It was during my freshman year of college that I discovered Food Network. Specifically, the show I got hooked on was ’30 Minutes a Day with Rachel Ray’. That I didn’t even know about Food Network until college might seem odd to some, but we didn’t have cable growing up so you could say I was a little sheltered when I moved into the dorms and had free cable. One of the first recipes of Rachel Ray’s that I tried and is still one of our favorites to this day is Everything Lo Mein.
I change the recipe up just a little by adding my favorite stir fry veggies and eliminating the pork, out of pure laziness because I always have chicken at home. I’ve also started to substitute zucchini noodles for half of the pasta in this dish. You can hardly tell them apart and it allows me to sneak in another vegetable!
I love the make your own takeout concept because I’m able to control the oil and other things that go into the dish. When you try this at home, I think you’ll notice it has a ton of flavor but doesn’t taste near as greasy as take-out lo mein.
Here’s what you need:
Start by putting a big pot of water on the stove to boil. Salt the water and cook the spaghetti noodles until al dente. Set aside.
Meanwhile, prep the rest of your ingredients. The first thing I do is whip up the sauce and set it aside. You’re going to stir together equal parts Hoisin, dark soy, and water and add in a few dashes of hot sauce.
Next prep your veggies. Slice into strips your pepper, red onion and scallions.
Finely chop the garlic and ginger.
Now it’s time to make the zucchini noodles. I use the GEFU Spirelli Spiral Slicer
Next beat a couple eggs. Heat a large non-stick skillet over high heat. Add about a tablespoon of vegetable oil. Once the oil is hot, scramble your eggs and set aside. I like to break the eggs up into bite sized pieces.
Next slice your chicken into thin strips and season with salt, pepper, and coriander. Heat another tablespoon of oil and add the chicken. Stir fry about 4-5 minutes until cooked. Set aside – note: when I set the food aside for this recipe, I often just toss it into the pot where my drained spaghetti noodles are hanging out until I’m ready to add everything back. This prevents me from having to dirty another dish.
Now it’s time to stir fry your zucchini noodles. Heat a little more vegetable oil in the pan and add the noodles. You’re going to stir fry them for about 2-3 minutes until you get a little bit of color on the noodles but they still retain a bit of crunch. Resist stirring them around constantly or they won’t develop any color.
Now it’s time to stir fry the rest of the veggies. Again, heat some vegetable oil in the pan. Add in the chopped onion, scallion and peppers, along with a handful of bean sprouts, matchstick carrots, a can of water chestnuts along with the garlic and ginger. Stir fry the veggies for about 3 minutes until tender crisp.
Now add in the eggs, pasta, and chicken; and pour the sauce over the top.
Toss to combine and then turn the pan off.
Enjoy!
- Sauce:
- 3 T hoisin sauce
- 3 T dark soy
- 3 T water
- 2 t hot sauce
- Lo Mein:
- ½ lb spaghetti
- Salt
- ¼ c vegetable oil, divided
- 2 eggs, beaten
- 2 chicken breasts, sliced into thin strips
- Pepper
- 2 t ground coriander
- 1 zucchini, spiralized & torn into noddle length pieces
- 2 inches fresh ginger, chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 6 scallions, cut into 3-inch lengths then sliced lengthwise
- 1 bell pepper, sliced into strips (any color you want)
- ½ red onion, sliced into strips
- 1-1/2 c carrot matchsticks
- 1 can water chestnuts
- 2 c fresh bean sprouts
- Mix together sauce ingredients and set aside.
- Bring water to a boil in a large pot. Add salt and spaghetti (optional, break the spaghetti in half) and cook until al dente. Drain and set aside.
- While the pasta cooks, heat a tablespoon of vegetable oil in a 12 inch non-stick skillet over high heat. Add beaten eggs and scramble. Remove and set aside, break the eggs up into small bite-size pieces.
- Season the chicken with salt, pepper, and coriander. Heat another tablespoon of vegetable oil. Add the chicken and stir fry 4-5 minutes until cooked through. Set aside.
- Heat another tablespoon of oil and stir fry the zucchini noodles for 2-3 minutes until they develop some color aren’t mushy. Set aside.
- Heat the last tablespoon of oil and add the veggies, water chestnuts, garlic and ginger. Stir fry for about 3 minutes until tender crisp. Add the eggs, chicken, zucchini noodles and spaghetti. Pour sauce over the top and toss to combine. Remove from heat and serve.
Source: Rachel Ray’s Everything Lo Mein
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