Vegetable Mei Fun Recipe: Easy to Make, Easy to Love!
Mei Fun or Mai Fun is a type of Chinese rice noodle. These noodles are very thin and can be made with a wide variety of ingredients, including veggies, seafood, meat, etc. The vegetable mei fun is my favorite because it needs less prep work than shrimp or chicken mei fun.
Today, I will share my vegetable mei fun recipe that needs a few veggies, mei fun noodles, and very little seasonings. As this is a healthier variation of mei fun, you can try this more often than other recipes. Let’s try it.
Table of Contents
Vegetable Mei Fun Recipe Overview
The prep time for this recipe can vary depending on what vegetables you want to add to the dish. I kept it simple, so the recipe took a little preparation time. Here are the details.
| Cuisine: Chinese | Difficulty: Easy | ||
| Total Time: 20 minutes | |||
| Serving | Preparation Time | Cooking Time | Calories |
| 2 persons | 10 minutes | 10 minutes | 331 kcal |
Ingredients Needed for Vegetable Mei Fun Recipe
One special ingredient in this recipe is the thirteen spices powder. Check the following list for all the necessary ingredients. You can also bring variations by adding more veggies or changing the existing ones.
Main Ingredients for this Recipe
- Mei Fun: This thin rice noodle gets cooked quickly and absorbs a lot of flavor. I used 150g of red rice noodles.
- Mushroom: I used seafood mushrooms and shiitake mushrooms for this recipe. You can add other mushrooms as well. The total quantity of the mushroom should be 100g.
- Carrot: Use half a carrot or about 50g. It will give the dish a vibrant color.
- Cabbage: Use 50g of regular cabbage or napa cabbage.
- Vegetable Ball: Use 2-3 pre-made vegetable balls for extra flavor.
- Sesame Oil: 1 tsp
- Scallions: 1-2 tsp of chopped scallions, for garnish
Sauces and Seasonings for this Recipe
- Salt: 1/2 tsp
- Light Soy Sauce: 1 tsp
- Dark Vinegar: 1/2 tsp
- Oyster Sauce: 1 tsp
- Thirteen Spice Powder: 1/2 tsp. It has exotic spices to elevate the dish.
- Chicken Bouillon: 1/2 tsp of chicken bouillon powder
Vegetable Mei Fun Recipe: Step-By-Step Instructions
Many people might start the cooking process with the mei fun noodles. But I will prepare the veggies first. Here are the steps for cooking vegetable mei fun much faster.
Step 1: Prepare the Vegetables
Wash all the vegetables first. Seafood mushrooms are already small, so I will keep them as a whole. But you need to slice the shiitake mushrooms. Then, peel the carrot and cut it into julienne. Cutting this way keeps the texture of the veggies similar.
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Separate the leaves of the cabbage and stack them on top of each other. Then, cut the cabbage into thin strips or shreds.
Step 2: Boil the Mei Fun
Heat water in a pot until it starts boiling. Then, add the mei fun noodles to the pot and stir it a few times. Let the noodles cook for about two to three minutes. Strain the noodles and transfer them into a bowl with cold water. This will stop the cooking process.
Besides cooling the mei fun down, this process helps prevent stickiness. As the excess starch in mei fun is washed away, stir-frying becomes less messy. Also, the noodles absorb sauces and seasonings evenly and gives a more refreshed taste.
Step 3: Mix Seasonings with the Noodles
Drain the noodles once again and transfer to an empty bowl. Pour a bit of light soy sauce, oyster sauce, and sesame oil on top of the noodles. Also, sprinkle some thirteen spice powder on the noodles. Mix everything well so that the noodles are coated properly. This will prevent them from sticking.
Step 4: Fry the Vegetables
Heat a wok on the stove and pour the rest of the sesame oil into it. Once the oil is hot and starts smoking, add the vegetables. Put the carrots first because they need a bit longer to cook. Then, add the seafood mushrooms and shiitake mushrooms. Stir-fry the vegetables for two to three minutes.
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After that, add the shredded cabbage and continue to fry. The cabbage will take much less time to cook than the other vegetables. At this point, you can add the veggie balls to enhance the flavor.
Step 5: Season the Vegetables
If the vegetables are too dry, you can add a few splashes of water. Then, put the salt, light soy sauce, dark vinegar, oyster sauce, and chicken bouillon powder in the wok. Mix the seasonings with the vegetables.
Step 6: Add the Mei Fun
Once the veggies are almost cooked, add the cooked mei fun to the wok. Incorporate everything well so that noodles and vegetables are mixed evenly. Stir-fry this for about one minute and the delicious vegetable mei fun is ready to serve.
