Hakka Noodles Recipe

Hakka Noodles

Hakka Noodles

Growing up in Mumbai, my absolute favourite cuisine for eating out was Indo-Chinese dishes. So, what is Indo-Chinese exactly?

It is Chinese food adapted to Indian tastes, or marriage of Chinese ingredients like soy sauce and vinegar with garlic, ginger, and chilli. Indo-Chinese cuisine originated in India and is a uniquely South Asian phenomenon, drastically different from the Cantonese Chinese cuisine available in the rest of the world.  

The most popular vegetarian Indo-Chinese dishes are Vegetable Manchurian, (Dry and in Sauce) , Chilli Paneer, American Chopsuey, Vegetable Sweet Corn Soup, Crispy Baby Corn, Fried Rice to name a few amongst a whole array of other dishes.

My love for Indo-Chinese has been passed on to my family.  My children can eat Indo-Chinese any time of the day and if they were to be given an option to choose what they want to eat; it will inevitably be Indo-Chinese. They can eat it for lunch and dinner, and sometimes even in between the meals for snack!

There is no right or wrong time to have Hakka noodles. A bowl of noodles is the epitome of comfort food. These strings of happiness are also popularly known as ‘chowmein’ in India and is an important part of Indian cuisine. It is hugely popular in India and available from street side vendors to Michelin star restaurants.

This noodle recipe is simple, easy and quick which can be cooked in a jiffy!

Ingredients

300 gm noodles
1 finely sliced carrot
1 finely sliced onion
1 finely sliced green pepper
1 cup finely shredded cabbage
1 teaspoon garlic clove
1 teaspoon finely chopped green chilli
1 teaspoon finely chopped ginger
1 teaspoon chilli vinegar
1 teaspoon red chilli sauce
1 teaspoon green chilli sauce
1 tablespoon soy sauce
Salt to taste
1 teaspoon white pepper powder
½ cup finely chopped spring onions
2 teaspoons oil
1 tablespoon sesame oil

 

Directions

Step-1

Boil 8 cups of water in a pan. Drop the noodles and add one teaspoon of oil in it. Boil the noodles according to instructions on the package or until they are cooked al dente.

Drain the noodles and wash them under running water and keep them aside.

Add 1 teaspoon oil on the noodles and toss the noodles with gentle hands.

Step-2

Heat sesame seed oil in a wok and add garlic, green chillies and ginger. Sauté for a minute and add carrot, cabbage, pepper and onion to it and mix on high heat for a minute.

Step-3

Next add chilli vinegar, green chilli sauce, red chilli sauce and soy sauce in it. Toss the vegetables for another minute to mix the sauces.

Step-4

Add the noodles, salt and pepper and with the help of tongs, toss the noodles so that they mix well with the vegetables and sauces on high heat.

Sprinkle chopped spring onions and give a quick mix.

Serve hot garnished with spring onions.

Tips & Variations

  1. Cook the noodles until they are al dente which means that the noodles are partially cooked almost 75%.
  2. I always rinse the boiled noodles under running water as stops them from cooking further.
  3. Adding oil to the boiled noodles prevents them from sticking.
  4. I have used sesame oil in this recipe as it adds nutty flavour to this dish. It also enhances the flavour and gives a rich aroma to the dish. You can also use chilli oil or any other vegetable oil.
  5. I have used a Chinese wok to cook the noodles as it helps in quick cooking of the noodles, however you can use any thin bottom pan.
  6. You can substitute white pepper powder with finely ground black pepper powder.
  7. If you want to make it spicy simply increase the amount of green chilli sauce or the amount of green chilli. Or if you do not like spicy you can reduce the amount of chilli too.
  8. Make sure to cook the noodles on high flame as it keeps the vegetables crunchy and fresh.
  9. You can add other vegetables like mushrooms, red and yellow peppers or any other vegetables you like.
  10. Slice the vegetables into thin julienne so that they cook quicker.
    It is important to keep everything prepared as the noodles are cooked on high heat.
  11. You can use udon noodles, egg noodles or any other noodles for this dish.
  12. It is best served immediately otherwise the noodles will begin to get dry.

4 Replies to “Hakka Noodles”

    1. Thank you Twinkle! If you are in India then Chings Hakka Noodles are quite good to use. If you are somewhere else in the world then thin noodles of any brand should be bought.

  1. In the pic it looks yellow.. But when we make light brown color comes.
    Secondly sesame oil of which brand and is it used to make all chinese

    1. Hi Twinkle, the noodles are light brown. Sometimes the light and reflections while taking pictures can have an impact on the final picture.
      You can use any sesame seed oil. I prefer to use sesame seed oil for stir fries while making Chinese.

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