Vegetable Noodles

The inspiration for this came from the buttered noodles my son has at school. I decided to make it a bit more healthy and filling.

Difficulty level: Easy
Preparation time: 10 min
Cooking time: 5 min
Makes: 2 toddler servings

Ingredients:


Noodles: 1/2 cup cooked, according to package instructions
Carrot: 1/4 cup grated
Cooked vegetables: 1/4 cup (cooked in lightly salted water)
Butter/ clarified butter(ghee): 1 tbsp
Turmeric powder: 1/8 tsp
Salt: to taste

Heat the butter/ ghee in a skillet and add the turmeric powder. Saute for a minute and add the grated carrots. After a minute, add the rest of the veggies. Saute for a minute before adding the noodles. Sprinkle salt,if needed, at this stage. Use two wooden stirrers to mix the whole thing well. Serve warm.

Mixed Hakka Noodles

This is one of the most versatile of noodles. So every time I make it, I use different veggies. Here I've used chicken and eggs in addition to the vegetables I had in hand. You can use mushrooms, cabbage(red or green), kale, celery, asparagus, corn, bell peppers(Shimla peppers/capsicum), sprouts, nuts, other meats like prawns, mutton, beef etc. in addition to the usual carrots, beans we use while preparing noodles. Just be creative!

Difficulty level: Medium
Preparation time: 15min(plus 1-2 hrs for marinating meat)
Cooking time:  30 min

Ingredients

Chow mein noddles- 100 gms,cooked according to package directions
Chicken- 4 breast tenderloins(about 250gms)
Corn kernels- 5 tbsp
Edamame(shelled soy beans)- 5 tbsp
Celery- half of a stalk, cut into thin slices or about 5 tbsp
Asparagus- 3 stalks, cut into 2 " length or about 5 tbsp
Whole red chillies- 2 nos.
White pepper powder(or coarse ground black pepper powder)- 1/8 tsp+ a pinch
Turmeric powder- a pinch
Oil- 2 tbsp
Red chilli paste- 2 tsp
Ginger-garlic paste:1 1/2 tsp
Soy sauce: 2 tbsp+3/4 tsp
Eggs- 2
Salt- to taste


Marinate the chicken(cut into long thin strips) in 2 tbsp cornflour/cornstarch, salt, 1/2 tsp ginger-garlic paste and 3/4 tsp soy sauce. Keep aside for 1-2 hrs. You can do the rest of the meat separately  in a similar way.

Scramble the eggs with salt and a pinch of  coarse ground black pepper and keep aside.
Deep fry or shallow fry the chicken pieces  and keep aside. I used 1 tbsp oil and cooked the chicken pieces- a healthier option. Cook the vegetables in boiled salt water for 4 min and keep aside. If you like to bite into the raw vegetable pieces, you can skip this.

In a skillet, add 1 tbsp oil and add the whole red chillies, along with 1 tsp ginger-garlic paste. Saute until the raw taste of the ginger-garlic paste has gone. Add the onion and saute until it turns light brown. Add the chilli paste and white pepper(or black pepper) powder and saute for a while. Add the cooked vegetables and mix well. Add the scrambled eggs and fried chicken. Mix well. Add the 2 tbsp soy sauce and mix well. Add the cooked & drained noodles. Toss well using two wooden spatulas. Serve warm topped with spring onions/ green onions.