Veggie Chow Mein (Recipe)

Being Chinese, I'm not one to advocate eating Americanized Chinese food. This is typically meat and/or vegetables that are battered, fried and then soaked in a greasy, sweet and/or heavy sauce. These dishes typically sound good with names like Sweet and Sour Pork or Orange Chicken, and it's what a lot of Americans of all ethnicities ate while growing up and have no idea this version was invented by an ingenious Chinese immigrant in the mid 1800's to accommodate the American palate and also to lessen the racist views of Asians. If you are interested to learn more, this presentation is very interesting. http://www.bargaineering.com/articles/brief-history-of-american-chinese-food.html

Also loaded with calories, fat, sodium and all those other bad things, this horrible mutation of my native food is why "Chinese" food gets such a bad rap with health experts. I understand that most people who are not Asian (or even some who are Asian), may not really care, may be hesitant, or even flat out scared to try real Chinese food.

If you are someone who is curious about the real world of Asian cuisine, I would recommend asking around and possibly venturing out with someone who is in the know. With that said, I must add that I do love my noodles, and I'd say my version of chow mein is not so bad (yes, even chow mein isn't real Chinese food). Here's what I did.

I started off chopping everything I needed so I could cook each ingredient with rapid succession. I diced half an onion, sliced on the diagonal 2 small carrots, diced a zucchini and took about 1/2 cup of frozen soy beans out of the freezer. I then made the sauce for the chow mein. In a small bowl I added 1/4 cup of oyster sauce, 1/8 cup of hoisin sauce, 1/8 cup of soy sauce, 3 tbsp. rice vinegar and 1 tbsp, of sugar (all these can be purchased at your local Asian market). I then boiled 1 package of ramen noodles (also purchased from the asian market) as instructed, drained them and set them aside.

In a large wok over medium high heat, I poured about 3 tbsp. of olive oil into the pan, and added 1 tsp. of minced garlic along with the onions and carrots. I sauteed the mix for about 3 minutes and then added the zucchini and sauteed everything for 1 more minute. I then added the noodles, the sauce, the soy beans and, using tongs to move the mix around, sauteed the whole thing until everything was well incorporated and heated throughout. A delicious and not as nutritionally atrocious as your typical Americanized Chinese meal.