This Vegetarian Lo Mein is a bare bones recipe, using only an onion and some scallions. Perfect for a meatless meal, this recipe comes together in about 25 minutes!
It’s Monday, and I just got back from my staycation and girl’s weekend. I was craving Lo Mein and rummaged through the fridge, but nothing. My husband did go grocery shopping, but only purchased English muffins, bread and butter. Ha! Except for scallions and an onion, there were no vegetables on hand.
How to Make Lo Mein
When there aren’t too many ingredients to work with, you can still make a simple and delicious vegetarian lo mein without much effort. This is good news! Fortunately, onions are almost always on hand at my house. If you don’t have them, use what you can find. You can make an easy lo mein using any or all of these basic vegetables:
- scallions
- carrots
- mushrooms – You can even use a can of mushrooms in a pinch!
- onion
For the Noodles
If you don’t have lo mein noodles on hand, just use spaghetti noodles like I did!
What is lo mein sauce made of?
This vegetarian lo mein sauce is just as simple to make as the rest of the dish! The ingredients are:
- Sesame oil
- Hoisin sauce
- Vegetarian oyster sauce
- Mushroom broth
- Brown rice vinegar
Can you add meat to vegetarian lo mein?
This lo mein recipe is vegetarian. However, if you want to add some meat to your veggie lo mein, good options are pork, chicken or beef.
Bottom line: use this recipe as is, or add to it! I hope you enjoy!
Other Asian Noodle Recipes
If you want a more substantial Lo Mein using just vegetables, check out this vegetable lo mein recipe.
Another favorite noodle recipe is Jajangmyeon: Korean Noodles with Black Bean Sauce.
Super Simple Vegetarian Lo Mein
Ingredients
- 1 to 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 large onion peeled and thinly sliced
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 1 Pinch salt
- 1 pound spaghetti pasta cooked
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- ¼ cup mushroom broth * plus more if needed
- 3 to 4 tablespoons soy sauce plus more if needed
- 3 tablespoons hoisin sauce plus more if needed
- 2 to 3 tablespoons vegetarian Chinese oyster sauce
- 1 to 2 teaspoons brown rice vinegar
- 2 Scallions finely diced for garnish
- 1 to 2 tablespoons roasted sesame seeds for garnish
Instructions
- Using a large sauté pan or skillet, heat your oil over medium-high heat. After a minute or two, add the onions and sauté for about 4 minutes. Add in the garlic and season with salt and continue sautéing for a few minutes longer.
- Add the cooked pasta into the pan along and drizzle with the sesame oil. Add in the mushroom broth, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, oyster sauce, vinegar and a handful of scallions. Using tongs, toss together for a few minutes, or until the noodles are well coated and heated through. Taste and adjust any ingredients as needed.
- Garnish with more diced green onions and roasted sesame seeds and serve immediately. Enjoy!
Notes
- If you don't have mushroom broth, you can use vegetable stock or broth.
Super Simple Veggie Lo Mein
This easy vegetarian lo mein recipe is perfect for a simple weeknight dinner.
