Hakka Noodles

I loved indo-chinese dishes when I was in India. But, I am too scared to eat at any Chinese or Thai places because of some of the sauces or ingredients they use which, they call 'vegetarian'. Come to think of it green curry paste or red curry paste is not vegetarian, and neither is oyster sauce that is used in many sauces that they serve. Lot of sauce recipes call for stirring some shrimp paste into it which is scary for a vegetarian. So, those restaurants are out of my 'to go' list of restaurants. Here is a simple way of making those noodles that I loved back at home. Is this recipe authentic? I do not know. I just went by the flavors and my imagination and they taste the same as I remember eating them. You can use any combination of veggies that does not get mushy when cooked.

One year back - Tofu Butter Masala, Whitebread with tangzhong starter
Two years back - Eggless Almond Brownies
Ingredients:
Hakka noodles - 1 pack (500 gms quick cooking one was what I used)
Peanut oil - 4 TBSP divided use
Salt - to taste
Soy sauce - 3 TBSP
Rice vinegar - 4 TBSP
Hot sauce - 1 - 2 TBSP or per taste (I used Sriracha)
Brown Sugar - 2 TBSP
Green Onions - 4 - 5 both green and white parts chopped
Carrots - 3 peeled and sliced into thin strips of 2"
French cut green beans - 1 cup (I used frozen)
Cabbage - sliced thin and into 2" strips (1 - 1 1/2 cups)
Baby Corn - 1 cup (I used canned, but frozen should work better)
Garlic - 4 pods chopped fine
Ginger - peeled and chopped fine about 1 TBSP
Cilantro - Chopped 3 TBSP for garnish

Method:
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Salt it slightly. When it comes to a boil, add the noodles. Boil for 2 - 3 minutes. (Refer to the package for directions. Mine were quick cooking ones so needed only 2 - 3 minutes) Drain and toss with 1 TBSP of oil to prevent them from sticking. Heat the remaining oil in a wok. When hot, add ginger, garlic and all the veggies together. Trick is to cook it on high flame for very less time. Sprinkle some salt and keep stirring. You could toss it if you are adventurous the way they show in cooking shows. When the veggies have softened a bit, add brown sugar, soy sauce, hot sauce. Mix well. After a minute or two, add rice vinegar and toss. Now, add the noodles and mix well. Taste and adjust the seasonings if required. Garnish with cilantro and turn off the heat. Serve immediately. If you have all the veggies ready, you can make this in about 15 minutes.  Left overs can be reheated and served.

Enjoy.

Pin It