All Vegetable Lo Mein

I must admit, I have never made an asian inspired dish… ever! I’m not sure why, but it has always intimidated me a bit. This dish was definitely out of my comfort zone, but I enjoyed the challenge of working with different ingredients. This dish takes about 30 minutes from start to finish, which is always handy in the hot summer nights when  you don’t want to heat up the house. It’s also quite healthy since we replace the traditional lo mein noodles with vegetables.

For the chicken you will need

2 cloves of minced garlic
1 teaspoon ground ginger
2 tablespoons of honey
4 teaspoons sesame seed oil
1/4 cup reduced sodium soy sauce
1 cup chicken stock
3 chicken breasts cut into chuncks

For the “noodles”

2 cloves of minced garlic
3 large carrots
2 small summer squash
2 small zucchini
Splash of reduced sodium soy sauce

(Basically you want equal parts of each. Getting smaller squash and zucchini is key in this dish to avoid excess seeds and water)
Combine the first five ingredients and 1/2 a cup of chicken stock. Stir well. Add the chicken breast and marinade it for about 15 minutes. While the chicken in marinading use a mandolin to julienne the carrots, zucchini and squash.

With a large saute pan (or wok) heat about 1 tbsp of vegetable oil on high. While the pan is heating remove the chicken from the marinade. Once the pan is hot, add the chicken.  Working quickly, rotate the chicken to brown it on all sides. Once the chicken is browned, add the reserved 1/2 cup of chicken stock and cover. Simmer on low for about 5 minutes or until chicken is done. Remove the chicken and cover it to keep it warm.

Using the same saute pan (or wok)  heat it to high and add about 3 tbsp vegetable oil. Toss in the garlic and cook for about 30 seconds, stirring constantly, next add in the julienned vegetables. Cook on high heat for about 3 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Do not over cook the vegetables or they will become mushy. The vegetables should have a similar consistency as noodles. Finish the vegetables with a splash of soy sauce and top with the drained chicken.

Enjoy!