I made a very tasty and healthy classic chow mein for dinner tonight. Raw garlic and ginger compete for spiciness in this dish, and there is plenty of fresh crunch. Instead of noodles, I used spaghetti squash. This is a good recipe for those looking to “sneak in” more vegetables, or who want a better gluten free option.
Here’s the short-form recipe:
Spaghetti Squash Chow Mein
Cook & scoop squash “noodles”.
Make sauce by combining
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup of sesame oil
4-6 cloves minced/pressed garlic
4-6 inches of grated fresh ginger
1 large tablespoon of honey
fresh ground pepper
Fry up a chopped onion, 3 stalks of celery,
and 1.5 cups of coleslaw mix (or grated/chopped cabbage)
Combine all
Here’s the play-by-play…
Turns out the trick to making flawless noodle-like spaghetti squash is to slice it in discs, then roast for 40 mins on a cookie sheet. I sheared the top off, and scooped all the guts out. Then I managed to carve in one long spiral, then broke off the discs. No oil, no nothing. Laid out on the cookie sheet. Bake at 300 for 40 mins. Firm, long thin enough-like-noodles resulted. I covered them in a container and set aside.
Then I made the sauce by crushing 3 garlic cloves, and grating 3-4 inches of ginger. I put that into 1/4 cup soy sauce, and stirred in 1 big tablespoon of honey and finally, a bunch of fresh ground pepper. I set this aside, too.
Then I fried up chunks of 1 onion, along with 3 chopped celery stalks and 1.5 cups of coleslaw mix (which is just grated cabbage and carrot) until the onion was slightly cooked, and everything else was still pretty firm and mostly raw.
I tossed everything thoroughly with the sauce, and added sliced green onions to garnish.
In the end, I thought it would be deadly by adding cooked chicken pieces. Next time.