Vegetarian Schezwuan Hakka Noodles

Vegetarian Hakka Noodles is a favorite indian-chinese dish for any Indian. Long before I came to the US and was exposed to a variety of pasta, hakka noodles were the only pasta I had ever seen, cooked and relished! My mom had taken indian-chinese cooking classes and she had really mastered the art of making delicious hakka noodles and veg manchurian, which me and my brother were really thankful for:) Thanks to her, I mastered the skill too, and as I grew older and started experimenting with sauces and spices myself, I started admiring asian sauces way more than before! One of our all-time favorites is the Schezwuan sauce; I guess I was more fascinated by the way this word was spelt and pronounced; some call it "schezwan", "schezwuan", or "szechuan" (the last one is the correct spelling, but it would be so much easier if they'd make it spell the same way its pronounced!) Anyways, grammar apart, the kick that this spicy and little sweet sauce generates to your food is amazing, and you can add it to your noodles or fried rice to take your cooking to the next level. So here's my recipe of Vegetarian Schezwuan Hakka Noodles. Mixed with julienned veggies and spiced with garlic, ginger, sesame, peanuts, sherry and chilli, this dish of noodles is sure to set you on fire!!

Ready-to-use schezwhuan sauce packets are available in all grocery stores in the asian foods section. I have used it before and though its good, there's nothing like making your own fresh sauce, and as this one is really simple, I've added the recipe below. Sherry adds a nice flavor to the schezwuan sauce, but if you don't have it, don't worry; you can omit it without compromising much. And try using fresh ginger and garlic instead of the ready-made paste, because none of these can come close to the taste of fresh ginger. You can substitute red chilli powder for cayenne pepper.

You can even add some eggs to the noodles, and feel free to add more veggies too to suit your taste. The sauce can be made 2-3 days in advance and stored in the refrigerator. This plate is on its way to grace the AWED-Chinese Cuisine event over at the Culinary Bazaar!

Ingredients

For Schezwuan Sauce
6 garlic cloves - minced
1/4 cup fresh ginger - peeled and chopped
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup tahini (sesame paste)
1/2 cup smooth peanut butter
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup dry sherry
1/4 cup sherry vinegar
1/4 cup honey
1/2 tspn hot chili oil (just warm some oil and add red pepper flakes or chopped green chillies to it and leave so for 3-4 hours)
2 tbsp dark sesame oil
1/2 tspn freshly ground black pepper
1/8 tspn ground cayenne pepper

For Noodles
1 pound Asian Hakka noodles
1 red bell pepper thinlu sliced
4 scallions - sliced diagonally (white and green parts)
1/2 cup red onion - thinly sliced
1/4 cup spring onions - just the greens
2 sp salt (or adjust to taste)
2 tbsp soy sauce

Making the Sauce
Method
Add the garlic and ginger in a food processor; Add the vegetable oil, tahini, peanut butter, soy sauce, sherry, vinegar, honey, chili oil, sesame oil, and ground peppers. Puree the sauce to make a smooth paste.

Making the Noodles
Add a splash of oil to a large pot of boiling salted water and cook the noodles as directed on the package. Drain the pasta in a colander, place it in a large bowl, and while still warm, toss with i tbsp oil so that the noodles don't stick to one another.

Now take a wok, add 4 tbsp oil, and saute the chopped onions and bell peppers till they become soft and glazed. Add the scallions and toss well. Add salt and 5-6 tbsp soy sauce (adjust to your taste), then add the prepared schezwuan sauce and turn off the heat. Gently pour the sauce over the noodles while still hot. Garnish with some chopped spring onion greens and serve hot!

Veg Hakka Noodles (Schezwuan) are a delicious Indian-Chinese Meal cooked right at home! To compliment these noodles, try some of the recipes below:

Veg Hot and Sour Soup
Dry Gobi Manchurian
Vegetable Fried Rice
Veg Manchurian Gravy
Spicy Chilli Paneer