Vegetable Hakka Noodles
Sep 11, 2018, Updated Mar 23, 2023
Street style Hakka Noodles are easy to make at home! These spicy noodles are great for a quick meal. Pair them with your favorite Indo-Chinese recipe to make a complete meal.
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Street style Vegetable Hakka Noodles make a great weeknight meal!
These are great on their own or serve along with chili paneer or gobi manchurian for an Indo-Chinese dinner!
My perception of Chinese food was very different when I was a kid. Almost similar to the perception of Indian food in the western world, quite far from reality. You get the drift, right? Anything with soy sauce and vinegar added to it would be considered Chinese, I guess that’s the long and short of it.
In India, Chinese food meant noodles, paneer manchurian, sweet corn soup, chili potatoes! It also meant this super flavorful street food which was readily available on roadside stalls and vans and was a part of every kid’s birthday menu!
The Indian version of Chinese is so popular back home that it’s now a cuisine on its own. At least I would like to believe that!
From upscale restaurants to food trucks, this cuisine has it all in India. Kids love noodles, isn’t it? [well so do adults, ask me!]
Anyway, so growing up noodles was one of my favorites things to eat and we were allowed to eat it for special occasions only. Yes, eating out and eating junk was so uncommon when I was a kid. How things have changed now!
We would always wait for birthdays or other special occasions to eat “chow mein”. These hakka noodles are popularly known as chow mein in India, the roadside version that is. The chow mein is spicy, full of veggies and very delicious.
Now that I am an adult (and can also cook!), I don’t need to wait for special occasions to eat hakka noodles.
Whenever the cravings strike, I simply make them at home. They are really easy to make with few basic ingredients.
How to Make Restaurant Style Hakka Noodles At Home?
Choose the right noodles
There are a lot of noodles available in the market so choose the right one to make street style hakka noodles at home.
I use Ching Vegetarian Hakka noodles and I think they are just perfect for this recipe. You can find them easily at all Indian grocery stores.
Use a little extra-oil
You know you have made the perfect noodles when each and every strand of noodle is separate from each other, which was not the case when I made noodles for the first time 3 years ago.
It was a mess and all my noodles clumped up together. After few trials and errors, I realized that you do need to use little extra oil.
First the noodles must be coated with little oil after they are boiled and drained.This really helps in preventing the stickiness.
And second you have to use a bit more oil than you would have wanted while cooking the noodles with the veggies.
I used to add 1 teaspoon of oil and it never tasted like the one we get in restaurants. This recipe uses 2 tablespoons of oil and believe me I couldn’t tell the difference if this was homemade or from an Indo Chinese restaurant! Yup that good!
Use the right veggies
Typically, the Indian style vegetable hakka noodles have the following vegetables in it – onion, cabbage, bell pepper and carrots.
For this recipe, I did not use cabbage because first I didn’t have it the day I made these noodles and second, I don’t like cabbage that much in my noodles.
So, stick to the traditional veggies.
All the veggies are cooked on high flame so that they remain crunchy.
Chop all the veggies thin
Use your chopping skills and slice the veggies into thin juliennes. Thick slices of vegetable don’t taste good in these hakka noodles.
Use the right cookware
Cook noodles in a large wok, it makes a difference. Also always remember to cook on high heat.
These hakka noodles are great with fried rice, chili paneer or any Indo-chinese dish like baby corn Manchurian, gobi manchurian.
PS: Do all the prep work before you start cooking. For this hakka noodles recipe everything is cooked on high heat and we want the veggies to remain crunchy. Soggy and over cooked veggies spoil the fun of eating noodles in my opinion. I want to bite into me veggies while eating hakka noodles.
So chop, slice and keep everything ready before you start. You will not get the time to chop in between.
Method – Hakka Noodles Recipe
1- Boil the noodles according to instructions on the package. I was supposed to cook my noodles for 2 minutes only.
2- Drain the noodles and wash under cold running water, this stops the cooking process.
3- Add 1/2 tablespoon of vegetable oil to the noodles and toss so that the noodles get lightly coated with the oil and don’t stick to each other. Set it aside.
