Hakka Noodles is a popular Indo Chinese dish along with Manchurian, Fried Rice, Chilli and soup. They have become part of our day to day cooking at homes these days!
About Hakka Noodles Recipe
Hakka Noodles is made by boiling hakka noodles and then blending them with sauted veggies, soya sauce & spices. Hakka Noodles is so tasty that you need to buy at least 2-3 packets of them depending on the size of the family else the cook has to go starving haha. Hakka Noodles is a nice add-on dish in a grand menu for parties and buffets. They get along well with saucy Manchurian or could be savoured as a one meal dish. Hakka Noodles is a great choice of menu for bachelors & cooking beginners. Beginners can transition as matured cook by following simple tips outlined in the recipe here.
What is Hakka in Hakka Noodles? – History behind Hakka!
“Hakka” is a cuisine of Hakka people. Hakka people once a settled tribe in China lost their kingdom and migrated to different part of China. So Hakka people were like migrants and used to meet their livelihood with the available food. Noodles was one of their innovation recipe that could be carried and cooked easily anywhere. Hence the name Hakka Noodles. Part of the Hakka tribe got settled in now called China Town of Kolkata and their cuisine was liked by the Indians and got spread to whole of India as an Indo Chinese dish for their taste & easiness.
Hakka Noodles & Instant Noodles – What is the difference?
Instant Noodles like Maggi are fried while the Hakka noodles like Chings are dried during the manufacturing process of noodles. Instant Noodles hence gets cooked in 2-3 minutes while Hakka Noodles takes slightly more time of 5-6 minutes to get cooked. Instant Noodles come with seasonings or masala and while Hakka noodles come without seasoning or masala. Instant Noodles are stir fried with the seasonings directly while Hakka Noodles needs to be boiled and then tossed with veggies or ingredients of your choice. Eating Instant Noodles is fine when we limit eating it once in 2-3 weeks while eating Hakka Noodles is fine till we limit eating it once a week.
Veg Hakka Noodles – A popular street food / fast food
Veg Hakka Noodles is a popular fast food which we like to make at home – Thanks to accessibility of Hakka noodles at super markets & stores these days else it will be vermicelli / semiya like in my childhood days! At fast food outlets, they parboil (half cook) the Hakka noodles in huge volumes and store them after draining the water. They then take it in small batches as & when they receive orders & saute with veggies & sauces to make tasty noodles. We can use this for parties & in bigger families when the eating times of members of the family are different & each of them prefer hot & fresh!
Ingredients
Hakka Noodles : Hakka Noodles is available in super markets, grocery stores and online. Cook them parboiled (half cooked) or al-dente (cooking firm till you feel them as bite with tooth) so that they do not end up overcooked when sautéed with veggies. Get them 3 or 4 packs so that family enjoys heartfully or becomes handy on busy days. Veggies : I have used cabbage, capsicum & carrots and is purely your choice. You can add any leftover veggies for this recipe. Cauliflower, broccoli, mushrooms are other veggies suggestion. Out of all, I like when I added just capsicum & cabbage to the Hakka Noodles. Sauce : I used Soy sauce& Chilli Sauce available in grocery outlets. You can add chilli oil as an alternative to chilli sauce & other sauces, vinegar based on your taste preferences. Oil : Veg Hakka Noodles tastes best with Olive oil. However it is not a compromise if you use refined oil or sesame oil.
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📖 Recipe Card
How to make Hakka Noodles
1.Boil 4 cups water along with salt and oil. 2.Add 150 gms hakka noodles. I broke into half and added. 3.Cook noodles until slightly soft but not mushy. 4.It should be aldente – just cooked. I cooked for 5 mins and it was perfect.But follow pack instructions for cooking time. 5.Drain water. 6.Rinse with cold water to remove the excess starch and stop further cooking. 7.Add little oil, toss it and keep aside to avoid sticking. 8. To a large wok – Heat 2 tablespoon oil first add 2 teaspoon garlic finely chopped along with 1 teaspoon spring onion white part. Saute for 2 mins. 9.Add 1/4 sliced onion, 1/2 cup carrot,1/2 cup capsicum, 3/4 cup cabbage. 10.Saute for 2 mins in medium high heat – Make sure the veggies should be crunchy. 11.Keep heat in high – Add 1 teaspoon soya sauce, 1/2 teaspoon green chilli sauce, 1/2 teaspoon red chilli sauce, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, 1 teaspoon vinegar and required salt. You can even add 1/2 teaspoon sugar if you like. 12.Give a quick toss so that the veggies are coated with sauces, it should be done in high heat so be quick. 13.Finally add cooked noodles along with 1 tablespoon spring onion green part. 14.Mix it well. Using 2 laddles was very easy to mix. 15.Toss iot well in high flame.If you are able to carry the wok toss it well to get a mild smokey flavour just like in restaurants. But be careful if the wok is heavy you will have a tough time yes experience speaks. Hakka Noodles ready!
Expert Tips
Add oil to boiling water so that the noodles dont stick to each other once cooked. After the veggies are added dont overcook as the noodles will become very soft. Always fry the veggies in high flame which gives a smoky flavour as in restaurants. Dont try to reduce oil then the veggies will get burnt when sauted in high flame. Though the chinese version uses white onion, I used the normal ones. But if you have white onions then that is best to use. I used olive oil but you can use normal cooking oil too.Also adding more soya sauce will spoil the taste and give a dull color to the noodles. Ajino motto is added in restaurants – I don’t use it in my cooking for health reasons. Check the spice level before adding pepper as green chilli sauce is also added.
Variations
Add maggi magic masala or top ramen masala to make masala noodles. Cook to a soupy consistency for soup likers. Add more sauces to make it saucey. You can even add tomato sauce for a tangy taste.
Serving & Storage Suggestions
Serve Veg Hakka Noodles hot! It does not taste great when it is cold. Simple hack is to parboil noodles and store them – You can make Veg Hakka noodles in small batches after sautéing with tempered veggies if you need them for later use (not beyond dinner / 4-6hrs).
1.What is Veg Hakka Noodles?
Veg Hakka Noodles is a popular Indo Chinese dish & fast food made by boiling hakka noodles and then blending them with sauted veggies and sauces.
2.How to make Veg Hakka Noodles?
Cook Hakka Noodles al-dente (slightly undercooked or cooking firm till you feel them as bite with tooth) Drain and rinse the cooked noodles. Toss with oil so that noodles do not get sticky Temper onions & veggies and add soy sauce, chilli sauce Blend veggies with cooked noodles and saute for 2-3 minutes.Tasty Veg Hakka Noodles ready!
3.Do I need to necessarily add veggies?
You can skip veggies – Suggest to add garlic and more of onions when you do not prefer veggies or do not have stock of veggies.
4.I do not have soya sauce or vinegar – Can I still make Veg Hakka Noodles?
You will lack that Indo Chinese flavour – However you can still make them with chilli flakes & garlic just like Aglio Olio – The dish will then taste like Indo-Chinese-Italian!
5.My Veg Hakka noodles was overcooked and also sticky – How to avoid it?
Keep an eye for 3 mins check every now and then so that noodles is not overcooked. Cook Hakka Noodles al-dente (partially cooked / slightly under cooked) so that they do not get over cooked. Toss the noodles with 2-3 tablespoon of oil so that they do not get sticky!
