Chicken Hakka Noodles

Sometime back I had put a poll on my Instagram handle as to know which recipes my readers were looking forward to on the blog. Sometimes, it is good to know if there are any specific recipes that are not there on the blog, but are being searched. I know that the blog misses some basic posts and InShaAllah, I am planning to work on them, but time is more precious now and hence it will take time than expected. 🙂 Anyway, one of them that was mentioned was hotel style Chicken Hakka Noodles.

When we cook home food, why do we want hotel style? I am always bogged down by this question. Home food should taste like home food, period. I agree that certain food is made the best by hotels, but I wouldn’t agree to making it the same way at home. Home made food will always have an added ingredient to it called “love”. I was hearing a lecture sometime ago that the difference between home food and hotel food is that one is made for love, and the other is made for gain. It makes a big variance in the level of energy both would give to your body. Ever since I have been on my weight loss phase, I can clearly make out the difference since my dependence on outside food has become minimal and I am cooking for myself. I am trying to make that change for my family as well, though the progress is slow…

Coming back to the Hakka noodles, this is not something I make regularly. Even though Azza and the men love it, Rasha hates it. So while trying to balance everybody’s likes, this dish becomes once-in-a-while. I use the Pancit Canton noodles to make this, since they are thick, non-sticky and holds its shape well. You can use any thick noodles that are specifically used for this.  I usually pressure cook the chicken and reserve the stock to add back to the cooked noodles. It adds a lot of flavor. You can see my vegetable chopping is very haphazard. That’s all the time I have and as long as I am able to get them into their tummies without being picked out, I am happy. 😀 The ingredient that brings all the difference in flavor is surely the white pepper powder. I can’t stress enough. I used to add black pepper powder before but after trying the white pepper powder, I would never want to go back to the black ones for my noodles. Just get a small quantity and stock it to add to your noodles and soups. Off to this simple recipe…

If you love your noodles, then you may be interested in the Mie Goreng recipe… 🙂

Chicken Hakka Noodles

Course Meals

Cuisine Indo Chinese

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes minutes

Total Time 35 minutes minutes

Servings 4

Author Rafeeda

Ingredients

• 450 gm noodles
• 350 gm boneless chicken
• 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
• 1/4 tsp black pepper powder
• 1/4 cup chicken stock
• 3 tbsp oil
• 3 large eggs
• 1 carrot juliened
• 1 capsicum chopped small
• 1 bunch spring onion onion side and greens chopped separately
• 1/2 cup roughly chopped cabbage
• 3 tbsp soya sauce
• 2 tbsp red chilli sauce
• 1 tsp white pepper powder
• Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

• Boil the noodles till el dente as per pack instructions. Do not overcook! Drain and wash well in cold water. Set aside.
• Cube the chicken into small pieces. Toss up in the turmeric and some salt in a pressure cooker.
• Cook on high in a pressure cooker for one whistle. Push up and release the pressure.
• Measure out the stock. If more than 1/4 cup, cook on high flame till it dries up. Otherwise, add water to fill the cup.
• Heat oil in a wok. Break in the eggs with some salt and pepper and scramble it well.
• Add in the spring onion side and the vegetables and toss well. Cook on high flame till half done.
• Add in the chicken, stock, sauces, white pepper and seasoning and cook well for a couple of minutes. Make sure salt is slightly higher since it will get adjusted once noodles are added.
• Add the cooked noodles and toss to coat well all over. Cook for another two minutes, add the spring onion greens and switch off. Serve warm.

Notes

Instead of cooking the chicken in the cooker, you can saute it in a little oil till done. For making the stock, you can dissolve one cube into 1/4 cup hot water and proceed with the remaining steps.