4- In a wok heat 1 tablespoon vegetable oil and 1 tablespoon sesame oil on medium-high heat. Once the oil is hot add the minced garlic and ginger, sliced green chili and chopped celery.
Saute for few seconds until the ginger garlic starts to change color.
5- Add sliced onions and saute for a minute or two until the sides of the onion starts turning light golden brown.
6- Add in the sliced carrots, bell pepper, green onion and cook for 1 minute on high heat. The veggies should remain crunchy.
7- Push veggies to the side, lower the heat and add soy sauce, rice vinegar, hot sauce (like sriracha) and sugar (if using).
8- Toss the veggies to combine well with the sauce. Add in the black pepper, salt and white pepper.
9- Stir in the boiled noodles.
10- Using a pair of tongs, mix it well so that the noodles are well coated with the sauce.
11- As a final touch, stir in a teaspoon of chili oil. This is totally optional.
12- Toss the noodles well and garnish with more spring onion greens.
Serve hakka noodles as such or with your favorite Indo chinese dishes! I love mine with chili paneer.
If you’ve tried this Hakka Noodles Recipe then don’t forget to rate the recipe! You can also follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and Twitter to see what’s latest in my kitchen!
This post has been updated from the recipe archives, first published in 2014.
Vegetable Hakka Noodles
Ingredients
- 300 grams noodles I used Ching Hakka Noodles
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon minced ginger
- 1 green chili sliced
- 1 stalk celery chopped
- 1 medium red onion 100 grams, sliced
- 1 large carrot 100 grams, sliced
- 1 large red pepper 200 grams, sliced, can use mix of green and red
- 3 stalks green onion chopped + more to garnish
- 2.5 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar or white vinegar
- 1 teapoon hot sauce like sriracha
- 1/2 teaspoon sugar optional
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt or to taste
- pinch white pepper powder
- 1 teaspoon chili oil optional
Instructions
- Chop all the veggies before you start making the noodles.
- Boil the noodles according to instructions on the package. I was supposed to cook my noodles for 2 minutes only.
- Drain the noodles and wash under cold running water, this stops the cooking process. Add 1/2 tablespoon of vegetable oil to the noodles and toss so that the noodles get lightly coated with the oil and don’t stick to each other. Set it aside.
- In a wok heat 1 tablespoon vegetable oil and 1 tablespoon sesame oil on medium-high heat. Once the oil is hot add the minced garlic and ginger, sliced green chili and chopped celery.
- Saute for few seconds until the ginger garlic starts to change color.
- Add sliced onions and saute for a minute or two until the sides of the onion starts turning light golden brown.
- Add in the sliced carrots, bell pepper, green onion and cook for 1 minute on high heat. The veggies should remain crunchy.
- Push veggies to the side, lower the heat and add soy sauce, rice vinegar, hot sauce (like sriracha) and sugar (if using).
- Toss the veggies to combine well with the sauce. Add in the black pepper, salt and white pepper.
- Stir in the boiled noodles. Using a pair of tongs, mix it well so that the noodles are well coated with the sauce.
- As a final touch, stir in a teaspoon of chili oil. This is totally optional. Toss the noodles well and garnish with more spring onion greens.
- Serve hakka noodles as such or with your favorite Indo chinese dishes! I love mine with chili paneer.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Followed this recipe to make hakka noodles. It turned out great !! Thank you !!
Pushing the veggies to the side while adding the sauces and the use of more oil made my noodles way better than what I used to make earlier.
This recipe is a keeper.
Manali your recipes are super helpful, particularly during lockdown. They are easy to follow and you end up with scrumptious food. I love your palak paneer too!
glad to know 🙂
Hello Manalli Ji, I tried Hakka Noodles recipe today. It came out very well. Thanks for your fine tips. I could not add Cabbage and spring onions and in spite of that it came out nicely. Kids enjoyed a lot. I was bit hesitant to add more oil as I was preparing Noodles for 6 people and therefore did not enough oil. I used Olive oil instead of mustered oil as we did not have that. This was my first experiment with Hakka noodles and it was great.
