Hakka Noodles (Indo-Chinese Noodles with Vegetables)

BM# 63: Journey through the Cuisines 
Week 1: Bengali Cuisine
Day 8: H for Hakka Noodles
Can't believe we are the end of Week 1 in our Journey through Cuisines and final Bengali dish I present to you is in fact a fusion Indo-Chinese dish that has it's origins in Calcutta/ Kolkatta, the capital city of West Bengal. H for Hakka Noodles was my first and final choice for the letter. Soma @ Ecurry has a lovely post for Hakka noodles where she talks about the Chinese businesses in Calcutta and the amazing Indo-Chinese cuisine that was developed there years ago.

Calcutta (or more recently Kolkatta) is known to be the first place where Chinese migrated in the late 18th and 19th centuries. They brought along their Chinese seasoning and cooking techniques that were adapted to Indian tastes which developed into the popular Indo-Chinese cuisine that we all enjoy today.

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Thai Curried Noodles for #Food of the World

We are visiting Thailand for this month's Food of the World event. Thai cuisine is one of my favorite and I have tried and posted quite a few Thai dishes on the blog. I looked through my 'Buddha's Table' cookbook and found this Curried Noodles recipe.

This is a spicy and delicious dish that is perfect to serve on a chilly winter day. The list of ingredients is long but all of them are easily available in well stocked Asian grocery stores. I made a trip to my local Korean market to get the noodles and some other ingredients and I was set to make the dish.

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Arunachal Pradesh -- Thukpa (Vegetarian Noodle Soup)

Blogging Marathon# 39 - Indian States: Day 2
State: Arunachal Pradesh
Dish: Thukpa (Vegetarian Noodle Soup)

Arunachal Pradesh is in the North eastern part of India. It is one of the seven states from the north eastern India that are referred to as ' The Seven Sister States'. Arunachal Pradesh means the 'land of the dawn-lit mountains' or the 'land of the rising sun' as it is located in such a geographic position that the sun hits it before spreading its rays to the other states or regions of India.
Cuisine: Cuisine of Arunachal Pradesh varies by the region as there is a lot of tribal influence on their food. Each major tribe consists of number of sub-tribes and each sub-tribe has different food habits and life styles. The ethnic cuisine of Arunachal Pradesh is simple to cook with lots of nutrient values and is scrumptious to consume. Non-vegetarian is preferred and minimum spices are used making the dishes mild to taste.
Tribes: Apatanis, Chuki, Nishi, Monpa etc.
Staple Food/ Drink: Rice, Fish, Meat and Leafy vegetables/ Apang (Rice Beer)
Specialties: Thukpa, Dre-Thuk (prepared from noodles, minced meat and soup), Zan (preparation of millet or flour and boiling water), Bak-tza (prepared from flat rectangular shaped dough, minced meat and soup).

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Pad Thai (Vegan Recipe)

Blogging Marathon# 38: Week 4/ Day 2
Theme: Revisiting Recipes
Dish: Pad Thai

Today I'm revisiting one of my favorite noodle dish, Pad Thai. Recipe is from the cookbook Vegan with a Vengeance by Isa Chandra. It is a simple recipe, but it sure needs some preparations to be done. Once all the veggies are chopped and the sauce is made, dish gets done in no time. 

Below recipe serves 2, if you are planning to make this for a crowd, then multiply the ingredients according. Make the sauce in bulk, but assemble the noodles only 2 servings at a time and serve immediately.  

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Creamy Tomato Soup with Egg Noodles

For Day 2 of BM# 24 under the theme for Kids Delight - Lunchbox Meals, I made this creamy tomato soup with egg noodles. This soup is perfect when eaten hot in this chilly weather, but it tastes equally good when eaten at room temperature. So I thought it is perfect for my 5 year old's lunch box.

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Veg Noodles

It's already the 4th day of our Blogging Marathon. I'm enjoying myself doing this everyday and I'm sure my son's happy too since I'm asking him what he wants to eat, so I can make him something and post it on the blog too (since the theme I've chosen for the marathon is "kid-friendly" dishes).

For today's lunch, I steered him toward noodles since I wanted to make some myself. I asked him "Do you want some noodles for lunch today??", he cheered and said "Noodles, Noodles!!", so there we have Veggie Noodles for lunch.

My 3 year old likes to slurp on noodles, he starts to slurp and blow with his mouth even before putting the spoon in his mouth. I make him "Maggi" noodles occasionally and really like the new "Atta noodles" that Maggi came up with. The seasoning sachets have dehydrated veggies and one pack makes for a quick meal for my little one.

I had some roasted vegetables in the fridge that I used in this dish which made making the noodles a snap, everything got done in about than 10 minutes (not including the time to boil water for noodles). If you don't have roasted veggies, simply sauté the veggies of your choice until crisp tender and proceed with the recipe.

