Vegetable Hakka Noodles.

"Vegetable Hakka Noodles" ... I have always loved relishing noodles from childhood and though it was more of maggi those days over time its been hakka noodles with loads of veggies to make it a healthier choice ... while veg. hakka noodles takes time in preparation maggi is a quick fix to laziness ... it's been sometime since I made these noodles, so enjoyed relishing it for lunch ... so tummy bhi kush, hum bhi kush ... try it, tastes awesome ... Yummilicious ......

** "Hakka Noodles" be it Veg. or Non.Veg always brings a joy on face. A simple dish, easy to prepare and a is surely loved by children the most and it is often polished off from plate without a murmur. My Blog does not have much of Chinese dishes except for a few, as I now hardly prepare them. There was a time when I cooked them a lot, say about 2 decades back, however in the last decade or so, I have almost stopped cooking them for personal reasons. This lost side of me was revived by my friend’s 8 year old son, so a huge bunch of thanks to him. It so happened that a month back at a function he introduced me to his other friend and innocently said “Aunty prepares lots of yummy dishes, but does not know any Chinese dishes”. I was completely taken aback and my poor friend was embarrassed to the hilt and tried to stop him from talking further.

** I assured her not to worry as her son was right in his own way, I had never offered him any Chinese food. Children always innocently blurt out the truth and we should really encourage them to do that and never stop them from speaking truth. However, it set my mind thinking, and I laughingly told my hubby the same and I was taken aback when he sheepishly agreed and said he too missed my hakka noodles, Manchurian, spring rolls a lot and to my horror the list went on. OMG, what a mess I thought, I was so engrossed in my own problems that I never gave a thought to it. Well to cut short, hopefully you will see some Chinese dishes henceforth though I must confess I am not an expert and have lost touch on it. Once again thanks to Deepu (my frds. son) for pointing out and I hope he will not only be surprised but will love this one when I parcel the same to him. 

** Here is my simple method of preparing "Vegetable Hakka Noodles" ... do try it, tastes awesome ... My Style ...

** Preparing the Noodles : Boil about 2- 2.5 liters of water and when it comes to boiling point add about 200-250 gms of hakka noodles cut into large pieces and stir once, let it come to boiling point again, once it does, let cook for 2-3 minutes, then remove from fire, add in a teaspoon of oil, mix well and keep it aside covered for 5 minutes. Keep checking in between to avoid the noodles getting mushy. Takes about 5 minutes. Then drain off the excess water by putting it into a colander and rinse well under running water until the cooked noodles are completely cooled. Keep it aside allowing all water to getting drained off properly, keep this ready aside while we go ahead with preparation.

** Peel of the skin of one large sized "Carrot/ Gajar" and cut them into 3 inch sized strips. Also wash and cut the green "Capsicum/ Donnemirsanga/ Shimlamirchi" into strips of the same length. Similarly also do so with "Cabbage". All three veggies should be cut into thin strips of same size and kept ready. Peel off the skin of one large sized "Onion/ Piyavu/ Kanda" and slice them lengthwise as thinly as possible. Peel off the skin of 3-4 large sized "Garlic/ Losun/ Lehsun" cloves and finely chop them. Keep all of these ready before you begin to prepare the Noodles.

** In a thick bottomed wide mouthed thick bottomed kadai add in 2-3 tblsp of "Oil/ Tel/ Tela" and bring to smoking point heat. Now add in the finely chopped garlic and fry for a minute, immediately add in the sliced onions and continue frying for another 2-3 minutes. The onions should just be stir fried and should not change in colour. Now add in all the three veggies ie, carrot, capsicum and cabbage and stir fry on high heat for 3-4 minutes. Do not allow the veggies to stick to the bottom of Kadai.

** Note : All frying should be done on high heat, this is done so as it helps to trap the water in the veggies or else the crispiness of the same gets lost. But in doing so care should be taken to see that the veggies do not get burnt. This tip was shared by worldwide famous chef. Sanjeev Kapoor ji, so rest assured and follow the same.

** Now lower the heat to minimum, cover with a lid and let the veggies cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring once of twice in between. Now add in the prepared and kept aside noodles, 1 tblsp of soya sauce, 2 tblsp of red chilliy sauce, 1 tsp of pepper (kali miri) powder and salt (namak/ meeta) to taste (Optional, remember there is plenty of salt in the sauces too, do check before adding.). Mix well on medium heat until it is evenly and well heated from within, say atleast for a minimum 5 minutes. Do not add in any water at any point otherwise the hakka noodles will be overcooked and a mess.

** "Vegetable Hakka Noodles" is done and ready to be served. Always serve it piping hot right from the kadai to plate. Tastes awesome when served for dinner or when children come home hungry from playing out in hot sun or from school too. It is holidays now and children love noodles, this time instead of giving them instant noodles serve them hakka noodles to which you have added on plenty of veggies, that way it turns out a healthier option and also the best way to make them eat the same.

** Note : Addition of Salt is individual choice. I do not add as I believe in cutting off salt as much as possible which is not good for health. Here addition of the sauces ensures that enough of salt is added as these sauces have high content of salt in them. In case you wish to add as per the taste of your family do check in and add only that much how much is necessary.

** Note : I have neither added Aji-no-moto or vinegar as somehow I do not like them and I find that there is no much change in taste too if they are excluded. Some do add in a pinch of sugar, which again I have not added. White pepper powder is added on preferably to noodles instead of black, I did not have any, also the addition of soya sauce makes it ok when black pepper powder is added.

** Note : You can increase the amount of red chilly sauce if desired depending upon your family spice level tolerance. If not you can also add on some red chilly powder or paprika powder too. The choice is exclusively yours. I somehow, prefer my noodles to be kept simple and I have found the taste to be same as that of which is served in the restaurants, you may follow any that suits your family.

** Note : Instant noodles are OK if consumed once in a while and do not make the habit of the same. Instant noodles are really not that good for health though we all love to eat them when we are hungry and short of time. A little bit of planning when done ensures you serve a healthier meal to your family. You can always prepare Hakka Noodles with plenty of veggies of your choice and serve it during dinner as it hardly takes time to cook while it ensures that your children eat healthy veggies.