I love Chinese food and spicy Indo-Chinese fusion. My weekend special is a big bowl of Hakka chinese noodles with some Manchurian. You may also add a stir fry or fried rice and gulp it down with a huge glass of lemon soda. Also add some sriracha on the top if you like it hot and spicy. Just simple flavors and some basic sauce makes it a great vegan treat.
You may call it veg chowmein or just noodle but it is a blissful bowl of comfort. Best part is I can feed loads of veggies to my toddler. Minimize the chilli and hot sauce for kids. Invest in a good chopper or food processor to get things done fast. I am sure all kids will enjoy this Chinese noodles recipe.
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How to make veg chowmein? (video recipe)
Ingredients
- Oil
- Plain noodle packet
- Mixed veggies (cabbage, carrots, bell peppers, onion)
- Soy sauce
- Optional sauces (green chillies, sweet chilly, hot & sour)
- Salt & pepper
refer to recipe card for details.
Looking for interesting Asian inspired dishes?
How to make wok tossed noodles ? Step by step:
1.Heat water in a pan, add noodles and cook as per the instructions on the veg hakka noodles packet. Do not overcook.
2. Remove the hot water and pass the noodles through cold water for a couple of times. Remove the excess water and toss 1 tbsp. oil ,keep the noodles aside. Sieve and transfer them to a plate.
3. Heat oil in a wok. Add ginger and garlic, chilly. Fry the onions on a medium high heat for 2-3 minutes. Later, add remaining veggies to it and cook for 2-3 mins.
4. Now, add the noodles followed by sauces. Mix well.Cook for 2-3 minutes and toss them well , use a kitchen tong to mix the noodles if required.
5. Adjust the spicy sauce as per your liking, for example the below is high on dark soya sauce.
Top tip: dark soy sauce will darken the noodles further so adjust the sauce according to the color you need.
5. Serve vegetable hakka noodles, hot with or without manchurian.
Veg hakka noodles recipe| How to make vegetable noodles
Equipment
- wok
- saucepan
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoon oil ( use sesame oil for a good flavor)
- 2 bundles/ 120 grams plain noodles
- 1 tablespoon ginger
- 1 tablespoon garlic finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon red chilly finely chopped
- 1 small onion finely chopped
- ½ cup capsicums sliced
- ½ cup cabbage thinly sliced
- 1 tablespoon spring onion greens finely chopped
- 2 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon sweet chilli sauce optional
- 1 tablespoon hot and sour sauce optional
- Salt and pepper as per taste
Instructions
- Boil water and add noodles and salt to it. Cook for 3-5 mins.Refer to timings on the veg noodles packet.
- Drain the water and toss it with 1 tablespoon oil. Keep it aside.
- Heat oil in wok and add ginger garlic to it.
- Add onions ,chillies and let it cook on medium-high heat for 2 mins.
- Add remaining veggies to it and cook for 2-3 mins.Mix well.
- Add noodles,pepper and sauces to it. Toss them and cook for 2-3 mins.
- Serve hakka noodles hot and enjoy!
Video
Notes
Check and cook the noodles according to the instructions on the pack so that you do not overcook them. The amount of sauce can be adjusted as per your choice. Adjust Salt as per the usage of Soya sauce as it has good amount of salt.
Substitutions & Variations
You can also use egg noodles or soba noodles(buckwheat) to make this recipe.
- Serve it with or without Manchurian balls.
- Sometimes I love adding left over rice to the mix too, like my dad. It might sound strange, but it is a great way to reduce waste.
- Use chili oil or red chili sauce/ green chili sauce to make it extra spicy.
- Like him, you can also add a fried egg or chilli chicken to make chicken Hakka noodle if you are not vegan.
- You can also use soba noodle , wheat noodles instead of plain to make this street style hakka noodles recipe.
- Add different veggies like spring onions, baby corn, chopped green beans to make this tasty recipe. You can make it a quick cook by cutting thin juliennes and doing prep work earlier.
- You can also make hakka noodles vegan just by getting a vegan version of soy sauce or other sauces . All other ingredients used are vegan.
Equipment
Invest in a hand-crafted wok for getting the best dish. Wok tossed noodles are great because cook time is reduced as it heats up real fast. If you do not have a wok, you can still make them in a pan.Use kitchen tongs to mix the boiled noodles with vegetables in the large wok if required.Use a food processor for easy chopping.
Top tip
- Use a chopper or food processor to reduce preparation time.
- Do not over cook the veggies as wok retains a lot of heat. It will continue to cook on its own until served even when it is off the flame.
- Do not over boil the noodles. Follow the package instructions for best results.
Street food corners
Best part about this is the visual appeal. Tossing food in a hot wok brings up the taste in anticipation. Reminds me of all those street food thellas back home in India. They make it day in and out. Indian street food has everything in it from bhelpuri to an Indo Chinese dish like fried rice and Manchurians . These days you even get Chinese bhel inspired by Asian flavors. You can find them in any city. Most of the youth thronging to this street food centers for a quick bite.
I remember a food truck in TSR complex in Vizag. There was not even a signboard. Yet the food was fresh tasty with a small menu of soup, fried rice, chopsuey and noodle. Can you imagine a nameless restaurant? Taste spoke volumes for them. Reminds me of childhood when we roamed on cycles all day in township and enjoyed these small treats. However, Asian restaurants use egg noodle & MSG or Ajinomoto. That doesn't agree with my diet palette. Hence, making it at home makes it a win-win situation.Recap: Veg Chowmen (video recipe)
Conclusion: vegetable noodles or chow mein is best served with tomato ketchup or hot sauce as per your taste for an easy meal. This quick recipe has a nice flavor and crunchy veggies as they are cooked al dente.
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