Sheet Pan Chow Mein

I was recalled to work two weeks ago after being away because of Covid closures for just over a year. Delighted to be back at the library and using my cataloging smarts again, my new schedule did require some meal prep scheduling adjustments. When I saw this recipe for sheet pan chow mein by Hetty McKinnon, published in her latest cookbook, To Asia with Love, featured on Deb Perelman’s incomparable food blog Smitten Kitchen, I pulled open the crisper drawer of my refrigerator and started rooting around for my most colorful vegetables. Sheet pan dinners are a working girl’s best friend.

Sheet Pan Chow Mein

Chow mein is a Chinese dish of stir fried noodles with vegetables and sometimes shredded meat, such as chicken. The words chow mein really just mean “stir fried noodles”. Traditionally made in a wok, this dish lends itself beautifully to preparation on a sheet pan with a little bit of careful timing. This easy recipe is made for using up whatever leftover vegetables you have, including broccoli, carrots, mushrooms, asparagus, sugar snap peas and baby corn. Chinese egg noodles obtain their signature crisp in the oven and can be found in your local supermarket. If you are not concerned about crispness, use whatever noodles that you have on hand. Drizzled with a rich umami sauce after baking, this one pan dish can be served with sliced, grilled chicken or on its own as a vegetarian main course or side dish. This cataloger would definitely classify sheet pan chow mein under the subject heading “quick and easy cooking”.

Assemble your ingredients. You can use any combination of vegetables that you like. 

Preheat the oven to 425 F. and line a large sheet pan with parchment paper. If using frozen broccoli florets, cut each floret in half to make the pieces bite-sized. To cut the carrots into matchstick sized pieces, slice the carrots on a diagonal and then cut each carrot slice vertically into evenly shaped sticks. Cut off the top and bottom of a pepper and slice it into thin strips.

Drizzle the  broccoli with oil and season lightly with salt. Place on the sheet pan and bake for 10 minutes by itself to dry out the excess moisture in the frozen pieces. Toss the pepper and carrot sticks with oil and season with salt. Add these vegetables to the sheet pan and continue to bake for 5 minutes. 

While the first group of vegetables is roasting, boil the egg noodles for 3 minutes in a pot of salted water until al dente. Drain and cool under cold running water. Pat dry with paper towels. Remove the baking sheet from the oven. Add the sugar snap peas, baby corn and mushrooms to the pan. Push the vegetables together and make space for the noodles. Add the noodles to the baking sheet. Drizzle them with sesame oil and season sparingly with salt. Return the pan to the oven and bake for another 15-18 minutes until the noodles are starting to look brown and crispy in spots. There should be a combination of crispy and soft noodles on the pan.

While the noodles and vegetables are baking, combine the sauce ingredients. When the noodles are lightly toasted and golden brown in spots, remove the pan from the oven  and drizzle the sauce over the vegetables and noodles and stir to combine well. Top with green onion that has been sliced thinly on a diagonal and toasted sesame seeds before serving.

Print Recipe

Sheet Pan Chow Mein

Vegetables and Sides

By Hetty McKinnon, To Asia with Love, adapted by Deb Perelman, Smitten Kitchen – Serves: 8

Prep Time: 15 minutes – Cooking Time: 30 minutes – Total Time: 45 minutes

Lightly roasted vegetables combined with toasted egg noodles and bathed in a rich umami sauce

Ingredients

• 1 24 oz. bag frozen broccoli florets
• 1 bell pepper (any color), sliced
• 2 carrots, peeled, sliced diagonally, then chopped into matchsticks
• 6 ounces sugar snaps, or snow peas, trimmed and cut diagonally
• 2 cups mushrooms, wiped clean and quartered
• 1 can (8.8 ounce/250g) baby corn, drained and cut into 1" segments
• Olive oil
• salt
• 9 ounces (255g) dried thin egg noodles
• Sauce
• 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon hoisin sauce
• 1 small clove garlic, grated or minced
• For Finishing
• 2 scallions, thinly sliced on a diagonal, white and pale green parts only
• 2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds

Instructions

1

Preheat the oven to 425 F. and line a large sheet pan with parchment paper.

2

If using frozen broccoli, cut each broccoli floret in half to make them bite-sized. Drizzle the  broccoli with olive oil and season lightly with salt. Place on the prepared sheet pan and bake for 10 minutes by itself to dry out the excess moisture in the frozen pieces. Toss the pepper and carrot sticks with olive oil and season lightly with salt. Add these vegetables to the sheet pan in a single layer and continue to bake for an additional 5 minutes. 

3

While the first group of vegetables is roasting, boil the egg noodles for 3 minutes in a pot of salted water until al dente. Drain and cool under cold running water. Pat dry with paper towels.

4

Drizzle the mushrooms, sugar snap peas and baby corn with olive oil and season lightly with salt. Remove the sheet pan from the oven and add the remaining vegetables to the sheet pan. Push the vegetables together to create a clear space on the sheet pan for the noodles. Spread out the noodles on the pan and drizzle with sesame oil. Season lightly with salt and toss the noodles to combine well. Return the sheet pan to the oven. Roast the vegetables and noodles for an additional 15 to 18 minutes. The noodles should start to appear toasty and brown. Remove the pan from the oven. There should be a good combination of crispy and soft noodles.

5

Combine the sauce ingredients. Drizzle the sauce over the noodles and vegetables. Toss everything to coat well with the sauce. Garnish with sliced green onions and toasted sesame seeds before serving.

Notes

Feel free to use whatever vegetables you have to make this dish. I used a single package of Ushia egg noodles. They come in a 7 oz. package. Ushia egg noodle nests would also work. Use half of a 454 g. package.