Ingredients:

Hakka Noodles - 1 pkg

Red Onion - 1 small, thinly sliced

Cabbage - 1 cup, thinly sliced (quarter of a medium sized cabbage head)

Roasted vegetables - 1 cup (I roasted Zucchini, Japanese eggplant & red pepper in a 425°F oven for 30-35 minutes with some salt, pepper, olive oil and balsamic vinegar)

Soy sauce - 2tsp

Sriracha sauce (red chili sauce) - 1tsp (or per taste)

Ginger - 1" piece, finely grated (I use a microplane to grate it really fine)

Garlic - 2 cloves, minced

Salt - to taste

Method:

• Cook noodles according to package directions; drain well and spread on a plate. Mix in some oil to prevent sticking and set aside.
• Heat 2tsp peanut oil on medium-high flame in a large wok; add ginger and garlic and stir-fry for 30 seconds.
• Next add onion & cabbage and stir-fry until the veggies are crisp tender, about 3-4 minutes.
• Add the roasted veggies, sauté for another minute.
• Add soy sauce, chili sauce, salt and the cooked noodles. Stir-fry for another minute or until the noodles are heated through. Serve hot.

Don't forget to check out what the other Marathoners are cooking up in their kitchens.

Azeema, Bhagi, Champa, Sowmya, Gayathri Anand, Gayathri Kumar, Harini, Jay, Kamalika, Mina, Meena, Padma, PJ, Priya Mahadevan, PriyaSuresh, PriyaVaasu, Rujuta, Saraswathi, Savitha, Shanavi, Smitha, Srivalli, Suma,Usha,Veena.

Chinese style Vegetable Noodles & Eggplant

Hope everybody had a good weekend and everyone celebrating Thanksgiving had a good long weekend. We had a quiet Thanksgiving dinner at home and had family come over and stay with us on Friday and Saturday. Sunday was as usual, scrambling to get everything together before the week starts; shopping, laundry, mopping, cleaning etc.

This quick Chinese lunch came together in matter of minutes as we came home late from our shopping trip with grumbling tummies on Sunday. I didn’t use a lot of soy sauce or other seasonings and the final dishes tasted mild, so if you want some kick to the dish, add seasonings as per your taste.

These dishes go to this month’s IVAW: Chinese going on at Vaishali’s site Holy Cow.

Ingredients for Vegetable Noodles:

Noodles – I used tomato noodles, any asian style noodles can be used or even linguine or spaghetti would be good

Veggies – 2 cups, finely chopped (I used carrots, red & green peppers)
Scallions – 4, chopped (I used one huge Texas scallion)
Soy sauce – 1tbsp
Asian Chili sauce – ½ tsp (I used Sriracha)
Ginger – 1’ piece, finely minced
Garlic – 2 cloves, minced
Salt & Pepper – to taste

Method:

• Heat 2tbsp oil in a sauté pan or wok; add ginger & garlic and sauté for 30 seconds.
  
• Next add all the veggies and stir fry on medium-high flame until crisp tender, about 6-8 minutes. In the meantime prepare the noodles according to package directions.
  
• Once the veggies are tender, add soy sauce, chili sauce, salt & pepper. Finally add the noodles and toss them together. Serve hot.
  

I served the noodles with Sautéed eggplant in Black bean sauce. I had an eggplant dish from a Chinese take out in a mall and I absolutely loved it. Eggplant was creamy inside and the sauce was sooo yummy, I was thinking the whole I ate how to make it at home. I couldn’t figure it out and couldn’t find any recipes online, so if any of know how to make take-out style Eggplant dish, please leave a comment, I’d (or my tummy) really appreciate it. Coming to this recipe, it’s very simple with sautéed eggplants in store bought black bean & garlic sauce base.

Ingredients:
Japanese eggplants – 2, chopped into medium half moons
Onion – 1 small, chopped
Black bean & Garlic sauce – 1tbsp
Sugar – ½tsp
Corn starch – 1tsp
Sriracha sauce – 1-2 tsp
Ginger – 1” piece, finely minced
Garlic – 1 clove, minced
Salt & Pepper – to taste

Method:

• Heat 1tbsp oil in a wok or sauté pan; add ginger & garlic until fragrant.
  
• Next add onions and sauté until translucent.
  
• Now add eggplant and stir fry on medium flame until eggplant is tender.
  
• Add the black bean sauce, sugar, chili sauce, salt & pepper along with ½ cup of water. Let the sauce come to a boil and simmer for 3 minutes.
  
• Mix 2tsp water in cornstarch in a separate bowl and add it to the pan. Simmer for 2 minutes and serve hot with noodles or fried rice.

Vegetarian Jap Chae

This is my entry to A.W.E.D – Korea, being guest hosted by PJ @ Seduce your Taste buds. A.W.E.D (A World Epicurean Delight) is the brain child of talented DK @ Culinary Bazaar. I am lucky to have a very good Korean market not too far from us that we visit at least once a month for the fresh produce and good deals on tofu and fruit.

