There was a small little Indo-Chinese joint near my college which served the usual fare of Hakka noodles, fried rice and manchurian. The lovely part was that one plate of noodles or rice was just Rs. 25 and even better that it was sufficient to satiate two college kids. The best part of that was that they even served us half plate for half the amount. So if one couldn’t find someone to share the meal with you could always half it. The joint was small with very little seating capacity and the taste was just about fine but it was so much value for money that you had college kids flocking there at all times.

So when I picked this street food theme for this week’s Blogging Marathon, I wanted to blog about my days in Mumbai and the street food there. Somehow I have not managed to fully explore the street food in Chennai or Bangalore. I am guessing that a bit of comfort and money became barriers to the eating anywhere and everywhere. I was in Mumbai during my teens and early adulthood when one would not be very flush with money and also have that spirit of adventure to try stuff. As I grew older the ambience and comfort became as important as the food and the love for street food diminished. This trip down memory lane is making me get back to that exploratory mode. So maybe I will get around Bangalore and find some delicious food in a hole in the wall in the near future. Wish me luck!

Till then you can enjoy the recipe for this awesome Hakka noodles. Though it is usually made with wheat noodles, I have replaced that with flat rice noodles because the daughter and husband prefer it more. Also I figured we have modified the Chinese cuisine so much beyond recognition that one more change won’t hurt as much. Right?

Recipe adapted from here

Serves 3-4

WHAT WE NEED

200 gms  Flat rice noodles

3-4 cloves Garlic

1  Dried red chilly

1/4 cup  Spring onion greens, finely chopped (extra for garnishing)

7-8 Button mushrooms

7-8 Baby corns

4  Baby Zucchini

1  Capsicum, medium

2 tsp  Soy sauce

1/2 tsp  Vinegar

Salt

Pepper

Water

Oil

WHAT TO DO

• Heat a large vessel with 4-5 cups of water and add salt and few drops of oil
• Once it comes to a boil, add the noodles and cook as per package instructions (usually between 5-8 minutes)
• Once the noodles is cooked, drain the water and pass some cold water through the noodles to stop cooking
• Add a tsp of oil and mix so that the noodle strands don’t stick to each other
• Finely chop the garlic, mushrooms, baby corn, zucchini and capsicum
• In a pan, heat 2-3 tsp of oil
• Add the dried red chilly and finely chopped garlic
• Once the garlic starts turning brown, add the spring onions and stir for a minute
• Add the rest of the vegetables to the pan and mix well
• Let it cook on high flame. It should take about 5 minutes to be cooked but still retain a bite
• Add the soy sauce and mix
• Add the noodles, vinegar, salt and pepper
• Mix well and cook for 2-3 minutes
• Turn off the gas and garnish with spring onions
• Serve hot with vegetable or paneer manchurian or any other gravy of your choice
• Enjoy!

NOTES

1. The flat rice noodles can be substituted with any other noodles of your choice
2. Other vegetable options include carrot, beans, etc.

This is my post for the Blogging Marathon under the theme, ‘Street Food’.

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing this BM