Our Veggie Kitchen

There's a story behind this name.  This is basically a vegetable & noodle dish in a mild curry sauce.  When I started cooking Thai food, my daughter turned her nose up to curry.  She did, however, love the noodle dishes I made and she loves yakisoba and lo mein.  So, initially, the name was meant to fool her.  And it worked.  Now she is older and wiser.  For some teenage reason, she doesn't like red curry but she still likes Thai Lo Mein.  She also likes "Thai Lo Mein-With-Rice-Instead-Of-Noodles."   The teenage brain is a marvelous thing!

Here are a couple of ingredient notes:

I usually use a mix of soy yogurt and coconut milk instead of all coconut milk.  This choice is purely driven by calories.  Coconut milk is almost completely saturated fat.  It's delicious!  If you are concerned about calories the soy yogurt/coconut milk mixture will give better results than lite coconut milk, which is watered down.  You're welcome to use all coconut milk as well.  Like I said, Delicious!

I have found two methods to successfully cook rice noodles.  The first and most successful is pan fry pre-soaked noodles.  This takes a little practice and requires a large pan, but gives better results because you have more control.  The second is to add presoaked noodles to boiling water, bring the noodles back to a boil and drain.  Again, this takes a little practice and the cook time varies depending on the thickness of the noodle, but is easier if you don't have a large saute pan or wok.  Watch 30 seconds of this video for a good demonstration of pan fried noodles.

Thai Lo Mein
1 small can coconut milk (5.5 oz)
2-3 tbs red curry paste (I use Thai Kitchen or homemade)
1 purple onion, sliced into thin half rings
4 oz shiitake mushrooms, cut into match sticks
1 carrot, cut into matchsticks
1/2 small head cabbage, cored & shredded
1/2 cup soy yogurt
1/4 cup Golden Mountain Sauce (or Maggi or Braggs or soy sauce)
1/4 - 3/4 cups water (for pan fried noodles)
14 oz dried rice noodles

Tofu:
1 lb extra firm tofu, drained
2 tbs Golden Mountain Sauce (or Maggi or Braggs or soy sauce)
1 lime wedge, juiced
1 tsp sesame oil

For the Tofu:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Cut the tofu into 6-8 cakes.  In a saucer, mix the Golden Mountain Sauce, lime juice and oil.  dip each side of each cake into the saucer and place on a baking sheet.  Cook for 35 minutes, turning after 20 minutes.  You can do this ahead of time and even refrigerate it.

For the Stir Fry:

Soak the noodles in a pot of warm water while you chop the vegetables.  The noodles will be ready for cooking when they pliable and not sticking to each other.  The will not feel cooked.

Heat a large saute pan over medium heat.  Add the most of the coconut milk and let it reduce.  Sometimes the coconut cream will collect at the top and you can just use this.  Add the curry paste and saute until well combined.  Add the purple onion, mushrooms, carrot and cabbage.  Saute until the cabbage is soft.  Add the sliced peppers and saute for a couple minutes longer.

Push the vegetables to the sides of the pan as best you can.  Add the rest of the coconut milk, soy yogurt, golden mountain sauce, and a little water.  Stir until the yogurt is combined.  Add the noodles and stir/toss constantly, adding a little water at a time until the noodles are done.  The vegetables will get mixed in as you stir.  Remove from heat and serve.

5 Servings:  562 Calories (16g fat, 84g carbs, 23g protein)