Photo courtesy of Carrie Bachman “Vegetable Chow Fun” recipe excerpt from the book Chinese Homestyle: Everyday Plant-Based Recipes for Takeout, Dim Sum, Noodles, and More, published by Rock Point. Text © 2022 by Maggie Zhu. Vegetable Chow Fun YIELD 4 servings PREP 20 minutes COOK 10 minutes This is […]
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"Vegetable Chow Fun" recipe excerpt from the book Chinese Homestyle: Everyday Plant-Based Recipes for Takeout, Dim Sum, Noodles, and More, published by Rock Point. Text © 2022 by Maggie Zhu.
Vegetable Chow Fun
YIELD 4 servings PREP 20 minutes COOK 10 minutes
This is my all-time favorite chow fun because I like to overload the noodles with vegetables so that there are as many veggies as noodles in the dish. To make the plant-based noodle sauce extra rich, I use a lot of aromatics. The mushrooms are important because they release savory juices that get soaked up by the noodles.
Noodles
- 7 ounces (200 g) dried wide rice noodles
- 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
Sauce
- 2 tablespoons Shaoxing wine or dry sherry
- 2 tablespoons light soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon vegetarian oyster sauce 1 teaspoon sugar
Stir-Fry
- 1/2 head broccoli, cut into bite-size florets
- 4 tablespoons peanut oil, divided
- 1 medium carrot, sliced into thin rounds
- 12 white button mushrooms (10 ounces, or 280 g), sliced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons grated ginger
- 4 scallions, cut into 1 1/2-inch-long (4 cm) pieces
- 2 cups (180 g) bean sprouts
- 2 Asian long red peppers (or1 Anaheim pepper for a less spicy dish), sliced into thin rounds
- To make the noodles: Soak or cook the noodles according to the package instructions until al dente. To test for doneness, you should be able to wrap a noodle around your finger without it breaking; the noodle should still feel a bit tough. Rinse with cold water and strain. Add the sesame oil to the noodles and toss a few times.
- To make the sauce: In a small bowl, combine the wine, light and dark soy sauces, oyster sauce, and sugar, stirring until the sugar is dissolved.
- To make the stir-fry: In a large skillet, heat 1⁄4 cup (60 ml) of water over medium heat until simmering. Add the broccoli and cook, covered, until the broccoli turns al dente, 11⁄2 to 2 minutes. Transfer to a large plate. Wipe the pan clean with paper towels.
- In the same skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of the peanut oil over medium-high heat until hot. Add the carrots and mushrooms and cook and stir for 1 minute, until the mushrooms start to brown. Add the garlic and ginger and cook and stir for about 30 seconds to release the fragrance. Add the noodles and drizzle the remaining 2 tablespoons peanut oil over them. Toss a few times so that the noodles are coated with oil. Add the cooked broccoli and pour in the sauce. Cook and stir until the sauce is mostly absorbed.
- Add the scallions, bean sprouts, and peppers and cook and stir until the vegetables are just wilted, 1 minute or so. If the noodles are still a bit tough, add a splash of water and stir-fry until the water is fully absorbed.
- Transfer to a large serving plate and serve hot.
N O T E : The wide rice noodles have a meaty, chewy texture that I prefer, but if you can only find thin ones, they will work as well. For the best result, I recommend soaking the noodles in hot water instead of boiling them. It takes a little longer, but they are less likely to overcook and become mushy in the stir-fry.
