Hakka Noodles Recipe
Hakka Noodles is the name of a special type of noodles as well as the dish made with it. These are dried noodles made with plain flour. The Hakka Noodles recipe is made by cooking these noodles until al dente and then mixing them with stir-fried vegetables that are seasoned with soy sauce, a few spices and salt. It is of the most popular stir-fried noodle dishes that rules the menus of all restaurants serving Asian, Oriental as well as Indo-Chinese cuisines in India. It is also popular at street-side Chinese joints across the Indian subcontinent.
About Hakka Noodles
Like I mentioned in the beginning, Hakka Noodles is a popular Indo-Chinese dish of stir-fried noodles. You will find it being made and served in many restaurants and street-side Chinese food joints in India.
The origin of Hakka Noodles can be traced back to the times when Chinese migrants reached Kolkata in West Bengal and settled there.
They created a new preparation by tossing Chinese noodles with Indian spices, vegetables and herbs that were available to them at hand.
As I have mentioned above, to make this stir-fried noodle dish, a special kind of noodles is used called Hakka Noodles.
These noodles are made with white flour (maida) and water with some salt or oil added. They are mostly made without eggs.
Hakka noodles are neither thin nor thick, but kind of in between, with medium-thickness. They are typically used to make Indian Chinese style stir-fried dishes as they are able to withstand high heat and do not turn soft.
Other kinds of noodles can be chewy or soft depending on their texture and thickness and may or may not stand the high heat while stir-frying and can turn pasty or mushy.
These noodles are easily available in India and you if you live outside India, you can find it in an asian or Indian superstore as well as online on amazon.
Both this noodle type and as well as the recipe are called Hakka Noodles. The recipe that I have shared on this post is simple, easy and non-fussy.
About The Recipe
So, you just require raw dried Hakka Noodles, some veggies and other typical Chinese sauces (like soy sauce) and seasonings to make this dish. To cook this dish, you can use any neutral flavored oil like sunflower oil or sesame oil, etc.
My version of this recipe is a vegetarian & vegan one loaded with vegetables and mushrooms, still is super delicious.
Fairly easy to make these noodles are not only popular with kids, but also with adults. It will surely have you craving for more!
Hakka Noodles pairs fantastically with some common Indo-Chinese dishes like Chilli Paneer, Chilli Mushroom or any of the manchurian gravies.
Use of Celery
I most of my Indian-Chinese fusion recipes, I add celery. Many Indian readers enquire about celery and where to get it.
Celery is a herb that is easily available in most superstores and supermarkets in Indian metros. Although an optional ingredient in this Hakka Noodles, if you have it or can source it, you must use it in this recipe.
You can also grow celery in a pot at home. Either buy the plant from a nursery or plant the seeds. You can even chop the celery keeping its base and plant it in the soil.
Ingredient Essentials
Here’s a list that’s going to be handy too you for perfecting the recipe of Hakka Noodles at home. Read on.
- Hakka Noodles: Any Indian brand of Hakka Noodles is good for the recipe. I have used Ching’s. These noodles are made with all-purpose flour (maida). So, if you prefer a healthier version, use whole wheat noodles or soba noodles (buckwheat noodles). If you cannot get hakka noodles, use Chow Mein noodles, ramen and even spaghetti.
- Vegguies: You can add veggies of your choice. Mushrooms (button or cremini) bring in a meaty texture and umami flavor. Skip, if you’re not fond of mushrooms. Other than this, you can choose from the following as well: cabbage (green or purple), carrots, French beans (green beans), zucchini, broccoli, capsicum (bell pepper) and spring onions (scallions) or regular onions.
- Toasted Sesame Oil: The noodles get a lovely hint of smokiness from the toasted sesame oil. But if you don’t have it, use any other neutral tasting oil like sunflower oil or avocado oil.
- Herbs & Spices: Garlic, dried red chillies (or green chilies), celery or fresh coriander leaves are the herbs and spices added. Celery is not available everywhere in India. So, if you don’t get it, omit it.
- Soy Sauce: Try to use naturally fermented soy sauce as it imparts a lovely umami flavor to the noodles. You can even use Bragg liquid aminos or tamari.
- Rice Vinegar: Instead of rice vinegar, you can add white vinegar, apple cider vinegar, rice wine or mirin. Both rice vinegar and rice wine give a distinct flavor and taste to the dish.
How to make Hakka Noodles
Prep Veggies & Cook Noodles
1. First, finely chop all the veggies and set aside. You can even shred or grate them using a food processor.
I have used carrots, French beans, spring onions, button mushrooms, capsicum and cabbage.
