Vegetarian Mandarin Orange Lo Mein with a Sweet and Spicy Chili Sauce

By flour_arrangements

...made with tofu and sweetened with mandarin orange/pear juice

Ingredients

• Marinade:
• Vegetarian Mandarin Orange and Almond Lo Mein
• ounces about 7 ounces fettuccine rice noodles
• 1/2 package firm tofu, cut into small cubes
• 4 TBSP canola oil
• 5 TBSP mandarin orange/pear juice
• 3 1/2 TBSP soy sauce
• 1 TBSP rice wine vinegar
• 1 1/2 TBSP honey
• 2 TBSP corn starch
• (marinate while you prepare the rest)
• Sauce:
• 4 TBSP mandarin orange/pear juice
• 3 1/2 TBSP soy sauce
• 1 TBSP rice wine vinegar
• 1/8 tsp black pepper
• 3/4 tsp ground ginger
• 1 1/2 tsp corn starch
• Veggies and other ingredients:
• 1/2 cup green onion, chopped into 1/2" pieces
• 1 cup sliced and chopped mushrooms
• 1 large garlic clove
• 3 cups frozen stir fry veggies
• 1/4 cup slivered almonds
• 1 small can mandarin oranges (about 6-8 ounces)
• Sweet and Spicy Chili (for serving individually):
• 3 1/2 TBSP sugar
• 1 1/2 TBSP water
• 1/2 tsp red chili seeds
• 3/4 tsp garlic salt
• 1/2 tsp corn starch
• 1 tsp rice wine vinegar
• remaining sauce

Preparation

Step 1

1. Ending with the corn starch and tofu, add all of the marinade ingredients to a medium sized bowl then refrigerate while you get started on the rest.

2. Fill a large pot with boiling water and cook the noodles with about 1 tbsp of canola oil until they are al dente. Start on the sauce. Combine all ingredients in a small bowl, ending with the corn starch, make sure you mix it well so that there are no lumps.

3. Check on the pasta and chop all of the veggies then get started on the sweet and spicy chili sauce, which will be served on the side.

4. When the pasta is done cooking, strain and keep it in a large bowl. Now get started on frying up the veggies. Add 1TBSPof oil to a sauce pan and then fry the veggies (not frozen ones), starting with the garlic, now add the onion and mushroom. Fry just until the mushrooms start to soften. Remove veggies from the pan. Now add the tofu to the pan and fry on high for a few seconds, while stirring gently; add the fried onion and mushroom. Continue to cook on medium/high until the tofu slightly darkens or becomes golden on one side, then remove the veggies from the pan when most of the marinade has evaporated (all but about 2 tbsp).

5. Now add 1TBSPof canola oil to that same pan, keep it on a low flame and add the pasta with 4 1/2 tbsp of the sauce (not the marinade from the veggies). Use a fork to toss the pasta until it’s evenly coated with the sauce. Cook on medium without a lid and continue to toss pasta with the fork, then add the frozen veggies. Cook on low and cover; allow to simmer until frozen veggies are thawed and warm. When they’re thawed, add the tofu, fried onion and mushrooms; the almonds and mandarin oranges. Turn off flame and keep covered until ready to serve.

6. For the sweet and spicy chili, combine all of the ingredients in a bowl, including the remaining sauce, then simmer on low in a sauce pan while stirring. Don’t cook it for too long, just until it starts to thicken. Now pour the sauce into a small dish. (If you cook it too long, it’ll become like glue!); it may look a bit runny, but once it sits for about 5 minutes, it’ll thicken.

If you thickened the chili sauce too much, you can add a bit of water and microwave it for a few seconds. You can drizzle the chili sauce over the lo mein, it’s spicy so a little goes a long way :). You should end up with about 1/4 cup of the chili.