Super quick vegan noodle stir fry. The vegetables used can be varied and changed if wished so, empty your fridge and use what you’ve got, it works great with many vegetables. It takes only about 10-15 minutes to make this dinner, and you only really need the sauce ingredients and the hakka noodles to make this and then just add your favourite vegetables ! Super quick and easy delicious dinner !
The noodles and the sauce is what makes the base of this recipe, the sauce is both sweet and hot, in the beginning the spice is mellow but it builds up with the numbing effect of the Sichuan pepper. Sweetness is added from the bean pastes and the ginger syrup and it thickens the sauce along with the starchy noodle water.
Hakka noodles comes from the Hakka people in China and usually made of rice or wheat (so yes - gluten free is possible, just find a gluten free soy sauce, fx GF tamari). The Hakka people speak Hakka and are a part of the Chinese Han people group, that span over many regions including the Sichuan Province, where this sauce flavour is inspired from.
A Hakka stir fry is slightly different from a Chow Mein stir fry. They noodles are both boiled and then fried in veggies and sauce, but the Hakka noodles are traditionally served slightly dry (still saucy and tasty but not drenched), as compared to the Chow Mein is generally served very saucy. So this dish is not super saucy, it’s very very simple. If desired you can always add more starchy noodle water, this will thicken the sauce and become more creamy, but it’s meant to be served slightly dry and full of flavour.
Like stir fries in general? Then check out this:
Serves 2
Ingredients
Stir fry
- 150g hakka noodles
- 1 zucchini
- 1 red onion
- 2 carrots
- 5 stalks of spring onion
- 3 garlic cloves
- 3 tablespoons Chili bean paste / Doubanjiang / Toban Djan
- 1 tablespoon sweet bean paste
- 2 tablespoons sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon ground Sichuan pepper
- 1 tablespoon ginger syrup
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 handful curly parsley
- Juice from 1 lime
Garnish
- Sesame seeds
What you will need
- Cutting board and knife
- 1 vegetable peeler
- Measuring spoons
- 1 wok + spoon to stir
- 1 pot
- 1 spider
Instructions
- Boil a pot of water for the noodles.
- Peel and roughly chop the onion and garlic, add to the wok. Peel and chop the ends of the carrots, chop the julienne style. Roughly chop the tomato. Add to the wok with the sesame oil and turn the heat on high. Sweat the onions until soft.
- Wash and chop the zucchini into big chunks as desired. Add to the wok with the chili bean paste, sweet bean paste, Sichuan pepper, ginger syrup and soy sauce. Stir, put a lid on and let cook on medium heat for about 5 minutes.
- Boil the hakka noodles as advised on the package, usually 3-4 minutes.
- Finely chop the spring onions and parsley, add to the wok with the freshly squeezed lime juice. Mix in.
- When the noodles are cooked take them directly from the pot with a spider and slightly drain them, some of the water from the noodles should get into the wok, the starches from the water adds texture and thickens the sauce a bit. The noodles will soak water as it fries, and the noodles become slightly dry as it should be served. Fry on high heat for a few minutes while stirring.
- Taste if it needs more spice, add a tiny bit of soy sauce or Sichuan pepper if desired.
- Divide evenly into 2 bowl and serve with sesame seeds.
Enjoy !
