I distinctly remember trying Lo Mein for the first time. It was from a takeout restaurant in my hometown in a tiny strip mall a few doors down from my mom’s business. It was everything you want Lo Mein to be:: greasy, garlicky, and loaded with flavors I’ll never forget. The place is still in business and quite frankly one of the better take out venues I’ve had for Chinese food. 

 Skip ahead a few {20} years and I’ve grown so much more cognitive of what I’m eating and what’s in our food – much more what I’m putting into my young beautiful girls’ bodies. By no means is it a perfect system; there are days where they have a box of organic macaroni and cheese (which is likely no better but eases my mom guilt ever so slightly…) but overall, I feel better knowing from where my food is coming and the quality of the ingredients. 

 Lo Mein is a complete comfort food for me – but this is a way I feel way less guilty indulging. And can we please talk about how ridiculously easy this dish is? Seriously folks, dinner will be on the table in less than 30 minutes! Feel good about it. You’re a super human juggling 30 things every day – dinner should be simple and fun. Not to mention delicious. Enjoy and tweak according to your preferences. Like it spicy? Sauté the jalapenos with the veggies. I have delicate palates in the house so I top my Lo Mein with the raw jalapenos at the end. Use vegetables that are seasonal and favorites. Add your favorite meat if you want to add some protein. The sky is the limit. 

Ingredients:

• 1 cup grape seed oil
• 1/3 cup soy sauce
• 3 tbsp. sesame oil
• 1.5 tbsp. garlic powder
• 1.5 tbsp. onion powder
• 1 tbsp. minced garlic
• 1.5 tsp. garlic salt
• 1/2 cup of the pasta water reserved from cooking the noodles
• 1 red pepper, yellow pepper and orange pepper thinly sliced
• 3 large carrots peeled and sliced to match the size of the peppers
• 10 green onions chopped into 2″ pieces
• 2 jalapenos, thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup cilantro, plus more for garnish roughly chopped
• 12 oz. brown rice noodles

Method:

1. In a stockpot atop your cooktop, bring water to a boil.
2. Meanwhile, wash and slice your vegetables.
3. In a large sauté pan, add 2 tablespoons of grape seed oil and sauté the vegetables over medium heat until cooked and slightly crunchy.
4. Boil the rice noodles 4-6 minutes and drain. During this process, add the oil, soy sauce, sesame oil, garlic and onion powder, garlic salt, minced garlic and 1/2 cup of the hot pasta water into a large measuring cup and stir to combine. 
5. Turn the heat to low and add the drained noodles to the vegetable sauté pan. Pour the sauce over the noodles and vegetables. Add the chopped cilantro and gently toss together the ingredients. 
6. Serve immediately and top with cilantro and jalapenos. Enjoy!