Last night I was in the mood for something quick and easy, so I scoured the fridge for something with said qualities. A few seconds later, I emerged triumphant with pre-soaked rice noodles in hand and a smile on my face. After a crazy day of writing, I’d forgotten that I’d actually planned ahead for once. It was time for some vegetable lo mein, except, you know, without the “mein” part because all I had were rice noodles.

(Since I’m gluten free I always use rice noodles anyway and they taste as yummy as mein noodles, they’re just flat instead of round and made of rice instead of wheat flour). In a pinch, if you don’t have rice noodles and aren’t worried about eating gluten, feel free to substitute rice noodles with spaghetti.

I’d made Szechuan-style beef lo mein the night before (that recipe can be found here) so my extra non-seasoned, pre-soaked noodles were ready to go. (If you don’t have pre-soaked noodles already, fear not. It only takes about 8-10 minutes to soak them in warm water.) With that task out of the way, I got to work prepping my veggies.

On hand I had green onions, shredded carrots, a little celery, and shelled edamame. You can add any veggies you like–mushrooms, bok choy, Napa cabbage, etc. You can also add some shrimp, chicken, or beef really easily if you’d like to add a protein boost.

Tip: I suggest making extra garlic ginger sauce because the noodles really soak it up (even after you’ve finished cooking them). Doubling the recipe is easy and will give you enough sauce to divide in half for cooking, plus some more deliciousness for your plates.

Here’s what you’ll need for dinner tonight: