Spicy noodles: home style

A quick flavourful fix, by no means "really" chinese

Last weekend, the husband and I ate every single meal at home. Weekends are usually when we step out, try out new restaurants/drinking places, and enjoy the Goan outdoors, and get time alone after the hectic round-the-clock-work-week. But last weekend we didnt want to step out into the crowd. So quick meals at home was the only way to go. I had a packet of hakka noodles lying at home and we decided to put it to use.

Iv also discovered that this food blog thing is a good thing for us to do together because it combines 2 of the things each of us loves to indulge in: cooking/food experimentation and photography. So it makes for interesting together time :)

What I used:
1 packet hakka noodles
1 medium onion sliced thin
1 small bell pepper sliced thin
1 medium carrot julienned
A handful of french beans chopped long and thin
A generous amount of finely chopped garlic
Some freshly chopped ginger
Chilli garlic sauce
Dark soya sauce
Tomato ketchup
White vinegar

How I made it:
Chop up an assortment of veggies you would like to use in the noodles.

In a wok/kadhai, heat some oil (I used olive :P). When its hot enough throw in the chopped ginger and garlic and saute till brownish. Then quickly add in the onions, before the ginger burns. Saute for a minute until the onions get lightly golden-brown. Then, add in the soya sauce and chilli garlic sauce, some ketchup and a few drops of vinegar,and continue to stir around.

After a couple minutes more of sauteing, add in all the vegatables and mix well. Cook on an open flame till the vegatbles are semi-cooked, but still crunchy.

Then, add salt and pepper to taste. Its good to taste it before you add in the salt and pepper, because the soya tends to make it a little salty to begin with. Then, add a pinch of ajinomoto.

Meanwhile, in a pot of boiling water, add a packet of egg noodles, and cook till soft. Drain and run through col water.

Add the noodles to the vegetables and mix. At this point, continue to cook it for a while, if you feel the need to blend the two components really well.

Done!

Chilli Chicken

Inspired, impromptu Chilli Chicken

I cant take credit for this one. I first saw this incredibly easy recipe on Finely Chopped's wonderful blog. And like I said to him, merely reading the post made me crave that Chilli Chicken. And it made me want to have it right then and there! So make it, we did!



What you need
Finely minced garlic
Sliced onions
Sliced capsicum
2-3 tablespoons of dark soy sauce
Ajinomoto
Green chillies slit
Chicken

What you need to do
Heat 3-4 tablespoons of oil in a non stick pan. This is the kind of Chilli Chicken that will only taste nice if you are brave with the oil, forget about your heath for a bit and enjoy!

Add a tablespoon of finely chopped garlic and saute till slightly brown. Then, add two to three tablespoons of dark soy sauce. Add a teaspoon of green chilly sauce. Stir around until the soy sauce spreads across the pan and forms an oil slick like layer at the base.

Add sliced onion and capsicum. Stir till onion looks a bit pale. Chilli Chicken, for me, tastes best when the onions and capsicum is cooked, but still retains some of its crunch.

Throw in the chicken cut into two inch long pieces. Toss around with a ladle to ensure that the pieces cook evenly. Finely Chopped says it usually a maximum of about five minutes.

Add salt and a pinch of ajinomoto. Keep the flame high so that the chicken really absorbs the juices and flavours.

Add 5,6 slit green chillies.

Done!

Ps: this one made me wonder if its worth starting a Chilli Chicken cart somewhere around town.. :P