2. Boil 4.5 cups water in a pot or pan with ½ teaspoon salt and a few drops of oil.
When the water starts boiling, add 200 grams Hakka noodles. Stir with a fork and begin to cook them.
Cook the noodles, according to the package instructions. The noodles have to be cooked until al dente or just about cooked.
3. Drain cooked noodles in a colander. Rinse noodles with fresh water very well. This stops the cooking process and removes the starch, preventing the noodles from being sticky.
4. Add 1.5 teaspoons toasted sesame oil. If you do not have this oil, use any other neutral tasting oil.
5. Toss noodles well, so that the noodle strands get evenly coated with the oil. This step also gets rid of stickiness from them.
Stir Fry Ingredients
6. Heat 2 tablespoons sunflower oil (or any neutral tasting oil) in a frying pan or wok.
On medium-low to medium heat, sauté 2 to 3 dried red chilies (broken and seeds removed) and 1.5 teaspoon finely chopped garlic for about a minute.
7. Increase the heat a bit and then add the 3 to 4 small finely chopped spring onions and 8 to 10 finely chopped French beans. Stir fry for about 3 minutes.
Tip: For non-stick frying pans, keep the heat to medium and for cast iron or carbon steel pans or wok, use medium-high to high heat.
8. Add 4 to 5 finely chopped button mushrooms, 1 small to medium finely chopped carrot and 1 teaspoon finely chopped celery and continue stir-frying.
You can also add ½ cup finely chopped cabbage and 1 small to medium capsicum at this step. For the hakka noodles video in the post, cabbage is added.
9. Stir fry for about 5 to 6 minutes or until the edges of the veggies start to slightly brown.
I like the veggies to be cooked more, than what is the norm usually for this recipe.
You can cut down on the stir frying time, if you prefer half-cooked or more crunchy veggies.
10. Add 1.5 teaspoon soy sauce and mix well.
Make Hakka Noodles
11. Add the cooked noodles. Toss to mix and stir-fry noodles for 1 to 2 minutes.
12. Season with salt and crushed black pepper as per taste. Add ¼ teaspoon rice vinegar, white vinegar or rice wine.
13. Toss well and stir fry again for a minute.
14. Turn off the heat, add 1 to 2 tablespoons chopped spring onion greens and mix well. Or you can garnish with spring onions while serving.
15. Serve Hakka Noodles hot as is or accompanied with an Indo-Chinese dishes like Gobi Manchurian, Paneer Manchurian or Chilli Mushroom.
Expert Tips
- Cooking Noodles: Boil noodles until al dente, meaning having a slight bite to them. The noodles are again stir-fried on high heat which cooks them. Do not make the noodles soft or overcook them as this will result in pasty soggy noodles.
- For Non-Sticky Noodles: Rinse the cooked noodles well in fresh water. This stops the cooking process and removes the starch. Toss and mix cooked noodles with some oil. This gets rid of the stickiness and does not turn them lumpy too.
- Chopping Veggies: Make sure to finely chop, shred or cut the veggies to juliennes, as all the stir frying is done on medium to high heat and in less time.
- Frying Pan or Wok: Use a wok/kadai or a frying pan with handles, so that you keep on moving the pan while tossing and stir-frying. Cast iron or carbon steel pans work great for stir frying on high heat but you can easily make these noodles in a regular Indian kadai or even a frying pan.
- Stir Frying: Usually in restaurants and street stalls, the ingredients are stir fried on very high heat which gives the typical smoky flavor to the dish. It also helps in retaining crunch in the veggies and does not steam them. In a regular home kitchen, it is difficult to replicate such high heat. So, you can use medium to medium-high or high heat of your burner stove to make this dish. For non-stick pans, stir fry on medium heat.
- Authentic Flavors: To get an authentic flavor in the dish, I recommend adding these 3 ingredients – toasted sesame oil, celery and rice vinegar or rice wine. These can be skipped, but adding them makes a lot of difference to the final dish. You can add all or either one of them.
- Gluten-Free Options: To make gluten-free version, use gluten-free noodles and tamari or bragg liquid aminos.