Step 7: Garnish the Mei Fun and Serve
Take the vegetable mei fun in a serving dish and sprinkle chopped scallions on top. This no-drip dish can be a great choice for your office lunches.
Nutrition Facts of Vegetable Mei Fun Recipe
This can be a complete meal due to its balanced nutritional content. I compiled the estimated amount of nutrients in this dish for your convenience. Check them out.
- Total Carbohydrates: 24g
- Protein: 19g
- Total Fat: 20g
- Saturated Fat: 2g
- Polyunsaturated Fat: 7g
- Monounsaturated Fat: 9
- Trans Fat: 0.2g
- Total Dietary Fiber: 9g
- Total Sugar: 11g
- Cholesterol: 163mg
- Sodium: 1503mg
- Potassium: 2272mg
- Calcium: 912mg
- Iron: 7.9mg
- Vitamin A: 38235IU
- Vitamin C: 397.9mg
Vegetable Mei Fun Recipe
Ingredients
Method
- Wash all the vegetables first. Seafood mushrooms are already small, so I will keep them as a whole. But you need to slice the shiitake mushrooms. Then, peel the carrot and cut it into julienne. Cutting this way keeps the texture of the veggies similar.
- Separate the leaves of the cabbage and stack them on top of each other. Then, cut the cabbage into thin strips or shreds.
- Heat water in a pot until it starts boiling. Then, add the mei fun noodles to the pot and stir it a few times. Let the noodles cook for about two to three minutes. Strain the noodles and transfer them into a bowl with cold water. This will stop the cooking process.
- Besides cooling the mei fun down, this process helps prevent stickiness. As the excess starch in mei fun is washed away, stir-frying becomes less messy. Also, the noodles absorb sauces and seasonings evenly and gives a more refreshed taste.
- Drain the noodles once again and transfer to an empty bowl. Pour a bit of light soy sauce, oyster sauce, and sesame oil on top of the noodles. Also, sprinkle some thirteen spice powder on the noodles. Mix everything well so that the noodles are coated properly. This will prevent them from sticking.
- Heat a wok on the stove and pour the rest of the sesame oil into it. Once the oil is hot and starts smoking, add the vegetables. Put the carrots first because they need a bit longer to cook. Then, add the seafood mushrooms and shiitake mushrooms. Stir-fry the vegetables for two to three minutes.
- After that, add the shredded cabbage and continue to fry. The cabbage will take much less time to cook than the other vegetables. At this point, you can add the veggie balls to enhance the flavor.
- If the vegetables are too dry, you can add a few splashes of water. Then, put the salt, light soy sauce, dark vinegar, oyster sauce, and chicken bouillon powder in the wok. Mix the seasonings with the vegetables.
- Once the veggies are almost cooked, add the cooked mei fun to the wok. Incorporate everything well so that noodles and vegetables are mixed evenly. Stir-fry this for about one minute and the delicious vegetable mei fun is ready to serve.
- Take the vegetable mei fun in a serving dish and sprinkle chopped scallions on top. This no-drip dish can be a great choice for your office lunches.
FAQs
The answers to the following questions regarding the vegetable mei fun recipe might be helpful. Have a look.
Is mei fun the same as vermicelli?
The key difference between vermicelli and mei fun is the ingredients. Mei fun is made with rice flour. So, this rice vermicelli isn’t the same as traditional vermicelli noodles.
Is vegetable mei fun and healthy?
Of course. The use of multiple vegetables with the mei fun increases the nutritional value of the dish. Many vitamins and minerals on our daily essentials list are present in vegetable mei fun. But the dish can also contain a lot of sodium, depending on how much sauce you use in it. So, you should be careful about the use of sauce and pre-mixed seasonings.
What is the difference between vegetable mei fun and vegetable chow fun?
Vegetable chow fun is made using wheat noodles while vegetable mei fun is made with rice noodles. This is the main difference between these two dishes. There can be some minor differences in terms of vegetables and seasonings used in both dishes.
Can I eat vegetable mei fun every day?
I don’t recommend eating vegetable mei fun every day. It has a high sodium content that can be bad for your heart. It will increase the blood pressure and can cause kidney problems. So, you shouldn’t eat vegetable mei fun more than 3-4 times a week.
Conclusion
If you prefer a vegetarian diet or are bored of eating protein dishes, this vegetable mei fun recipe can be a great relief to you. It uses thin rice noodles or mei fun with a bunch of fresh veggies. The spice level of this dish is also low, so even the kids can eat vegetable mei fun without much of a problem.
It will take just 20 minutes of your time and a bit of effort to make this classic recipe. Enjoy a filling and nutritious meal with your friends and family that will make you come back to it.
