OK so last night’s dinner was so satisfying that I had to tell you about it. I love stir fries. They are so versatile. With a base of onions, garlic, and ginger, you can pack them full of veggies or make them rich and meaty. You can make them as mild as you like or as spicy as you like. Whether you make a stir fry with rice or noodles, it yields quite a lot, easily feeding a family of four or an apartment of roommates. Stir fries are quick and easy to pull together, but best of all, a homemade one doesn’t leave you feeling uncomfortable because of all the oil that’s usually in greasy take-out. Instead, you ensure all the flavor and most importantly, it tastes way better.

The ingredients list below might look long, but you can easily turn this into what I call a ‘weeknight dinner saver’ which means you can get this on the table to feed hungry people in 30 minutes on a busy weeknight. Keeping a few key things in your kitchen + popping a couple of items into your weekly grocery cart can help get this dish on the table in less than 30 minutes.

Flavor the entire dish with one key ingredient: andouille

I always keep a package of andouille in my fridge or freezer for a busy weeknight fix. If you haven’t tried it, andouille is a sausage that’s made using smoked pork, pepper, onions, and other seasonings. It was brought to the southern United States, namely Louisiana, by French immigrants, and is synonymous with Cajun cooking. Why is andouille my choice? You can use any kind of smoked sausage you like, even vegan varieties, but the main draw is that the andouille immediately brings a tremendous amount of smoke and flavor to the entire dish, so you don’t need to do much else in the way of seasonings. I love that.

Opt for vegetables that cook quickly

As for the veggies, you will basically need 2-3 cups (around 20 oz) of your favorite chopped vegetables. Classic stir fry veggies include things like broccoli, carrots, mushrooms, snow peas, and bell peppers, but you can add any vegetables you like or have on hand. Many grocers will pre-package freshly cut vegetables and even call them ‘stir fry vegetables’ which are always handy for busy weeknights.

Because a stir fry is meant to be made quickly and eaten quickly, my advice is to opt for vegetables that cook quickly (like mushrooms and peppers) and are fairly fresh and firm, so the dish doesn’t become soggy. If you’re using longer-to-cook veggies like broccoli, pop them into the microwave for a few minutes before adding them to the skillet.

Always keep rice or noodles in your pantry

Finally, perhaps you already do this, but it’s always helpful to keep rice or noodles in your pantry at all times, year round. They keep for a long time, and can be a super fast solution on days you need to get dinner on the table and need ideas. Recently, I added a frozen package of these lo mein noodles to my weekly grocery order, which are great in a pinch, because you can drop them in boiling water for a few minutes and they’re ready to go. I confess I love any kind of noodle, from thin rice noodles to hearty fettuccini, but I like lo mein in this recipe because it has a solid, toothy bite to it that really stands up to the big, smoky andouille. That said, you can use any rice or noodle, and even cook them off the day before, then pull them out of the fridge and at them to the stir fry at the end.

Curried Lo Mein Noodles with Spicy Andouille

Yields 4-6 servings

Ingredients

• 16 oz package of lo mein noodles
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 5 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced (not finely chopped)
• 1-inch piece of fresh ginger root, peeled and finely chopped or grated
• 12 oz package Cajun Style Andouille Smoked Pork Sausage, slice each link lengthwise and then chop into 1-inch half-moon pieces
• 8 oz Asian mushrooms of your choice, coarsely chopped (in this case, I used a blend of shiitake, oyster, and brown beech mushrooms)
• 1 bell pepper, sliced into thin strips
• 10 oz mixed vegetables of your choice (in this case, I added steamed snow peas, onions, carrots, scallions & broccoli, which I microwaved for 2 minutes before adding to skillet)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 tablespoon mild curry powder (more as needed, to taste)
• 2 tablespoons soya sauce
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 1/2 cup fresh cilantro, finely chopped

Preparation

The Noodles

1. First up, get your noodles ready and out of the way so you can focus on the stir-fry itself. Drop the lo mein noodles (whether fresh or frozen) into a medium-sized saucepan of boiling water.
2. Add a touch of vegetable oil to the water, just so the noodles don’t stick together later.
3. Follow the instructions on the package, but after simmering for 3-5 minutes, it should be done. Have a taste, it should be firm and luscious but not too hard, in which case, leave it in a minute longer, but keep an eye on it.
4. Drain immediately and shake out all the excess water. Transfer back to the saucepan and set aside.

The Stir Fry

1. In a large, wide non-stick skillet or wok, heat vegetable oil on a medium-high flame. Add onions and sauté until glassy, then add garlic and ginger. Sauté for a couple of minutes before adding chopped andouille. Continue to sauté, stirring often, making sure that the onion, garlic, ginger, and andouille are well combined, until the andouille is browned on the edges, about 7-8 minutes.
2. While this is happening, pop any longer-to-cook chopped vegetables in the microwave for 3-4 minutes to give them a head start.
3. Add the mushrooms and bell pepper to the skillet, sautéing for a couple of minutes, followed by the veggies from the microwave. Add salt, pepper, and curry powder and combine well.
4. In a small bowl, combine soya sauce, sesame oil, and sugar. Add to skillet and combine well, stirring a couple of times for 2-3 minutes.
5. Add drained lo mein noodles, folding them into the vegetables in the skillet. Top with finely chopped cilantro and serve immediately.