Day 10 Chow Mein Happiness

There are a few versions of Raw Chow Mein on the net, but I felt a little like Goldilocks because none of them were 'just right'. One called for wine, another called for powdered spices. One had ingredients that I just felt were not needed. I started with one of the simpler recipes and then built my own from there.

I have become completely addicted to this. At first I didn't want to make it at all due to the salt in the Tamari Soy. Of course, of all the ingredients that you could skip, this wasn't one of them. You can buy Reduced Sodium San-J Tamari Soy or you can buy Organic Tamari Soy but I've not found Organic Reduced Sodium Tamari Soy but more importantly you cannot buy Raw Organic Reduced Sodium Tamari Soy. You can buy raw, uncooked alive soy sauce (Nama Shoyu) but it contains wheat and isn't low sodium. Please hold while I *scream*. I don't eat wheat, I really don't eat salt and I eat 100% raw so I foresee this being a problem in my future. For others, this will be a very satisfying recipe so please enjoy!

Nonetheless, most of the sauce ends up staying in the bottom of the bowl as well as the bottom of the plate you serve it on. Use whichever Tamari sauce you want and if you're not worried about wheat, then just use SOY SAUCE! You get very little of it and I had to make a decision at this time that a small amount of salt in my diet was worth the incredible amount of happiness this dish brought me. I may change my stance later :) I eat virtually no other salt and little of it remains on the vegetables in the end. It fulfills my need for something gourmand (excessively tasty and wonderful) while maintaining my raw veggie life style. YAY! This would also be an amazing dish for my girls on The Healing Diet and this would be a dish I'd be proud to serve to guests - raw foodists - or not!


Chow Mein Happiness

2 T Tahini - Sesame Seed paste - preferably raw. You could also use raw Almond butter, though no nuts in America are raw so if you're concerned about 100% raw, choose the Tahini.
3 T Tamari Reduced Sodium Soy Sauce (wheat free soy sauce if you're avoiding wheat or buy Nama Shoyu, which is raw, alive soy sauce, however it contains wheat. You can't win so pick your poison.)
2" x 2" peeled cube of fresh ginger, grated

Place above three ingredients in a large bowl. Mix together well with the back of a spoon.

Add:
4 cups fresh Bean sprouts (the pre-bagged bean sprouts at Whole Foods and Kroger are about 4 cups)
4 cups fresh Broccoli Slaw (shredded Broccoli stems and carrots in the bag, also about 4 cups)
2-3 medium Zucchini, peeled then using the peeler make 'noodles' by peeling the rest of the Zucchini until you reach the seeds. These taste and feel like the noodles in Chow Mein. The more the better. Don't worry if the strips appear wide, you really won't even see them in the mix. If you have a fancy vegetable spiral tool, use that. You could also use Butternut squash noodles.
1 cup shredded Bok Choi or Savoy (curly) Cabbage
1/2 Red Bell Pepper, cut into thinly sliced strips
15 large fresh Mushrooms, sliced
1 1/2 cups fresh Snow Peas or Sugar Snap Peas (I prefer the Snap Peas)
3 Green Onions, sliced rounds or on the slant, all the white part and into a little of the green.
Optional - you could toss in some of those little tiny corn cobs but you have to buy them fresh. I get them at Whole Foods.

Mix all the vegetables into the sauce and toss well. Let sit for 15 min to mingle all the flavors. Some people put the bowl into an oven warmed by the light or warmed to 80-100 degrees for the allotted time. If you warm the oven be sure to turn the heat OFF before placing the chow mein in to warm. It can also be eaten right away - whatever your prefer.

Sprinkle with 1/8 C Sesame Seeds when ready to serve and toss. The Sesame Seeds are a good source of protein. Makes several large helpings. If serving for a dinner of 4, each person would have about the amount depicted below, which is shown in a 9" shallow pasta bowl. Truth be told? I eat the whole bowl myself for lunch and dinner!