Vegetable Chow Mein

This is a lovely, colourful Chinese dish of noodles and vegetables stir-fried together to make a quick and tasty take-away dish.

It originates from Canton, a province of China renowned for its cuisine, and it has become a worldwide favourite.

Ingredients

2 cloves garlic
1 medium onion
1 red chilli
1 orange or red pepper
4 spring onions
200g baby sweetcorn
200g mangetout
1 x 225g can water chestnuts
1 lime
3 x 15ml spoons light soy sauce
1 x 5ml spoon sugar
1 x 5ml spoon cornflour
Small bunch mint (optional)
2 x 15ml spoons sunflower oil
220g medium dried egg noodles
100g bean sprouts

Equipment

Weighing scales
Chopping board
Sharp knife
Can opener
Colander
Lemon squeezer
Mug
Measuring spoons
Fork
Large saucepan
2x Pan stand
Wok or very large high-sided frying pan
Spatula
Large plate

Instructions

1. Peel and slice the garlic and peel and finely chop the onion. Wash all of the remaining vegetables.
2. Deseed the chilli and slice finely (wash your hands afterwards).
3. Deseed the pepper and cut into thin ½ cm wide strips. Top, tail and finely chop the spring onions and set aside to garnish at step 15.
4. Cut the baby sweetcorn in half lengthways and then in half again. Slice the mangetout into long thin strips.
5. Open the can of water chestnuts and drain in the colander. Slice each water chestnut into 2 or 3 pieces.
6. Cut the lime in half and squeeze the juice from one half and pour into the mug. Cut the other half into wedges.
7. Make the sauce by mixing the light soy sauce, sugar, cornflour and lime juice together with the fork in a mug.
8. Remove the mint leaves from the stalks (if using), and chop them finely.
9. Cook the noodles in boiling water, according to the cooking instructions on the packet. Drain them in the colander.
10. Heat 1 x 15ml spoon oil in the wok. Add the garlic, chilli, onions and pepper. Stir-fry them until the onion begins to colour and the vegetables soften slightly.
11. Add the baby sweetcorn, water chestnuts and the mangetout. Keep the heat high and keep the vegetables moving by stirring them around the pan with the spatula for 3–5 minutes.
12. Take the wok off the heat and carefully tip the vegetables out of the pan onto the plate.
13. Place the wok back on the heat, add the remaining 1 x 15ml spoon oil and when it has heated, add the drained noodles and the bean sprouts.
14. Stir-fry for 1 minute, then add the rest of the vegetables and the sauce to the wok. Mix well, turning the noodles so that they become coated with the sauce.
15. Serve and garnish with the reserved chopped spring onions, chopped mint (if using) and wedges of fresh lime.

Skills used include:
Weighing, measuring, peeling, chopping, squeezing, boiling/simmering and stir-frying.

Top Tips

• Prepare all of the vegetables before you start to cook.
• When you’re stir-frying, keep the vegetables and noodles moving all the time so that they don’t burn.

Something to try next time

• As with any stir-fry recipe, you can vary the vegetables to suit what’s in season and what you have available. The important thing is to have a colourful selection.
• You could also add a 2cm piece of fresh grated ginger to add more heat to the dish.
• Add 1 x 225g can of drained bamboo shoots at step 11.

Prepare now, eat later

• Try to prepare and cook the food as close to cooking as possible. Once you peel or chop vegetables they start to lose vitamins. If you do prepare the vegetables in advance, cover them and store them in the fridge but do not leave them to soak in water as this will increase the vitamin loss.
• Stir-frying is a quick method of cooking, so eat the food straight away when all the ingredients are still colourful, crunchy and fresh.