Vegetable Lo Mein With Soba Noodles

Lo mein is a Chinese cooking method, where boiled noodles are mixed with sauce, vegetables and/or poultry and/or seafood. If the boiled noodles are fried and then sautéed with sauce and vegetables, then the cooking method is called chow mein. Naturally, soft noodles soak up more sauce and therefore lo mein recipes often use more sauce. Instead of ordinary noodles, I have used soba noodles.

Soba noodles are Japanese noodles made of buckwheat. These light brown coloured noodles can be served cold with a dipping sauce or hot, as in this recipe. Even though buckwheat is a gluten-free grain (a pseudograin, strictly speaking, since buckwheat is not a grain, rather a fruit), the noodles are made by mixing wheat flour. So people with special dietary needs should be cautious while consuming them. Otherwise, these noodles are an excellent source of protein and good source of fiber.

They are slightly nutty, but when mixed with a sauce, soba noodles hardly taste different than wheat noodles. They cook faster than ordinary noodles too, just 4 minutes. I see no reason why soba noodles shouldn’t be a part of a healthy diet. For nutritional information and details on the brand that I normally buy, visit here. Learn how to make soba noodles from a chef master.

Ingredients

Soba Noodles – ½ lb
Red or green bell pepper – 1
Sugar snap peas – 1 cup, stringed
Carrot – 2, cut into 1 inch cubes
Teriyaki sauce – 1/3-1/2 cup
Garlic – 3 cloves, minced
Ginger – 1 inch piece, finely chopped
Crushed red pepper– 1 tsp
Eggs – 2
Salt
Pepper
Cilantro – 2 tsp, finely chopped
Sesame oil

Method

Cook soba noodles according to package directions. Drain, rinse with cold water, drain again and set aside.

Take a flat bottomed wide skillet. Put this on a medium heat stove and heat a tsp of oil. In a bowl combine eggs, salt and pepper. Whisk to combine and pour into the skillet. Lift and tilt the skillet to form a thin layer of egg on the bottom. Cook, without stirring for 2 to 3 minutes or just until set. Lift the omelette, flip and cook the other side for an additional minute. Slide out onto cutting board, cool slightly and cut into thick strips. Set aside.

In the same skillet, over high heat, heat 2 tsp of oil. Add bell pepper, sugar snap peas, carrot, ginger, garlic and crushed red pepper. Cook and stir for 3 minutes. Add teriyaki sauce and salt and bring to boil. Boil gently for 2 minutes. Add cooked noodles and cilantro to the vegetable mixture, toss well and serve immediately.