Vegetable Lo Mein is a popular Asian dish. It is loaded with veggies and flavored with sauces. It is perfect for making a one-pot weekday or weekend lunch or dinner. It is a great dish choice for potlucks or get-togethers and is a true crowd-pleaser!
This is better than a takeout, kid-friendly, vegan Lo Mein recipe. The best part is it can be made in under 30 minutes in the instant pot with vegetables of your choice.
What is Lo Mein?
Vegetable Lo Mein is an Asian stir fry recipe made with boiled noodles, veggies, and sauces. Sometimes Lo Mein is also referred to as chow mein.
Chow mein is made with crunchy noodles that are fried and then added to vegetables and sauces.
What is usually in vegetable Lo Mein?
The main ingredient to make Lo Mein is noodles, vegetables and sauces. I have used spaghetti noodles to make this recipe.
Vegetables like carrots, baby corn, mushrooms, colorful bell peppers, snow peas, and broccoli can be used. The best part of making Lo Mein at home is that you can add or omit vegetables as per your preference.
Soy sauce, chili sauce, and optionally some sriracha sauce are added to give it a savory and spicy flavor. Finally, this delicious Lo Mein is garnished with some green onions.
What type of noodle is Lo Mein?
You can make Lo Mein with any type of noodles at hand. I prefer to use the spaghetti as my kids love it. However, linguine, fettuccine or Hakka noodles will work too.
Why make Lo Mein noodles in the instant pot?
The simple answer is convenience. It completely does away with the tedious step of boiling, monitoring, and draining water for cooking the spaghetti.
It is almost a dump-and-go, one-pot meal with zero-minute pressure cooking and is ready in under 30 minutes without any supervision in the instant pot.
You may also like broccoli pasta, vegetable pasta bake, stuffed pasta shells, and mixed vegetable casserole recipes.
How to make vegetable Lo Mein in an Instant Pot?
To make Lo Mein, first, turn the instant pot 'saute' mode on. Once the instant pot is hot, add sesame oil followed by garlic, ginger, and green onion whites and sauté them for a few seconds.
Turn the instant pot off by pressing cancel. Add water, chili sauce, dark soy sauce, salt, and sugar. Deglaze the pot with a spatula.
Now break the spaghetti into half and place them in 3-4 criss-cross layers. Gently push the spaghetti under the liquid with the help of a spatula. Layer all the vegetables (except broccoli) on top of the spaghetti and lock the instant pot lid.
Turn the instant pot pressure release knob in the sealing position and cook on high-pressure mode for 0 (zero) minutes with the keep warm setting turned on.
Instant pot will come to pressure and then go into keep warm mode. Allow the pressure to release naturally for 6 minutes and then turn the pressure knob to the venting position and manually release all the remaining pressure until the silver pin drops.
Open the lid and mix in frozen broccoli (thawed). There will be some liquid but as you mix the spaghetti noodles, the water will get absorbed.
Gently mix everything with the help of kitchen tongs and loosen up the spaghetti if needed. Garnish with green onion greens.
If you are using fresh broccoli, cover the lid for about 2-3 minutes and the heat will be enough to cook them tender.
How to store vegetable Lo Mein?
Vegetable Lo Mein can be stored in the freezer for about a month. You can also refrigerate any leftovers. So, you can always plan and make them for later.
When you are ready to eat simply thaw and heat the frozen Lo Mein noodles in the microwave and spice it up with any sauces if needed.
How long does vegetable Lo Mein last in the refrigerator?
Vegetable Lo Mein can be stored in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. It tastes fresh after reheating and does not become soggy. So, you can always plan your meals and make it ahead of time for meal planning.
How do you reheat leftover Lo Mein?
If you have stored your leftover Lo Mein in the Instant Pot liner in the fridge, you can simply reheat the Lo Mein noodles in the Instant Pot. Turn the 'saute' mode on and heat the noodles for 2-3 minutes depending on the quantity.
Also, stir the noodles in between with kitchen tongs to ensure it does not stick to the bottom of the instant pot.
You can also reheat the leftover noodles in the microwave or stovetop. When reheating the vegetable Lo Mein in the microwave, depending on the quantity, heat it for 1-2 minutes and then mix it evenly to distribute the heat.
If you enjoyed this recipe, you may also like these vegan Asian dishes
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📖 Recipe
30 Minute Instant Pot Vegetable Lo Mein
Equipment
Ingredients
- 8 oz Spaghetti
- 2 cup Water
Oil, spices, and sauces
- 2 tablespoon Sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon Garlic (chopped)
- 1 teaspoon Ginger (paste or chopped)
- 2 tablespoon Dark soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon Chili sauce (adjust as per taste)
- 1 tablespoon Sriracha sauce (adjust as per taste)
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 1 teaspoon Organic cane sugar
Instructions
- Turn the instant pot on saute mode on the normal setting.
- Once the instant pot is hot, add the sesame oil.
- Once sesame oil is hot, add the garlic, ginger, and green onion whites and saute for few seconds.
- Turn the instant pot off by pressing cancel.
- Add water, chili sauce, dark soy sauce, salt, and sugar. Deglaze the pot with a spatula.
- Break the spaghetti into half and place them in 3-4 criss-cross layers.
- With the help of a spatula gently push the spaghetti under the liquid.
- Layer all the vegetables (except broccoli) on top of the spaghetti and lock the instant pot lid.
- Turn the instant pot pressure release knob in the sealing position.
- Turn the instant pot on high-pressure mode for 0 (zero) minutes with the keep warm setting turned on.
- Instant pot will come to pressure and then go into keep warm mode.
- Allow the pressure to release naturally for 6 minutes and then turn the pressure knob to venting position and release all the remaining pressure until the silver pin drops.
- Open the lid and mix in broccoli.
- Gently mix everything with the help of kitchen tongs and loosen up the spaghetti if needed.
- Garnish with green onion greens.
Notes
- To make gluten-free vegan lo mein, you can use gluten-free noodles and tamari sauce instead of soy sauce.
- If you like to add protein, you can add cubes of extra firm tofu along with the vegetables while cooking.
Eileen says
Is there a recipe if you do not
have an instant pot?
Alpa Jain says
Hi Eileen,
I have Hakka noodles recipe for stovetop. https://culinaryshades.com/vegetable-hakka-noodles/
You can cook Lo Mein in similar way, you will have to cook the spaghetti separately as per package instructions. On the side, in a large pan, cook all the veggies and add the spices, sauces, and herbs. Once all are well cooked, drain the cooked spaghetti and add to the veggies, mix well.
Hope this helps.
Cheers,
Alpa
Kimberly Lewis says
Wonderful so easy, one pot makes easy clean up. Have added sautéed shrimp or crumbled salmon both w greens when finished. My only question is why do I keep having extra liquid in bottom of pot?
Alpa Jain says
Hi Kimberley,
Glad you liked the recipe. The extra water is because of the veggies, as they cook they release some water. Once you mix up everything with the tongs, it will get absorbed.
Hope this helps.
Cheers,
Alpa