Step by Step Photo Guide Above
Hakka Noodles Recipe (Indian Chinese Style)
Ingredients
For cooking hakka noodles
- 200 grams hakka noodles or 1 pack of Ching's hakka noodles
- 4.5 to 5 cups water
- 1.5 teaspoons toasted sesame oil – for coating the noodles
Other ingredients
- 2 tablespoons sunflower oil or any neutral tasting oil – for stir frying
- 2 to 3 dry red chilies – broken and deseeded or ½ teaspoon chopped green chilies
- 1.5 teaspoons garlic – finely chopped
- 3 to 4 spring onions (scallions) small-sized – finely chopped, reserve a few greens for garnish
- 8 to 10 french beans – finely chopped
- 4 to 5 button mushrooms – finely chopped * check point no 1 in notes below
- 1 carrot – small to medium, finely chopped or shredded
- 1 bell pepper (capsicum) – red, green or yellow, small to medium, finely chopped or thinly sliced
- ½ cup cabbage – finely chopped, optional
- 1 teaspoon celery stick – finely chopped , optional
- ¼ teaspoon rice vinegar or white vinegar or rice wine or mirin
- 1.5 teaspoons soy sauce (naturally brewed) or tamari – add as needed
- salt as required
- crushed black pepper or black pepper powder, as required
- 1 to 2 tablespoons spring onions greens – chopped or coriander leaves, for garnish
Instructions
Cooking noodles
- Heat 4.5 cups of water in a pan with salt and a few drops of oil, until it comes to a boil.
- Add the hakka noodles and cook the noodles until al dente or according to the package instructions.
- When noodles are cooking, rinse and chop all the veggies or you can chop them before you start cooking noodles.
- Drain and rinse the cooked noodles in running water, so that the noodles stop cooking.
- Next add toasted sesame oil to the noodles and gently mix, so that the oil gets evenly coated on them.
- Set the cooked noodles aside.
Stir-frying
- Heat oil in a wok or kadai or a frying pan.
- On medium-low to medium heat, first add the dry red chilies and garlic.
- Sauté for a minute, then add the finely chopped spring onions and french beans
- Increase the heat a bit and stir fry for 3 minutes. For non-stick frying pans, keep the heat to medium and for cast iron or carbon steel pans or wok, use medium-high to high heat.
- Add the mushrooms, carrots, bell pepper (capsicum) and celery.
- Stir fry all the veggies on a medium to high heat until they start getting slightly browned from the edges. This will take about 5 to 6 minutes after adding the carrots.
- Add soy sauce and mix well.
Making hakka noodles
- Add cooked noodles and toss them well and stir fry for a minute or two on medium to high heat.
- Season with salt and pepper. Also, add rice vinegar or white vinegar. Continue to toss and cook on a medium to high heat for a minute. Toss the whole mixture well.
- Lastly add the chopped spring onion greens or garnish with spring onions while serving.
- Serve Hakka Noodles as is or accompanied with paneer manchurian or gobi manchurian or chilli mushroom.
Video
Notes
- The mushrooms have to be chopped fine, so that they cook quickly on a high heat while stir frying. Since mushrooms are used in this recipe, there is quite some moisture while stir frying the veggies which won’t be there if mushrooms are not added. You may have to reduce the time of stir frying if not using mushrooms.
- While stir-frying, use medium to high heat depending on the kind of pan or wok you are using. For non-stick pans, stir fry on medium heat and for carbon steel or cast iron skillet, you could use medium-high to high heat.
- Remember to shred or thinly slice or chop the veggies in even sizes. This ensures faster and even cooking while stir-frying.
- Stir-frying happens quick and fast, so make sure to prep and chop all your ingredients beforehand.
- If scaling the recipe up, stir-fry in batches. Doing this prevents the noodles from become soggy and moist. Stir-frying many ingredients together reduces the temperature in the pan resulting in the veggies and noodles releasing moisture. This occurs as the veggies and noodles steam instead of getting stir-fried and lightly seared which make for a crisp texture.
- For a spicy taste, add red chili flakes or use green chillies. You could also use spicy sauces like a chilli sauce or sriracha sauce or kimchi sauce.
Nutrition
Hakka noodles recipe from the archives was first published on Feb 2014.
Good taste.
Absolutely amazing taste.
Thank you.
All the receipe i have tried are super duper awesome. I have learnt cooking from.your receipe… Love you. I want receipe for dryfruits immunity laddu…plz help
Thanks a lot. I have shared dry fruits laddu recipe. You use the search icon/button for the recipe and will get it.
It is very helpful .
I really like this.
Thank you .
welcome and thanks.
Good. Amazing. Loved it!
The best hakka noodles recipe ever. Have made it so many times and have received plentiful praises for the noodles.
thanks for the feedback and rating lopamudra. glad you have liked the hakka noodles recipe.
