Beef & Vegetable Lo Mein

My husband absolutely loves lo mein. He orders it every single time we go to a restaurant that serves it. I make all kinds of stir fry recipes in my house but have never made homemade lo mein. Last night was my first attempt and we devoured it. I was quite proud that it turned out as good as it did. Bryan said that I should make it "once a week" because he liked it that much. We served the lo mein with a side of steamed vegetable medley, which consisted of snow peas, carrots, and broccoli.

A great thing about this recipe is that you can use beef, pork, chicken, or leave it veggie or use tofu in place of the meat. As always, asian dishes are very versatile.

Beef & Vegetable Lo Mein
Serves: 4

Ingredients:
1/2 cup reduced sodium beef broth
6 tablespoons reduced sodium soy sauce, divided
2 tablespoons brown sugar (I used 1 tablespoon Splenda brown sugar baking blend)
1 teaspoon sesame oil - don't use anything to substitute this, it will change the flavor completely
1/4 teaspoon Chinese five spice powder - Optional
1 teaspoon ground ginger OR 2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger (I used ground ginger)
4 teaspoons minced garlic, divided
1/2 teaspoon Sriracha hot chili sauce
2 teaspoons cornstarch
2 teaspoons sesame oil, divided
1 pound flank steak or boneless beef sirloin, trimmed of any fat - sliced into thin strips (we used grassfed flank steak)
green bell pepper, sliced into thin strips
3/4 cup bean sprouts - fresh or canned will work (I used the canned version and just drained the liquid)
1/4 cup grated carrot strips
1 small onion, chopped
8 oz lo mein noodles
pepper, to taste

Directions:
-Bring a pot of water to a boil and cook lo mein noodles according to directions on the box. My noodles only took 4 minutes to cook. Drain the pasta and return to the pan. Drizzle 1 teaspoon sesame oil over the noodles and stir together. Set aside.
-In a small nonstick skillet, add the beef broth, 3 tablespoons of soy sauce, brown sugar, sesame oil, five spice powder, ginger, garlic, chili sauce and cornstarch and mix together until blended. Turn heat on medium heat and bring to a gentle boil, stirring frequently. You will cook this sauce for no more than 3 minutes. It will be bubbly and thick when it is done. Set aside off of heat source.
-In a large wok or nonstick skillet, add 1 teaspoon sesame oil and heat over medium high heat. Add the cut up beef strips, along with salt and pepper for seasoning and 3 tablespoons of soy sauce. Cook beef until desired doneness. Just before the beef is finished, toss in the peppers, bean sprouts, carrots, onions, remaining minced garlic, and any additional salt and pepper you wish to add. Combine all ingredients well and cook for just a few more minutes.
-Toss the meat/veggie mixture and the liquid mixture to the lo mein noodles and stir together until blended.
-Serve

Enjoy! :)