white and green parts separated, thinly sliced
4 large cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 cup shredded cabbage
1 cup chopped cauliflower
1 cup shredded carrot
1⁄4 cup drained and chopped canned bamboo shoots
1 to 2 fresh red chili peppers, seeded and thinly sliced
1⁄2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
Freshly ground black pepper
1⁄2 cup tomato sauce
2 teaspoons cornstarch mixed with 1⁄4 cup water
1⁄2 tablespoon toasted (dark) sesame oil
1⁄2 tablespoon sugar
1 to 1 1⁄2 teaspoons Chinese chili paste
1 Crispy Noodle Pancake, divided into 4 wedges
1 cup crispy chow mein noodles
In a wok or large nonstick skillet, heat the peanut oil over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms, white parts of the scallions, and garlic and cook, stirring constantly, 1 minute. Add the cabbage, cauliflower, carrot, bamboo shoots, chilies, salt, and pepper and cook, stirring constantly, 2 minutes. Stir in the tomato sauce, cornstarch mixture, sesame oil, sugar, and chili paste and reduce the heat to medium; cook, stirring, until thickened, 2 to 3 minutes, adding the scallion greens toward the end.
To serve, place 1 fried noodle pancake wedge on each of 4 serving plates. Top with equal portions of the vegetable mixture. Sprinkle evenly with the fried chow mein noodles (1⁄4 cup) and serve at once.
{PER SERVING} Calories 362 • Protein 9g • Total Fat 15g • Sat Fat 2g • Cholesterol 0mg • Carbohydrate 52g • Dietary Fiber 5g • Sodium 664mg