During my recent visit I bought some gochujang, Korean hot pepper paste to try. I already had half a package of sweet potato noodles, dang myun, that I had bought a while back. Jap Chae is stir-fried noodles with vegetables and meat. Here’s my recipe for Jap Chae.

Ingredients:

Sweet Potato Noodles – 2 bunches

Peppers – 2, I used 1 red & ½ green

Onion – 1 large, thinly sliced

Mushrooms – 1 cup, chopped

Carrots – 1 medium, chopped into matchsticks

Chinese Broccoli – ½ cup, chopped (you can use spinach)

Garlic – 2 cloves, minced

Gochujang – 2 tsp

Soy sauce – 4tbsp (I use low-sodium)

Rice Vinegar – 2tsp

Sesame Oil – 1tbsp

Sugar – 2tsp

Salt & pepper – to taste

Eggs – 3

Method:

• Cook noodles according to package directions and set aside. Sweet potato noodles are very long and hard to handle, so when cool enough to handle, cut noodles into 6" pieces.
  
• Heat a large sauté pan on medium high heat; add 1tbsp peanut oil, when hot and sizzling, add garlic and stir fry for 30 seconds or until lightly browned and fragrant (not burnt). Add onions, carrots and peppers; sauté for 3-4 minutes. Add mushrooms and Chinese broccoli and sauté until all the veggies are crisp but tender, another 4-5 minutes.
  
• Add gochu jang, soy sauce, rice vinegar, salt, pepper and sugar. Cook for couple of minutes. Add cooked noodles and stir fry for 2 minutes. Check the seasonings and adjust accordingly.
  
• In the meantime, make an omelet with the eggs, cut them into strips and serve them over the stir fried noodles.

Pad Thai for A.W.E.D-Thai

My DH travels to Thailand quite a bit on business. Being a foodie himself, he raves about all the food he has eats on the streets and in the restaurants of Bangkok. He absolutely loves pad thai, papaya salad, sticky mango rice and pineapple fried rice. I tried making papaya salad at home, but it wasn’t up to his expectations. Well.. I didn’t like it much either.

I wanted to try pad thai next, but I couldn’t find pad thai noodles in any of the groceries I go to. Then last weekend we went to 555 Asian Supermarket in Jersey City, NJ and I bought a pad-thai kit with sauce et al. but I ditched the sauce packet and made my own.

Recipe is from Vegan with a Vengeance, which I’ve been eyeing to make for quite sometime now. It is a quick and easy recipe if you have all the ingredients on hand. To my relief, DH LOVED it and said we should serve it to one of his Thai colleagues for dinner. I think that says it all.
On to the recipe now.

Adapated from Vegan With a Vengeance.
Ingredients (Serves 2):
For the Sauce:
Tamari – 3 tbsp
Sugar – 3 tbsp
Tomato Paste – 1 tbsp
Asian Hot sauce (like Sriracha sauce) – 1 tbsp
Rice Wine Vinegar – 2 tbsp
Tamarind concentrate or Lime juice – 1 ½ tbsp

For the Pad Thai:
Pad Thai Noodles – 8 oz., cooked according to package directions
Tofu – 8 oz. drained and pressed cut into small cubes or triangles
Red onion – 1 small, cut in half and thinly sliced
Garlic – 1 clove, minced
Lemongrass – ½ tbsp, finely minced
Bean sprouts – 1 cup
Scallions – 4, sliced into 1 ½” lengths
Dry red chili – 1, crumbled
Roasted peanuts – ¼ cup, chopped
Cilantro – 2 tbsp, chopped
Lemon wedges for serving

Method:

• Set the prepared noodles to the side.
• Mix all the ingredients for the sauce; keep aside.
• In a large sauté pan, or a wok, heat 1 tbsp peanut oil and quickly add tofu. Stir fry for 5-6 minutes until tofu is crisp on the outside. Remove and keep aside.
• Pour 1 tbsp more peanut oil to the pan, add onions and stir-fry for 30 seconds. Then add garlic, lemon grass and stir-fry for 30 more seconds.
• Now add the sauce and once the sauce starts to bubble, add the noodles and mix well.
• Then add tofu, scallions, chili and peanuts. Stir for 30 seconds. Transfer to two serving plates and garnish with coriander and lemon wedges. (I didnt have lemon wedges for garnish ;-( but we never missed them while eating) Enjoy hot.

According to my DH, all the ingredients for pad Thai are served separately in Thailand and the final dish is usually a little dry. But this dish is full of flavor with just the right amount of gravy. Also if you notice there is no salt added to the dish, but you won’t even realize it. I used low sodium tamari and didn’t think the dish lacked flavor. I’ll be making this very often now.

This is going to lovely DK @ Culinary Bazaar for her A.W.E.D: Thai cuisine event. I’m thinking since the event is on, I’m going to try more Thai dishes, so even my DH will be happy. Two birds at one shot.. right!!!!!