No-Pain Lo Mein

Taken from www.foodnetwork.com.

No-Pain Lo Mein
Recipe courtesy Rachael Ray
Show:
30 Minute Meals
Episode:
Last Minute Get-Together

• 2 tablespoons (2 turns around the pan in a slow drizzle) vegetable or wok oil
• 1 cup (2 handfuls) snow peas, halved on a diagonal
• 1 red bell pepper, seeded and cut into match stick size pieces
• 1/2 pound assorted mushrooms (shiitake, straw, enoki, or oyster), coarsely chopped, if necessary
• 4 scallions, thinly sliced on a diagonal
• 2 cups (about 4 handfuls) fresh bean spouts
• 2 inches fresh ginger root, minced or grated with hand grater
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 pound lo mein noodles or thin spaghetti, cooked to al dente and drained well
• 1/2 cup aged tamari soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil, several drops

Heat a wok-shaped skillet or large non-stick skillet over high heat. When pan is very hot, add oil, (it will smoke a bit) then, immediately add the snow peas, pepper, mushrooms, scallions, and bean sprouts. Stir fry for 1 minute to flavor the oil, then add the ginger and garlic, and stir-fry 2 minutes. Add the cooked noodles and toss with to combine. Add the soy sauce and toss the ingredients to coat noodles evenly with sauce. Transfer the lo mein to a serving platter and garnish with a drizzle of toasted sesame oil.

Added Notes: The great thing about cooking is that you can usually improvise with recipes. When I made my lo mein I didn't have bean sprouts or cabbage so I just used red and green bell peppers and button mushrooms. Sesame oil of course is preferred when cooking stirfry and asian rice and noodle dishes, but in a pinch vegetable oil can be used. Don't be afraid to try your own twist on recipes you find.

Chicken Fried Rice

Have I mentioned that I'm so glad to have Jammie to share recipes with? :) Once again she came to my rescue and helped me with supper. I only made half the recipe because, well frankly I accidentally made half the rice I was supposed to and could only make half, but it came out with more than enough, so that's what I'm going to post. I didn't follow an exact recipe, so this is as close as it gets. Feel free to change what you'd like. :)


Chicken Fried Rice

4 pieces of chicken, seasoned w/ garlic and ginger, broiled and then cubed (Or cube and then stirfry them w/ sesame oil, garlic, ginger, and soy sauce and then add the rest)
2 cups of cooked rice
1 cup of frozen carrots
1 package of frozen broccoli (feel free to use whatever frozen veggies you'd like)
Sesame Oil
Soy Sauce
Minced Garlic (approximately 1 clove)
Ginger
Water Chestnuts (ok, so this wasn't in the recipe at all, but I had some and love them so in the pan they went)

Heat the sesame oil in your skillet. Add the rice and frozen veggies. Add the garlic and ginger (can be adjusted to taste). Throw in the chicken. Add the soy sauce until it looks right. :) I added the water chestnuts VERY last to keep crispy.
Allow it to simmer until the veggies are cooked.


Yummy! Alex ate THREE helpings! And here is what Kairi thought of it: