Oodles of noodles

Christopher and I officially started half marathon training yesterday…with a rest day. But we were scheduled for 3 miles after work today, and we crushed it—despite the chilly air and snowy sidewalks.

Distance: 3.1 miles
Duration: 36:43
Average pace: 10:44 per mile
Mile 1: 9:57 (Holy hell, we were flying!)
Mile 2: 11:04
Mile 3: 11:15

I have been craving vegetable lo mein for days now, so we grabbed a couple necessary ingredients (including sesame oil on sale from $8.99 to $4.79) at the store yesterday and I set to work whisking, slicing and stir-frying this evening.

I wanted to create a lo mein that was delicious and filling with all the deep flavors (Is that umami?) of a typical Chinese noodle dish but without the grease and the guilt. I was really blown away at how well this turned out and how easy this was to prepare (if you don’t mind a little chopping and slicing). Christopher even asked if we could include this dish in our regular rotation.

Here’s the recipe:

3 tablespoons reduced-sodium or low-sodium soy sauce

3 tablespoons sesame oil

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (adjust to your tolerance for spiciness)

1/4 cup cool water

1/2 teaspoon cornstarch

1 tablespoon barbeque sauce

1/2 cup thinly sliced red pepper

1/2 cup thinly sliced carrot

2 1/2 cups (1 very small bunch/head) bok choy

1/3 cup sliced mushrooms

12 ounces (2 6-ounce packages) Chinese lo mein noodles (or angel hair pasta or spaghetti noodles)

Clean and slice your vegetables, making sure to keep them a mostly uniform size; vegetables will cook evenly if they are pretty much the same size. Set aside.

In a small bowl, whisk together cool water and cornstarch. In a medium bowl, whisk together soy sauce, sesame oil, garlic, ginger and cayenne pepper. Pour cornstarch-water mixture into sauce mixture and whisk until incorporated. Add in barbeque sauce and whisk until incorporated. Set aside.

Spray a wok or large sauté pan with nonstick cooking spray or coat with a bit of vegetable oil and heat over medium to medium-high heat. Toss in vegetables and stir-fry until tender. Pour in sauce and allow vegetables to soak up some of the sauce.

(Check out my awesome wok from my awesome brother! He got me that fancy bamboo cutting board in the above picture, too. What a guy!)

Bring a large pot of water to boil. Place noodles in boiling water and cook according to package directions. Drain and add noodles to vegetables and sauce. Toss to coat.

I really like lo mein because you can adapt it in many ways. I kept mine vegetarian, but Christopher topped his with chicken. I think it would be delicious with shrimp; he would tell you to try it with beef. You also can change out the vegetables according to your tastes and spice or sweeten up the sauce depending on your palate.

What’s your favorite Chinese food dish?

P.S. Photos from the Wolverine Resolution Run are in, and they don’t make me look like I’m dying! In fact, I look like I’m having a good time!

(Awwww!)

Not too bad, eh?