Thanks a lot, regards Anil
Hi Manali,thanks,noodles look amazing,yum.
People say in chinese restaurantswhen vegs are done,they add soya sauce,bit of cornstarch,vinegar and sugar.All together like a slurry to add to the noodles.Last they drizzle sesame oil to finish.
Have you tried this,what do you think about this?I usually make it your way though:)
I do drizzle some sesame oil in the end, adds to flavor 🙂 cornstarch is not needed there since there’s not really any gravy here. But if you want to you may do that
Amazing recipie Manali. Came out exactly like you metioned. The noodles was non sticky and the flavours of the seasoning were spot on.
My husband loves Indo-Chinese food which unfortunately isn’t easily available in US. He had been craving Hakka Noodles since sometime and that’s how I ended up searching for recipes and stumbled upon this. Thanks a lot for the clear instructions. The recipe was perfect and the noodles came out exactly like how we get in restaurants ?
glad to know!
Thank you for the great recipe. You mentioned using tongs to mix the noodles. Would be great if you also mention alternatives to things which many non regular cooks won’t have in handy. Thanks again.
use a spoon and a fork!
I tried making noodles for the first time and it turned out amazingly yummy.
Thanks a lot ??
Tried this out today! It was so delicious. Made it extra spicy for myself, absolutely loved it! Reminded me of back home ?
Hey can we make these using rice noodles, the one you would use food Thai cooking
yes sure
The noodles came out amazing! My family loved it! Thank you for the recipe!!
your recipe is great Manali I am a big fan of your cooking but I made a slight change try sometime it makes big difference.I use Worcestershire sauce instead of
Sugar
sure, thanks for the tip!
This was delicious! If I run out of hakka noodles, can I use spaghetti noodles instead?
yes should be okay!
Thanks a lot for this recipe Manali! I am going to eat the Hakka noodles soon for dinner. I ate your mushroom Biryani for lunch today and I loved it. My daughter was sniffing the videos, they looked so good!
this good recipe for who want try to make some noodle, like i am
Wow… a big thanks Manali. I did promise my church group to make Noodles. It turned out so well. Everyone loved it. All thw best
That’s great to know Monica!
It turned out wonderful. The extra oil after cooking noodles did the trick and Ching Hakka noodles were a breeze to cook with. I just used my calphalon all purpose pan which resembles an Indian “kadai” as I don’t own a wok but it turned out well nevertheless. Plan to check out your other recipes.
Thanks from Houston,TX
Great! These are my favorite Aarti 🙂
i tried it came out really good my 2 year old loves it
everyone loves noodles, isn’t it? 🙂
This really looks great!
Thanks!
Yum yum! Very fantastic noodles recipe! I just made it and I am enjoying it now. Thank you so much! You are great..much love and blessings to you. xxx
Awesome! Thanks Nahla!
I really loved your recipe and the pictures along with it.I really appreciate how you mentioned all the necessary details.I surely will try this recipe tonight!!!!
Hope you like it!
It looks amazing and tempting . Can you pls share from where did you get chilli oil and name of the company you use ?
Thanks
it’s from din tai fung! you can use any you like. You can even skip it if you can’t find one, it’s okay
I tried this and it came out awesome. Thanks for the recipe.
Welcome! 🙂
Tried this out today and it came out SO WELL! Excellenct step-by-step instructions and pictures. I don’t think I’ll ever order in hakka noodles again!
I love them too!! 🙂 so glad you enjoyed them
thanks for the tips on washing boiled noodle with cold water to stop cooking and tossing in oil. worked great.
Glad to know it worked!
Omg the best hakka noodles ever. Better then take out.
and so easy too right? Glad you liked them!
Tried out this recipe just now. Came out pretty well. Such a quick fix for lunch or dinner.
Awesome!
Where can I buy Hal’s noodles from??
hakka noodles? I buy them from Indian grocery store!
Hi Manali,
This looks amazing and waiting to try it. Just wanted to understand that I have an electric glass ceramic stove at home. Can you please advice how to go about cooking on high flame and what sort of cookware would be ideal for this recipe?
