Chicken “Zoodle” Lo Mein

lomein

vegettiSo I made that Facebook Chicken Lo Mein made with Zucchini noodles instead of real noodles. My review of this recipe is first off, don’t be fooled. This is not a 20 minute minute dinner as Facebook says. Cutting and prepping all the veggies, making the sauce and finally stir-frying it all is labor intensive and very time consuming.  Prep the night before and maybe you can throw it all together quickly.

The flavor was good, but I have to say, the zucchini really releases a lot of water, when cooking with it, makes your dishes very watery.  The “noodles” at the end just turned out to be very difficult to eat. Now I love zucchini noodles with a meat spaghetti sauce, but not a fan in this recipe.  I would have been better off making a stir fry with some brown rice.  The zucchini in this case, does not make you feel like you are eating noodles, but just another vegetable that is cut in such a way that makes it hard to get in your mouth!!

I changed the recipe a bit (click here for original), here is what I did:

Ingredients:
For the sauce:

  • 1 cup chicken broth
  • 2 tbsp soy sauce (use tamari for gluten free*)
  • 1 tbsp oyster sauce
  • 1 tbsp rice wine
  • 3 tbsp cornstarch
  • 1-2 tbsp garlic chili paste (to taste)
  • Dash of sesame oil

For the Lo Mein:

  • 2-3 medium zucchini, ends trimmed, spiraled into noodles (I use a Vegetti and love it!!)
  • 8 oz skinless, boneless chicken breast, cut into thin short strips
  • kosher salt, to taste
  • 2 tsp vegetable oil (divided)
  • 1 cup sliced bok choy
  • 1 cup sliced mushrooms such as shiitake (I left out as I hate mushrooms)
  • 1 cup shredded carrots
  • 1/2 C scallions, sliced into 1-inch pieces on the diagonal
  • 1/2 tbsp grated fresh ginger
  • 2 garlic cloves, chopped

Add any veggies you’d like – I added pea pods, broccoli, etc!!

Directions:

For the sauce – in a medium bowl, combine the liquid ingredients. Whisk in the cornstarch until smooth.

Using a spiralizer fitted with a shredder blade, or a mandolin fitted with a julienne blade, cut the zucchini into long spaghetti-like strips. If using a spiralizer, use kitchen scissors to cut the strands into pieces that are about 8 inches long so they’re easier to eat. (You need to do this – I didn’t what a mistake)

Season chicken with salt and pepper. Heat a large nonstick wok over high heat. When very hot, add 1 tsp of the oil and the chicken. Cook until browned on both sides and opaque throughout, 2 to 3 minutes. Set aside.

Add the remaining oil, veggies, ginger and garlic. Cook until crisp tender, 2 to 3 minutes. Set aside with the chicken.

Pour the sauce mixture into the wok and cook, stirring, until thickened and bubbling, 1 to 1-1/2 minutes. (I had to add more corn starch to thicken.  Make sure you mix with more chicken stock or water before adding to hot liquid).

Add the zucchini noodles to the sauce, mixing so the zucchini is covered in sauce, and cook until the zucchini is tender, 2 minutes.

Add the chicken and vegetables to combine, then divide between two serving bowls.

Share this post