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May 20, 2022
This 30-minutes Vegetable Tofu Lo Mein is simple, easy, delicious, and only takes minutes! Super tasty, Plant-Based & Meal-Prep friendly.
It’s been a while since we posted anything, but it’s just been a weird period for us.
On April, 2 we lost our cat Gingi to feline leukemia. It was sudden and unexpected. He was our beloved kitty for 4 years. It was tough dealing with the sudden loss. It still is. We cried, we mourned, and we took a vacation to clear our minds. There was about a month where things were just… stagnating. It felt like being in limbo.
And then, suddenly, things shifted, and now we’re again overloaded with personal stuff and work. Zero time to step back, think, and breathe in. But this, too, shall pass. I am happy things are moving forward, finally.
And I am grateful for quick and easy meals that take little time to make, but still taste amazing and make you feel good. Or at least, better.
One of our very favorite meals to make on days like these is this 30-minutes Vegetable Tofu Lo Mein – colorful, easy, and absolutely delicious!
Ingredients
To make this pretty (and) delicious dish, you will need a few ingredients, but they’re all pretty basic and you should have them at home or be able to buy them easily.
You will need these basic ingredients:
- tofu, use firm tofu that can handle stir-frying. Make sure to press it for a couple of minutes to remove the excess water.
- ramen noodles, or other noodles of your choice. In a pinch, spaghetti work as well.
- red onion, yellow onion, or shallots is also fine
- carrot
- purple cabbage, for color, but regular or nappa cabbage also works. You may even use pak choi.
- red pepper, or yellow / green bell pepper – whatever you have at hand! If you don’t have any pepper, you can skip it, or use another vegetable, like broccoli, or snap peas.
- garlic
- seasonings, likesalt, pepper, garlic powder, ginger, paprika, and oil
You can make a delicious sauce at home using these ingredients:
- soy sauce, I like to use sodium-reduced as otherwise, it may be too salty for me
- dark soy sauce, just for a little color. You can substitute with regular soy sauce
- hoisin sauce, for extra flavor
- maple syrup, for sweetness, to balance the saltiness
- water, to reduce the sauce
If you don’t want to make your own sauce (although it’s as easy as mixing the ingredients in a bowl), you can just buy a vegan stir-frying sauce of your choice. But, the sauce in this recipe is (insert chef-kiss) delicious!
This is pretty much it and you’re ready to go! But, to take the dish a step further, we recommend also these toppings:
- spring onion
- bean sprouts, totally optional, feel free to skip it
- sesame seeds, we recommend lightly toasting them before use for extra flavor
- garlic chili oil – I usually just make it at home once in a while, and then keep it in the fridge, but you can easily buy this, or just skip it
How to make this 30-minutes Vegetable Tofu Lo Mein
Making this Tofu Lo Mein is easy and straightforward, but make sure to have all the ingredients ready to go when you start cooking, as the cooking process is fast!
Start by prepping your tofu – if you can press it for a couple of minutes to remove the excess water. This way the tofu will be able to soak up the seasonings and sauce!
Once pressed, pat it dry, slice it up and add seasonings. Mix to fully combine, then let marinate while you prep the rest of the ingredients.
Slice the onion, carrot, cabbage, and red pepper. Mince the garlic. Set aside.
Next, make the sauce by combining all the sauce ingredients in a bowl and whisking the sauce together until smooth.
Also, cook your noodles according to package instructions, then drain them and let them cool down. I like to run cold water over the noodles, as it helps with them sticking together.
Now it’s time to cook!
Heat a large wok or pan over medium heat. Add a drizzle of oil, and the marinated tofu. Cook it on all sides until golden brown and crispy. You will want to stir it once in a while, but don’t overdo it. Let it sit on the heat for a while for it to really develop nice color and crust. When the tofu is done, remove it from the pan and set it aside.
To the same pan (or wok if you have it), add another drizzle of oil, increase the heat, and add the vegetables: red onion, carrot, purple cabbage, and red pepper. Stir-fry stirring often, until the vegetables soften and become lightly charred. Then, stir in the garlic.
Lastly, add in the cooked noodles, mixing them with the vegetables, then the tofu, and the sauce. Mix well to combine, and you are done cooking!
Serving
To serve this Vegetable Tofu Lo Mein, just place the noodles on serving plates and add toppings of your choice.
We like to add some spring onion, bean sprouts, sesame seeds, and garlic chili oil, but this is all totally optional.
If you don’t have garlic chili oil, regular sesame oil is fine, or just skip it.
Storage
Store any leftovers (as if) in an air-tight container for up to 3 days.
You can make the dish ahead as part of your meal-prep, as it keeps fairly well without much texture change. This recipe makes about 3 servings.
We do not recommend freezing this dish.
More similar recipes:
- Vegan Tofu Lo Mein
- The Best Vegan Tofu Pad Thai
- Vegan Spring Roll Noodle Bowl
Yield: 3
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
This Vegetable Tofu Lo Mein Recipe is simple, easy, delicious, and only takes 30 minutes! Super tasty, Plant-Based & Meal-Prep friendly.
Ingredients
- 250 grams tofu
- 210 grams ramen noodles
- 1 red onion
- 1 carrot
- ¼ head purple cabbage
- 1 red pepper
- 3 cloves garlic
Seasoning:
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/8 tsp pepper
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder
- 1/8 tsp ginger
- 1/4 tsp paprika
- 1 tbsp oil
Sauce:
- 4 tbsp light soy sauce, sodium-reduced
- 2 tbsp dark soy sauce
- 1 tbsp hoisin sauce
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
- 1 tbsp water
Toppings:
- 1 spring onion
- 1/4 cup bean sprouts
- 2 tsp sesame seeds
- 2 tsp garlic chili oil
Instructions
- Pat the tofu dry, slice it up, then season it with 1/2 tsp salt, 1/8 tsp pepper, 1/4 tsp garlic powder, 1/8 tsp ginger, 1/4 tsp paprika, and a drizzle of oil. Let marinate.
- Prepare your vegetables. Slice 1 red onion, 1 carrot, ¼ head of purple cabbage, and 1 red pepper. Mince 3 cloves of garlic.
- Prepare your sauce. In a bowl, mix all the ingredients: 4 tbsp light soy sauce, 2 tbsp dark soy sauce, 1 tbsp hoisin sauce, 1 tbsp maple syrup, and 1 tbsp water.
- Cook the ramen noodles according to package instructions (about 3 minutes until soft), then drain and let cool down.
- Heat a large pan or wok on medium heat, then stir-fry the seasoned tofu until golden brown and crispy. Remove from pan and set aside.
- To the wok, add the rest of the oil, then add the red onion, carrot, purple cabbage, and red pepper. Stir-fry in the wok or pan on high heat, until softened and lightly charred. Stir in the minced garlic until fragrant.
- Once the vegetables are done, add the cooked noodles, and mix with the vegetables. Then, add the cooked tofu and sauce. Mix well to combine.
- Place the noodles on serving plates and add toppings of your choice. We added some spring onion, bean sprouts, sesame seeds, and garlic chili oil.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 3Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving:Calories: 323Total Fat: 17gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 13gCholesterol: 1mgSodium: 2753mgCarbohydrates: 32gFiber: 6gSugar: 13gProtein: 16g
Nutrition data is automatically calculated using Nutritionix and may not be accurate.