THank you for this recipe. It was easy, healthy, and delicious!
welcome and thanks rekha.
Dassana,
You inspire me to cook ! I would say you are my cooking mentor. I refer to your recipes most of the times. Thanks so much for putting up this great work…
thank a lot vasu ???? glad to know that the recipes are helping you. happy cooking ????
Hello Mam, i want to know the difference in taste among soya, light soya and dark soya sauce? How these 3 different varities make a difference in dish?
meenakshi, the taste is different. light soya sauce is a lighter and milder version of soy sauce. whereas dark soy sauce has obviously more stronger flavor and color. regular soy sauce compared between the two. dark soy sauce is good for marinating. whereas for stir fries, light soy sauce or regular soy sauce works well. taste is different of all three.
Hi….your all recipes works fantastic all time…thanks a ton????????????
Welcome Amruta
wow I tried the Hakka noodles. those were so yummy
Thanks Capt.Nikhil
Your site is like my recipe book… any item i want to try… i just check ur space and i have it… each one comes out delicious and fantastic… thanks to ur detailed steps.
Welcome Carol. Thanks for sharing your positive feedback.
Made hakka noodles for the first time using this recipe and they came out fantastic! Thanks a ton! 🙂
Welcome Kiran. Glad to know that you liked the noodles recipe.
hi dassana..made hakka noodles but they came out to be sticky…otherwise was superb..thanks a lot… thumbs up ?
welcome farah. if you put a few drops of oil to the noodles after they have cooked then they won’t be sticky.
thanks for the receipe.
i wanted to make noodle for my Daughter B Day party.
so i wanted to know hwithout getting dry or sticky, how i keep boiled noodle fresh for long time.
welcome chitra. adding a few drops of oil while the noodles are cooking, helps in making then non sticky. even adding oil after the noodles are strained, keeps them non sticky and dry. also cover the cooked noodles with a lid.
hi dasana,
I have tired a few receipes of yours and today i am going to try hakka noodles tomorrow.
I wanted to tell u that many times I do no get the leave response section.
thanks trupti. the response section was closed for some days as we were migrating the website to a new server.
Your Hakka noodles recipe are s ooooooo good.
thanks irene
Awesum n sooooooooo guddd
thanks shweta for sharing positive feedback.
Superb and easy made
Sooooooooooooooooo goooooood”……..
thanks deekshita
I am really curious. I did use this recipe. it turned out good.
BUT, what i really want to know is why doesnt it taste similar to how it is when we eat outside? I just feel like it doenst taste the same. I know its unique in every restaurant, but there is some form of similarity which i dont find it when cooking home.
Is there a reason? :/ i really need to know. been searching for recipe for restaurant style for ages.
thanks fahim for the feedback. in restaurants msg is added. hence the taste is not same. home cooked chinese without msg will not taste like restaurant ones. another factor is they heat the pans/woks etc on a very very high flame which gives a smoky aroma & flavor to the stir fried food. this cannot be achieved while making at home.
thats Interesting. How much MSG would you suggest adding?
But thank you for the reply :). appreciate it
Also, why do you not use it? 🙂
welcome fahim. msg has some side effects on the body and thats why i don’t add it. if you do a google search, you will find the side effects.
hi ur recipes r really good specially this one 🙂
thanks radhika
Hi, thanks for all the amazing recipes on your site! Quick question…can I make all your Chinese noodle recipes with spaghetti instead? I find that the packaged Hakka noodles and instant noodles in the market have a lot of msg and oil. So wondering if I can use spaghetti and expect the taste to be reasonably ok?
Separately, for the manchurian balls recipe, I’d like to bake instead of frying the balls. Any thoughts on how high to pre heat the oven and how long to bake? I’ll follow the rest of the recipe exactly 🙂
Thanks so much!
Welcome PC. yes you can make chinese noodles with spaghetti. the taste will be fine as it depends upon the sauces and spices you add. i have never tried baking the manchurian balls. you will have to give a try. just lightly brush them with oil and bake them at 180 degree celsius.
I tried hakka noodles &it came out well. Thanks.
welcome renu. thanks for the feedback.
Can i use egg noodles instead of hakka? I am planning togive a try tom.
yes you can add egg noodles.
Always refer ur recipes.
Very helpful
kanishka, glad to know this. keep visiting the blog.
