Rent Week Chow Mein

The other day I had a craving for dal. I had a strong lentil game a few years ago that coincided with my love affair with my instapot, but I could not remember my go-to recipe. Therefore, when I made this chow mein recipe I knew I had to write down the sauce recipe.

What do you do when you have a head of sad, yellowing broccoli and some week old roasted veggies, half a pound tofu, and eggs? Usually, I’d reach for fried rice. But I didn’t have any leftover rice and there were six ounces of wheat noodles in the freezer.

The combination of broccoli, red bell pepper, and a sweet soy chili sauce gave me bastardized pad kee mao vibes.

Adapted from budget bytes.

SAUCE INGREDIENTS

1/4 cup soy sauce (I usually use the Menmi soup base instead of soy sauce)
1 tbsp sesame oil
1 tbsp chili sauce (sambal)
2 tsp brown sugar
1 tbsp water
1 tsp corn starch

NOODLE INGREDIENTS

2-3 tablespoons of oil, divided
1/2 pound of tofu or other protein, pressed, and cubed
1 clove of garlic, minced
1 head of broccoli, cut into florets
1 egg
1 1/2 cups of mixed vegetables (red bell pepper, kale, zucchini, garlic)

DIRECTIONS
Mix the sauce ingredients and whisk until smooth. If you’re stickler, mix the water and corn starch together until a smooth thin paste and then add the red of the ingredients.

Bring a pot of water to boil. Add noodles. When the noodles are one minute from finished cooking, add the broccoli florets. Drain and rinse with cool water.

In a wok, heat a generous dollop of oil (2-3 teaspoons)and fry the tofu. Let the tofu sit undisturbed a few minutes until it has a golden crust, then turn. Move tofu to a paper towel lined plate.

Add more oil and saute the garlic until it gets some color. Add the broccoli florets and pan fry for a few minutes until it’s a little crispy. Add the mixed vegetables until heated through.

Finally add the noodles and tofu. Pour the sauce over and stir until well-mixed. Push the noodles to the side, crack an egg in the empty space in the pan. Scramble the egg until it’s almost set and then mix back into the noodles.