Vegetable Chow Fun (蔬菜炒河粉)

This vegan vegetable chow fun brings the fun to your meal with a bounty of vegetables in a rich and flavorful sauce. {Gluten-Free Adaptable, Vegan}

Whether you’re vegan or just want a fully meatless meal for dinner, this vegetable chow fun recipe is the perfect choice. It’s loaded with vegetables and has an extra rich, umami taste made with vegan ingredients.

Why this recipe

If you love veggies just like me, this is a nutritious and delicious dish. I added SO MANY vegetables to the noodles in this vegetable chow fun that every single bite of noodle will be paired with plenty of crisp veggie goodness.

The key to getting that rich umami taste in this vegetable chow fun is the addition of mushrooms. They have that earthy and meaty taste that brings everything together.

Ingredients

Wide rice noodles

For the best texture, I prefer to use the wide-type dried rice noodles such as the one made by Taste of Thai.

How to prepare dried rice noodles

For the best noodle texture, always soak them rather than boil them. This way, they won’t become overcooked when you stir-fry them. Yes, it takes a bit longer but I promise you, your efforts will be rewarded with the taste and texture. If you boil them, they will become overcooked and fall apart during the stir-fry step, leaving you with a mushy meal and who wants that?

Once the noodles are soaked, they should be soft enough to wrap around your finger, but still kind of chewy if you bite into one.

Mise en place

It’s important to gather all your ingredients before cooking, so you won’t miss anything or overcook the dish.

Vegetable options

You can replace any of them with what you have on hand. I’ve included broccoli, carrots, Anaheim peppers, button mushrooms, and bean sprouts. But do feel free to replace or subtract from that list with your favorites. I don’t recommend skipping the mushrooms though, because they are what makes the sauce so rich.

NOTE, this recipe contains a lot of vegetables already, so I do not recommend further adding vegetables because your pan may not hold it all, and even if it can, putting too much in your pan can lower the temperature and prevent effective cooking.

How to make vegetable chow fun

What pan to use

To make vegetable chow fun, you need a 12-inch or 13-inch diameter pan. Of course, you can always reduce some of the vegetables to fit into your pan if you only have something smaller. 

Cooking process

1. Quickly steam the broccoli in the frying pan using a bit of water
2. Pan fry the mushrooms and carrot
3. Add the aromatics
4. Add the soaked rice noodles
5. Toss with oil 
6. Pour in the sauce and add back the broccoli
7. Add the rest of the vegetables
8. Toss together and serve!

Afterthought

When I order vegetable chow fun from restaurants, I get frustrated if it comes with a load of noodles and very little in the way of vegetables. I kind of went overboard for this recipe, with quadruple the vegetables of your average vegetable noodles. But the result is SO FLAVORFUL that you won’t want the takeout version again!

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Vegetable Chow Fun (蔬菜炒河粉)

4.67 from 3 votes

This vegan vegetable chow fun brings the fun to your meal with a bounty of vegetables in a rich and flavorful sauce. {Gluten-Free Adaptable, Vegan}

To make the dish gluten free, use dry sherry instead of Shaoxing wine. Use tamari to replace the light soy sauce, and use oyster sauce to replace the dark soy sauce. Note, you should use a gluten free oyster sauce since the regular and the vegetarian types both contain gluten.

Author: Maggie Zhu

Course: Main

Cuisine: Chinese

Keyword: takeout

Prep Time: 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes minutes

Servings: 4 servings

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Ingredients

Noodle

• 7 oz (200 g) dried wide rice noodles (Footnote 1)
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil

Sauce

• 2 tablespoons Shaoxing wine (or dry sherry)
• 2 tablespoons light soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon vegetarian oyster sauce (Footnote 2)
• 1 teaspoon sugar

Stir Fry

• 1/2 head broccoli , cut into small bite-size florets
• 3 tablespoons peanut oil
• 1 carrot , sliced
• 12 (10 oz. / 280 g) button mushrooms , sliced
• 4 cloves garlic , minced
• 2 tablespoons ginger , grated
• 4 green onions , cut into 1 1/2” (3 cm) pieces
• 2 cups bean sprouts
• 1 long red pepper , sliced to matchsticks (or Anaheim pepper for less spicy) (*Footnote 3)

Instructions

For the noodle

• Soak or cook the dried noodles according to the package instructions until al dente. To test the doneness, you should be able to wrap a noodle around your finger without it breaking, but the noodle should still feel a bit tough. Rinse with cold tap water and drain. Add the sesame oil to the noodles and toss a few times.

For the sauce

• Combine the sauce ingredients in a medium-sized bowl. Stir until the sugar is dissolved.

To cook

• Add 1/4 cup water to a large skillet and heat over medium heat until simmering. Add the broccoli. Cook, covered, until the broccoli turns al dente, 1.5 minutes to 2 minutes. Transfer the broccoli to a large plate. Use paper towels to wipe the pan clean.
• Heat 2 tablespoons oil in the same skillet over medium-high heat until hot. Add the carrot and mushrooms. Cook and stir for 1 minute, until the mushrooms start to brown.
• Add the garlic and ginger. Stir about 30 seconds to release the fragrance.
• Add the noodles and drizzle the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil over the noodles. Toss a few times so the noodles are coated with oil. Add back the cooked broccoli and pour in the sauce. Cook and stir until the sauce is mostly absorbed.
• Add the green onion, bean sprouts, and pepper. Cook until the vegetables are just wilted, 1 minute or so. Taste the noodles. If it’s still a bit tough, pour in a splash of water and stir until the water is fully absorbed. Once done, transfer everything to serving plates. Serve hot as a main dish.

Notes

1. If possible, find the wide-type rice noodles (1/2” / 1.2 cm) for a better texture. If the package provides both the soaking and boiling methods, I highly recommend the soaking method. It takes a little longer, but the noodles will be hydrated more evenly. The noodles tend to keep their shape better during the stir fry and won’t be over cooked easily.
2. You can use regular oyster sauce for a non-vegetarian dish.
3. A spicy pepper will add a ton of flavor in this dish. I prefer the Asian long red pepper that has a spice level like jalapeno. You can use Anaheim pepper for a less spicy dish. You can also use one Thai bird eye pepper, or any pepper of your choice.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving, Calories: 244kcal, Carbohydrates: 29g, Protein: 8.7g, Fat: 12.4g, Saturated Fat: 2g, Sodium: 741mg, Potassium: 654mg, Fiber: 3.2g, Sugar: 5.3g, Calcium: 52mg, Iron: 4mg

Did You Make This Recipe?Don’t forget the last step! Leave a comment below, and tag me @OmnivoresCookbook and #OmnivoresCookbook on Instagram!