Very yummy
thanks kavita
Will try your recipe
I tried the recipe yesterday.. and as usual it turned out fantastic.. My husband and I loved it.. Will try it more often now when my in-laws and parents visit.. I was feeling proud of myself coz I neva thought that I could cook Chinese without anything going wrong.. We clicked a few pictures and sent it to my Mum and she surely was impressed.. 🙂 I am glad you posted this recipe. Thanks a tonn..
thats great to know pooja. cooking chinese is pretty easy. also one can adjust the seasoning as per one’s taste. in noodles, one can do a lot of varitions, by adding different flavored sauces and veggies.
Hi,
Tried out this with paneer manchurian, came out well.ur right adding celery makes a lot of difference in taste.tried manchurian earlier also but without celery,this time taste is no doubt far better.
one doubt ,i used fresh celery.which is better for Chinese dishes dry or fresh celery.
Thnx
fresh celery is better. its gives a nice fresh aroma of the celery in the dish. in fact in our home science classes, we were told to include celery in the chinese cooking. that time wher i lived, we did not get fresh celery. so even with the same recipes, the taste and flavor was different.
Hi dassana
Your recipes are fantastic
I am nt so pro in cooking ..so hav to keep referring to net for gd recipes of even the simplest stuff.. Earlier I visited tarla dalal etc sites bt once I happened to see ur blog n tried the recipe. Since then I hav been a Bigg fan.. the step by step instructions with photos n then consolidated recipe are a boon to pple like us. U also give valuable suggestions for trying variations. So a big big thank you… keep blogging.. al the best
Best wishes
Manali
hi manali, thanks a lot. i am glad that the step by step instructions are helpful and the recipes come out good.
Tried it came out nice……by the way
.do u use any manure for ur home kitchen plants….if yes can u share…coz ur celery looks great
i use natural manure (made from natural materials for composting) and vermiculture compost which i buy from outside. i don’t know which brand they are. we have an annual plant and flower exhibition here and i buy in bulk from this exhibition.
hi dassana ,
I tried this recipe.it came well and taste also good. all your posts are good
and easy to follow. I like the way of your presentation on the menus.It shows
your love on cooking.keep going.we support u.
regards,
priya.
thanks priya for this sweet feedback. reading such positive feedback, i feel more motivated and inspired to blog.
Hi Dassana,
I hv been following your recipes since almost an year now…n I really like dis stepwise illustration.thanks alot for d wonderful recipes.i love cooking and yr blog hs made me a get fan of yours.
welcome neha and big thanks for this motivating feedback.
The recipe, the step by step pictorials and the end result – All outstanding! We prepared it and the vessel in which it was made has never been cleaner, after my son and husband were done eating. Loved it! Thanks for sharing.
welcome sonika. your comment made by smile.
I liked the idea of red chillies and garlic saute in the beginning. I did that and didnt need any hot spices after. It was a good kick!
thanks for sharing your variation.
Hi,
For the celery, do you use the stalks or the leaves?
i use the stalks. but sometimes i add the leaves too. but less of leaves and more of stalks.
Tried it. Very simple to follow and came out very well like your other recipes. I am a fan!
thanks anu.
nice
Thank you very much for such wonderful recipes .
welcome pushpa
I am a big fan of your recipes. I try them all the time. I used to like Chinese noodle but my Ayurvedic doctor forbade me to have them as it upsets my stomach .
Can noodles be cooked with Indian spices ?
Bye
Suman
thanks suman. yes noodles can be cooked with indian spices.
Thanks for all the awesome recipe..you make cooking easy n fun.. I would rate all ur recipes 10/10
Thanks for sharing it with us:)
welcome rose and thanks for the 10 out of 10 rating 🙂
Hello
Wow what a recipe. Yum Yum Yummy…Definitely going to try this at my own.
Thanks for sharing this such an awesome recipe.
Cheers
Sakshi
welcome sakshi
Hi Dassana,
Nice post. And I have one silly doubt. What is the difference between Hakka noodles and plain instant noodles?
hi akriti. actually there are many many variations of making noodles and hakka noodles happens to be one of them. these noodles come from the hakka province in china. they were brought to india, by the chinese migrants from the hakka province. its they who have made hakka noodles popular in india. also the kind of noodles that is used for hakka noodles is different from the instant noodles.
I like this tasty Indo-Chinese recipe!
Hi Dassana, Another fabulous recipe. Will try it out for sure ! 🙂 One question…which oil do you use/recommend for stir frying chinese recipes??
hi radhika, you can use any light non flavored oil. here i had used rice bran oil. but sometimes i use sesame oil too. you can use the regular sesame oil or the asian one. both work well in indo chinese recipes.