Veggie Hakka Noodles / Vegetable Chowmien

Hello Foodies..
What's cooking?!! It has been straight cut regular Indian meals for us for a while.. needed a change. Veg noodles are my favorite and they are made differently in different parts of the world... I remember how much we enjoyed the simplicity of the noodles we had in China.. decided to go for it today! It turned out great !Try it for yourself and let me know what you think !!


Veggie Hakka Noodles

INGREDIENTS:

Egg Noodles / Angel Hair Pasta - 1 pack
Onion - 1 medium, sliced
Red Bell-pepper - 1 medium, sliced
Green Bell-pepper - 1 small, sliced
Cabbage - 1/2 medium, sliced
Ginger - 1 inch cube, minced
Garlic - 2 to3, minced
Hot Chili Paste - 1 to 2 tsp
Soy Sauce - 3 tbsp
White Vinegar - 1 to 2 tsp (to taste)
Black Pepper - 2 tsp
Oil - 2 tbsp
Sugar - 1 tsp (optional)
Salt to taste


COOKING TIME: 25 - 30 mins

SERVING: Serves 4

METHOD:

1. Fill water in a deep pot, add salt and 1/2 tsp oil, keep on high flame to boil.
2. When the water begins to boil, add the egg noodles / pasta to cook for 5 - 7 minutes.
3. Heat a wok, add oil and keep on high flame.
4. Add sliced onion, stir fry for a minute.
5. Add ginger and garlic, mix in.
6. Add the vegetables, stir fry for 2 to 3 minutes.
7. Drain the noodles / pasta into a colander. Transfer it into a pot of cold water.
8. Once the vegetables are done, reduce flame to medium or less. Drain the noodles / pasta well and add to the vegetables.
9. Mix the noodles / pasta well with the veggies and cook for five minutes.
10. Add hot chili paste, soy sauce, vinegar, salt, sugar and black pepper. Take off of flame and mix well.

To Serve -
11. This noodle could be added to a stew or soup.
12. As seen in the pictures here, I added some chili oil and soy sauce and garnished with fresh coriander. Enjoy !

I have not been able to devote time to taking pictures and writing the recipes in the past month or so... Hope to pick up some of it this month. Super excited about my new Nikon D90. It has taken a lot of work and research to finally get my first DSLR.. and now that I have it, I'm enjoying the learning curve again. Hope you too like the new pictures!

Celebrating Indian Independence with Eggplant and String Beans in Garlic Sauce

Its been a while that I made anything Chinese at home.. its time !
Celebrating Indian Independence with Chinese food ? Its truly a united world !!! :)

This platter is a full meal with Eggplant and String Beans in Garlic Sauce served with Soy Rice. Its a healthy preparation and does not use Ajinomoto or any artificial color. The Beans and Eggplant are lightly sauted for the recipe and its the sequence in which the ingredients are added that sprinkles stardust on this recipe !!

To celebrate Indian Independence Day, this recipe uses the colors of the Indian flag:
Orange - Eggplant preparation
White - Rice cooked with Soy Beans
Green - String Beans preparation

Hope you like it !

INGREDIENTS:

Thai Eggplant - 2 medium, cut into thin pieces
Spring Onion - a small bunch, chopped
String Beans - 200 gms or a bunch, cut into long pieces
Garlic - 10 to 12 cloves, chopped
Ginger - 1 inch cube, chopped
Almonds - 3 or 4, grated
Sweet & Sour Sauce - 1 tbsp
Soya Sauce - 2 tbsp
Water - 1 pot
Oil - 6 tbsp
Salt to taste

COOKING TIME: 30 to 40 minutes

SERVING: Serves 2

METHOD:

1. In a pot, add water and bring to boil.
2. Add the string beans and cook covered for 2 to 3 minutes.
3. Take the beans off flame, drain and cool under running water.
4. In a pan, add 1/2 tbsp oil, add ginger and saute for a minute. Keep aside.
5. In the same pan, add 1/2 tbsp oil, add garlic and saute for a minute. Keep aside.
6. In the same pan, add 1 tbsp oil, add spring onions and saute for a minute or two. Keep aside.
7. In the same pan, add 3 to 4 tbsp oil, add cut eggplant and fry for 5-6 minutes. Keep aside.
8. In the same pan, add 1/2 tbsp oil, add grated almonds and fry for a minute.
9. Add half of the sauted garlic, move it around in the pan.
10. Add the boiled and cooled string beans, saute for a few minutes.
11. Add soya sauce, mix well and remove from flame.
12. Adjust the salt to taste.
13. Heat another pan, add the sauted Ginger, Garlic and Spring Onion. Mix well.
14. Add the sauted Eggplant. Lap it up.
15. Mix the sweet & sour sauce in. If the sauce seems too thick, add some water.
16. Simmer the eggplants for a few minutes, remove from flame.

Serve with white or brown rice. In the pictures here we have white rice cooked with Soy beans for some added proteins.

Enjoy !!!