Stir-fried Vegetable Spaghetti

Stir-fry noodles is a famous road-side snack on the streets of Kolkata. Not only in Kolkata mixed vegetable fried noodles is a favored delicacy in almost every city of India. Different veggies of your choice are stir-fried together with noodles….this version is also known as Hakka noodles. However what if we try and make this using spaghetti? The result is as delicious and lip-smacking! In fact after doing this many times and being a die-hard fan of pasta, the spaghetti version of fried noodles gives me more gourmet satisfaction than anything else. I get to savor my pasta; at the same time I get to enjoy the flavors of hakka noodles just the way we used to have it back home during my childhood days. The best hakka noodles I’ve ever had was the one my dad used to prepare for us occasionally on weekends. Lots of fried veggies, eggs and chicken tossed together with noodles and fried on a high flame. It used to be so delectable, appetizing and highly pleasant to the taste buds. When something tastes so over-the-top delicious, it can only be compared to heaven!! Till date, when I visit India, I make sure my dad makes this awesome dish at least once for me. Going down the memory lane and thinking about the pleasures of savoring a scrumptious home-made stir fried noodles often makes me nostalgic. Good food always makes me reminisce the small pleasurable moments of childhood happiness.

I try to recreate the same dish by using spaghetti. I usually skip out on the eggs and chicken as DH does not like non-veg stuff in his noodles (which is so unusual of a hard-core carnivore like him!) You can use any vegetable of your choice. Lots of veggies in this dish makes it a nutritious, heart-healthy, delicious and an “I-can’t-live-without” dish for me.

The sauces I use in this recipe are the usual ones that are most commonly used in the preparation of Indo-Chinese style Hakka noodles. That would be soy sauce, Schezuan sauce, Ketchup, green chilli sauce and vinegar. On DH’s trip to Korea last week, he managed to bring a sauce which is called “Seasoned Bean Paste”. It has been a vital ingredient in Korean cooking for years and is considered as one of the most important sources of protein for Koreans. It is basically soy bean paste along with red chilli paste and is used widely in Korean style soups, stews and as a seasoning for veggies. I have been quite lucky to have had this product in my pantry while preparing these noodles on the weekend, as it did add a distinctive yet irresistibly good flavor to my stir-fry.

The essence of a good stir-fry noodle dish are the sauces that have been incorporated in the recipe. Also an incredibly important thing to note would be to keep the flame on high. Stir-fry noodles cooked on high flame gives it the smoky charred flavor and aroma that we all desire. Whether you want your veggies crunchy or if you want them cooked to perfection is a personal choice depending on one’s preference. I would usually cook the veggies until they are slight tender. DD does not love her veggies crunchy!!

Ingredients: 

Spaghetti – 1/2 a pack

1 large onion – thinly sliced

1 carrot – sliced thinly

Few green beans – thinly sliced

Broccoli – Florets of 1 large broccoli

Green bell pepper / capsicum – cut into julienne

Spring onion greens – chopped finely

Light Soy sauce – 2 tbsp

Ching’s Green chilli sauce – 1 tbsp (can add more if you want more spicy)

Ching’s Schezuan Sauce – 1 tbsp (can add more if you want more spicy)

Korean Seasoned Bean paste – 1 -2 tbsp (optional)

Vinegar – 1 tbsp

Black pepper powder – 1 tbsp

Salt – as per taste

Method:

1. Prepare the spaghetti as per package instructions. Put the spaghetti in generously salted boiling water. Once done, drain. Then mix in 1 tbsp olive oil. This will avoid the spaghetti from sticking together.

2. Take some olive oil in a pan. Add the thinly sliced onions. Fry until the onions turn pink.

3. When the onions start turning pink, add the green beans. Fry for 1 min.

3. Then add the sliced carrots. Fry for around a min or two.

4. Cook the broccoli in the microwave for around 2 mins. Add the broccoli. Stir fry for around 1 min.

5. Then add the julienned green capsicum. Stir fry for around 1 min.

6. Add the cooked spaghetti. Mix well. 

7. These are the sauces that I have used for this recipe-

Light Soy sauce, Ching’s Green chilli sauce,  Ching’s Schezuan Sauce, Korean Seasoned Bean paste, Vinegar (Heinz vinegar)

Put the sauces one-by-one along with salt and black pepper powder.

8. Mix well and stir-fry for around 2-3 mins until all the ingredients are mixed well and the spaghetti is heated through. Lastly, add the chopped spring onion greens. Give it a good mix. Turn off the flame.

Serve stir-fried Vegetable spaghetti hot for a healthy, wholesome, one-pot meal!