FoodMayhem

With Labor Day and Rosh Hashana this week, our kitchen renovation has been on hold, although deliveries did come in. I received all of our appliances on Wednesday. I wanted to do a little dance around my 6 burner stove and 12″ grill. The exhaust is massive, like a bathtub! The fridge didn’t fit through our door so the refrigerator doors had to be removed and put back on. Today, all of our cabinetry will be delivered. We’re close to the finish line!

Until then, we’re still at my parent’s house where mom is dutifully making dishes for me. I decided on a noodle dish and my mom suggested Mushroom Lo Mein, a simple and light dish she often throws together for lunch when she’s by herself. It’s vegetarian, full of mushroom flavor, and a variety of textures. My mom used celery this time but sometimes uses napa cabbage, whichever one she has on hand. The flavor is different but equally delicious.

There are zillions of variations on Lo Mein. It’s originally a Cantonese dish, but the non-Cantonese have made their own versions as well. My mom actually prefers to use spaghetti or thin spaghetti to make Lo Mein over the Chinese noodles supermarkets supply as Lo Mein. You can use whichever you prefer.

Mushroom Lo Mein
~3 servings

• 3 dried shitake mushrooms
• 6 oz dry thin spaghetti or spaghetti
• 1 (5.35 oz) package white beech mushrooms
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil, divided
• 1 rounded cup sliced celery
• 1 (3 oz) package oyster mushrooms
• 4 teaspoons vegetarian oyster sauce
• 1 teaspoon kecap manis
• 2 to 4 teaspoons soy sauce

Instructions –

1.  Soak mushrooms in a small bowl of water for several hours or overnight. Squeeze out the liquid and slice. Set aside.

2. Cook pasta according to package instructions. Drain and set aside.

3. Cut bottom off beech mushrooms and pull apart. Set aside.

4. Heat 1 teaspoon oil in a wok or similar on high heat. Add celery with a sprinkle of salt. Stir and toss for a few seconds. Remove to a bowl and set aside.

5. Add 2 teaspoons oil to the wok or similar and heat on medium high heat. Add the three types of mushrooms and stir and toss constantly for 1 minute. Add vegetarian oyster sauce and kecap manis and stir until well distributed.

6. Add pasta noodles and mix well. Drain any excess liquid that has seeped out of the celery and toss celery back in. Stir in soy sauce to taste and 1 to 2 tablespoons of water if pasta is starting to stick to the wok/pan. Once well tossed, remove from heat and serve immediately.

Left-overs can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge and reheated in the microwave.

posted by jessica at 09:57 AM Filed under Chinese, Recipes. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.