Thanks in Advance
Hiral, I would still suggest using a wok..I don’t have much experience cooking at glass ceramic store but cook on high heat and have everything ready/chopped to go before you start making the recipe. You need to act quickly and fry the veggies only for few seconds to a minute! Hope you like it!
Can people please comment on the dish if they have tried it, it no use untill you try it for your self. Empty comments don,t help.
This hakka noodles is also my favourite…
Haha.. I had made veg Hakka noodles for dinner yesterday..I make it the same way… this looks amazing.. Love it! 🙂
wow that’s awesome Arpita! 🙂
I’ve never made my own chow mien noodles, and I really need to try it out! Love all the veggies here, and white pepper is SO delicious. Pinned.
Thanks for the pin Marcie! You need to try this!
Bring on the veggies and the noodles! This looks absolutely fabulous, Manali and your photos are gorgeous, girl! Pinning. 🙂
Thank you Sarah! 🙂 Yay to veggie love 😀
Oh my gosh, these noodles look incredible, Manali! We grew up eating a lot of hakka dishes and I am totally craving for a big plate of these noodles right now! It looks perfect with all those veggies!
Thank you Kelly! I love hakka dishes too…YUM!
My husband loves Indo-Chinese food too! I usually make him manchurian but I’ve never tried hakka noodles. Thanks for the recipe! 🙂
Hey thanks Hetal for dropping by and you are welcome! 🙂
Such a beautiful bowl of noodles! Looks like one delicious bowl of goodness!
Thank you Vanessa! 🙂
Manali, your recipes are so divine. This looks so delicious on this super chilly day. I am seriously so amazed by how you manage to make a veggie-hater drool over vegetable dishes! I’m dying for this dish!
Thanks Sarah! but why would you hate veggies? They are so good!
I want to live in your kitchen! These look so tasty! Can’t wait to try this recipe out 🙂 Thanks for a great vegan recipe! Pinning now!
Thank you Vanessa, glad you like it. I love these noodles! 🙂
These noodles look so good Manali! I love all the veggies in this. It looks delicious!
Thanks Stacey!
You have me craving Chinese food now. I love how packed full of veggies this dish is.
Thank you Dannii! btw I cannot open your blog.. not sure what is wrong!
Manali these are my favorite!!! Yummm!
Mine too Ami! 🙂
Manali, this noodle dish is absolutely gorgeous. It makes me want to grab a pair of chopsticks and dig in! Now, I just need to get proficient with chopsticks! Hahaha! But, it looks absolutely delicious! Pinned!
haha Kristi I will join you if you ever plan to attend a class on “how to use chopsticks”! I’m terrible at it! Thanks for the pin Kristi, appreciate it!
Girl these photos are stunning!! You have me craving a big bowl of noodles right now! 🙂
Thank you Annie, you make me very happy with the photo love! 🙂
This is just what I need for dinner! Love those noodles and all of the fresh veggies!
Thanks for dropping by Ashley! Glad you like the recipe!
ahhh YUMMM this looks SO great! I love my pasta so I totally need to try your recipe it looks fabulous ! 😉 pinning!
Thank you Michele, it is YUM! 😉
Your noodle stirfry looks very tasty, Manali.
Thanks you Angie!
These noodles look fantastic, Manali! Your pictures are absolutely gorgeous. I love that you added step-by-step pictures, too. Pinned!
Thanks Gayle! so happy that you like my pictures! 🙂
Indo – Chinese noodles? They look awesome Manali! Pinned!
Thank you Mira! I LOVE them!
Where can I buy Hal’s noodles ?
Manali, I love noodles like these and so does my daughter. These are perfect for a busy week night.
Did you change the look of your blog? I love it. 🙂
Thanks Kathy…actually it’s been a while..I’m glad you like the new look 🙂
This looks yum.
And lo, I stumble over an old classmate from Holy Child!
Congratulations Manali.
Hello! not sure if I recollect the name (poor memory 🙁 and has been sooo long) but always good to hear from a classmate from Holy Child! 🙂