Chinese Veg Hakka Noodles

Chinese cuisine is like a love-hate relationship to me,I love Chinese if it is done properly otherwise I would not even think of taking second bite of it.The authentic Chinese food is loaded with lots of flavor and the crunchiness of vegetables is maintained which makes every bite delicious. I generally avoid eating Chinese food in all restaurants as it involves liberal usage of oil and also the MSG added in it to make it delicious,though I can ask them not to add MSG to food but I cannot control the usage of oil in it.The best option for me is to recreate the restaurant style Chinese food at home where I can control all these factors and still enjoy the taste of it.Sesame oil is the best option to use in Chinese cooking as the oil has a nutty flavor in it and that is why it is used in authentic Chinese cooking.But for health freaks Olive oil is the best alternative as a few more tbsps of Olive oil does not hurt us much when compared to any other oil.I strongly recommend either sesame oil or olive oil than using any other oil in Chinese cooking as they enhance the flavor of Chinese food.

Coming to today's recipe,Hakka noodles is one of the most popular and favorite dish of Indo-Chinese cuisine and is very popular among all the age groups especially with the kids.This is one of my most favorite Indo-Chinese dishes which I order regularly in Chinese joints.It is even popular among the road side eateries and is generally served along with Gobi manchurian which is equally famous and also a very nice combo.

Chinese Hakka Noodles Recipe:
(Serves 2)

Ingredients:
1 pack(200 gms) Vegetarian Hakka Noodles
1" Ginger,julienne into thin strips
3-4 Garlic pods,finely chopped
1 tsp ground Black pepper/White pepper
1 tsp dark Soya sauce
1/2 tsp white Vinegar
1 tsp Green chilli sauce(optional)
4-5 tbsp Olive oil
Salt to taste

veggies needed:
1 cup finely shredded Cabbage,lengthwise
1 big Carrot,julienne into thin strips
1 Capsicum,julienne into thin strips
12-15 French beans,thinly sliced diagonally
6-8 Spring onions,whites-sliced thin;greens-finely chopped

Method:

• Bring 7-8 cups of water to a boil in a pan and add salt and a tsp of regular oil to it and add hakka noodles and cook according to the instructions.The noodles should hold its shape and firm to bite,this process should take 8-10 mins.Keep an eye at the end so that the noodles will not become soggy.
• Drain the noodles in a colander and pour cold water over it and wash the starch completely from the cooked noodles,this helps in retaining non-sticky noodles.
• Heat olive oil in a big wok over a high flame and then add ginger strips and chopped garlic and saute it well.
• Add finely sliced spring onion whites and shredded cabbage and fry in high flame.
• Add julienne carrots,beans and fry well until they are half cooked.Take care not to loose the crunch of vegetables,they should be firm to bite.
• Add capsicum strips to it and toss it again.
• Add salt,pepper powder,soya sauce,vinegar,green chilli sauce and fry for a minute.
• Add cooked noodles and chopped spring onion greens and toss well until it is mixed properly and toss on high flame.

Serve it hot with any manchurian gravy side dish or tomato sauce.

Notes:

• The entire process would be done under 8-10 mins,so be quick while sauteing the vegetables and noodles and also take care not to loose the crunchiness of vegetables.
• You can use white pepper powder or black pepper powder and it is preferred to use freshly ground black pepper in the recipe.
• Be liberal in using oil as it helps the noodles not to turn sticky and in Chinese cooking it is always advisable to use more oil.
• I have used olive oil in the recipe as it gives a nice flavor and even the liberal usage of olive oil does not hurt me as the normal oil does.If you do not have olive oil in hand the best substitute for olive oil is sesame oil in Chinese cooking as sesame oil is primarily used in Chinese cooking as the oil itself has nutty flavor which enhances the taste of Chinese dishes.
  
• In Chinese cooking ajinamoto(tasting salt) is added for extra taste,I do not use it in my cooking and hence not mentioned in the recipe.If you are using it,add 1/2 tsp of ajinamoto while adding salt and sauces to the wok.

Variations:

• You can even add chopped celery to it which gives very nice flavor to the noodles.
• You can even add bokchoy(Chinese greens) while sauteing the other vegetables.
• You can add 2-3 tbsp of schezwan sauce along with other sauces and toss it to make Schezwan noodles.Adjust the spiciness according to your taste.
• You can add red chilli paste along with other sauces and also add 2 tbsp finely chopped garlic in the recipe to make Chilli Garlic noodles.Reduce the amount of vegetables in the recipe and also avoid green chili sauce in the recipe.
  

I am sending this entry to Pari's 'ONLY-Pasta/Noodles/Pizza' event which is guest hosted by
Jeyashri.