Lo Mein

In my never-ending quest for easy meals that are also tasty, I came across this little gem. It's originally from Rachael Ray, although I've modified it just a bit here. Lo mein is without a doubt Bob's favorite Chinese entree, and he usually makes a more elaborate version. But even he gave this one a thumbs up (each of us agrees that dinner always tastes better if the other person cooked it).

I was surprised to find that the 30 minute prep time estimated in the recipe is actually pretty accurate--15 minutes for chopping and making the sauce and another 15 minutes for cooking it and putting it together. I think this was universally popular at our house, and is destined to be a regular on our menu.

Lo Mein
Sauce:
3 rounded tablespoons hoisin sauce (you'll find it in the Asian section of your grocery store)
3 tablespoons soy sauce
3 tablespoons of water
1/4 teaspoon Sriracha sauce (Sriracha sauce is a Vietnamese hot sauce. It's very hot, but I felt it should be used in this recipe because it is, afterall, Asian food. The original recipe just said hot sauce and called for 2 teaspoons. I put in 1/2 teaspoon and it was a little too hot for us. So proceed at your own risk; tabasco sauce is somewhat more mellow than Sriracha, so you might want to add a little more, depending on your tastes).

Noodles:
1 16-ounce package of spaghetti (this was one of the things I loved most about the recipe; no bewildered looks from the staff at the Asian market when I asked them what kind of noodles I needed for lo mein. I already had maybe 20 pounds of it in my basement!)
1/4 cup vegetable oil, divided
2 large eggs, beaten
3 chicken boneless, skinless chicken breasts, thinly sliced into strips
Black pepper
2 teaspoons ground coriander
2 inches fresh ginger, chopped or grated
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
6 green onions, cut into 3-inch lengths then sliced lengthwise
1/2 pound mushrooms, chopped (the recipe calls for shitakes; we don't care for shitakes all that much so I used regular button mushrooms)
1 red bell pepper, cut into quarters, seeded, the sliced
1/2 pound shredded cabbage

Directions
Mix together sauce ingredients and reserve.

Bring pasta water to a boil, ad a little salt and cook spaghetti according to package directions.

While noodles cook, heat a tablespoon of vegetable oil in a large, nonstick skillet over high heat. WHen oil ripples, add beaten eggs and scramble them to light golden brown. Remove and reserve.

Season the meat with salt, pepper and coriander. Heat the remaining vegetable oil to a ripple, then add meat and stir-fry 4 minutes. Push meat to the side and add ginger, garlic and veggies. Stir-fry veggies 2 minutes, then drain and add pasta and eggs back intothe skillet. Pour sauce over the spaghetti and toss to combine. Turn off pan. Toss 30 seconds and let the liquids absorb.

A couple of notes: the original recipe calls for 3 thin cut pork chops, thinly sliced into strips. I think this would be delicious and would make it a heartier meal. I didn't include it in my version this time.

Also, we've found that powdered ginger works every bit as well as fresh ginger, but the fresh ginger will make your house smell great, so it might be worth the few cents and few minutes it takes to use it.