Indian Street Style Vegetable Noodles with Cabbage

Name: Indian Street Style Vegetable Noodles with Cabbage
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 35 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Indian
Ingredients: 8 oz (225 g) dried hakka or thin wheat noodles (or spaghetti); 1 tbsp (18 g) fine salt, for the boiling water; 1 tsp (5 ml) neutral oil, for tossing the drained noodles; 3 tbsp (45 ml) neutral oil (sunflower or peanut); 5 cloves (15 g) garlic, finely chopped; 2 whole (14 g) green chilies, slit and thinly sliced, seeds kept for more heat; 1 medium (150 g) medium yellow onion, halved and thinly sliced; 3 cups (225 g) green cabbage, thinly shredded; 1 medium (150 g) green bell pepper (capsicum), cut into thin matchsticks; 1 medium (100 g) medium carrot, peeled and cut into thin matchsticks; 4 stalks (60 g) spring onions (scallions), whites and greens separated, thinly sliced; 2 tbsp (30 ml) dark or regular soy sauce; 1 tbsp (15 ml) red chili sauce (Indian-style or sriracha); 1 tbsp (15 ml) white vinegar; 1 tbsp (15 ml) tomato ketchup; ¾ tsp (1½ g) freshly ground black pepper; ½ tsp (2 g) granulated sugar; fine salt, to taste, start with ¼ teaspoon (1.5 g)

From the MyKitchenBank Kitchen

Smoky, garlicky, peppery Indo-Chinese hakka-style noodles tossed over blazing heat with crunchy cabbage, capsicum, carrot and green chili. Ready in 30 minutes and tastes like the street cart.

Prep: 20 min
Cook: 15 min
Wait: 5 min
Total: 40 min
Makes: 4 generous servings (about 6 cups / 1.2 kg cooked noodles)

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Ingredients

4 servings

For the noodles
8 oz (225 g) dried hakka or thin wheat noodles (or spaghetti)
1 tbsp (18 g) fine salt, for the boiling water
1 tsp (5 ml) neutral oil, for tossing the drained noodles
For the stir-fry
3 tbsp (45 ml) neutral oil (sunflower or peanut)
5 cloves (15 g) garlic, finely chopped
2 whole (14 g) green chilies, slit and thinly sliced, seeds kept for more heat
1 medium (150 g) medium yellow onion, halved and thinly sliced
3 cups (225 g) green cabbage, thinly shredded
1 medium (150 g) green bell pepper (capsicum), cut into thin matchsticks
1 medium (100 g) medium carrot, peeled and cut into thin matchsticks
4 stalks (60 g) spring onions (scallions), whites and greens separated, thinly sliced
For the sauce
2 tbsp (30 ml) dark or regular soy sauce
1 tbsp (15 ml) red chili sauce (Indian-style or sriracha)
1 tbsp (15 ml) white vinegar
1 tbsp (15 ml) tomato ketchup
¾ tsp (1.5 g) freshly ground black pepper
½ tsp (2 g) granulated sugar
fine salt, to taste, start with ¼ teaspoon (1.5 g)

Equipment (6)

Large pot (4–5 quart / 4–5 L) for boiling noodles
Large wok or 12-inch (30 cm) deep skillet
Colander
Sharp knife and cutting board
Wok spatula or long tongs
Small bowl for the sauce mixture

Steps

Before you start

Have every vegetable sliced and every sauce measured before you turn on the stove; the stir-fry takes only about 5 minutes and cannot be paused.
Slice vegetables into thin, even matchsticks (about ¼ inch / 6 mm) so they cook at the same speed and mix easily with the noodles.
Use a large wide pan or wok so ingredients fry rather than steam. If your pan is smaller than 12 inches (30 cm), cook in two batches.
Check the noodle package for its cooking time and subtract 1 minute; the noodles finish cooking in the wok.

1
Prep the vegetables
- Shred the cabbage, slice the onion, and cut the capsicum and carrot into thin matchsticks about ¼ inch (6 mm) wide.
- Chop the garlic, slice the green chilies, and slice the spring onions, keeping the whites and greens in separate piles.
- Arrange everything near the stove.
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Ready when: Vegetables are uniformly thin and sorted into piles
Tip: Uniform cuts matter more than speed: thick pieces stay raw in a 5-minute stir-fry.
2
Mix the sauce
- In a small bowl, stir together the soy sauce, chili sauce, vinegar, ketchup, black pepper and sugar until the sugar dissolves.
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Ready when: Sauce looks smooth and uniformly dark red-brown
3
Boil the noodles
- Bring 2 quarts (2 L) of water to a rolling boil in the large pot and add the 1 tablespoon salt.
- Add the noodles and cook for 1 minute less than the package time, stirring once or twice so they don't clump.
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Ready when: Noodles are flexible and mostly tender but still have a firm, slightly chalky center when bitten
Tip: Undercook slightly; they will soften further in the wok and turn mushy if fully cooked now.
4
Drain and cool noodles
- Drain the noodles in a colander and rinse under cold running water for 20–30 seconds to stop the cooking and wash off surface starch.
- Shake well to remove water, then toss with 1 teaspoon oil.
- Let them sit and dry for 5 minutes.
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Ready when: Noodles are cool, separate, and glossy with no pooling water
Tip: Wet noodles will make the stir-fry soggy and cause sticking.
5
Heat wok, fry aromatics
- Heat the wok over high heat for about 1 minute until it just begins to smoke.
- Add the 3 tablespoons oil and swirl.
- Add the garlic, green chilies and spring onion whites and stir-fry for 20–30 seconds.
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Ready when: Garlic smells fragrant and is pale golden, not brown
Tip: If the garlic darkens to brown it turns bitter; lift the wok off the heat briefly if needed.
6
Stir-fry the vegetables
- Add the onion and stir-fry for 1 minute.
- Add the carrot, capsicum and cabbage and keep tossing constantly over high heat for 2–3 minutes.
- Sprinkle in ¼ teaspoon salt.
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Ready when: Cabbage is wilted at the edges with a few charred spots, while carrot and capsicum stay crisp-tender and bright
Tip: Don't crowd the pan; cook in two batches if vegetables are piling above the rim.
7
Add noodles and sauce
- Add the dried noodles to the wok, spreading them over the vegetables.
- Pour the sauce mixture evenly over the noodles.
- Toss with tongs or two spatulas, lifting from the bottom, for 2 minutes until every strand is evenly coated and hot.
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Ready when: Noodles are evenly dark brown, steaming hot, with no pale patches or sauce pooling at the bottom
Tip: Taste a strand and add a pinch of salt or a splash of soy sauce only if needed; the soy is already salty.
8
Finish and serve
- Turn off the heat.
- Toss in the spring onion greens.
- Serve immediately in warm bowls or plates, with extra chili sauce or sliced green chilies in vinegar on the side if you like.
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Ready when: Spring onion greens are bright green and just wilted from the residual heat
Tip: Serve right away; noodles absorb sauce and stiffen as they sit.

Good to know

Tips

Keep the heat high throughout; the smoky street-cart flavour comes from fast frying, not long cooking.
Dry noodles and dry vegetables are the secret to non-soggy results; pat washed vegetables well.
Add protein if you like: toss in 1 cup (about 200 g) of crumbled paneer or pressed tofu after the onions.
Adjust heat by removing chili seeds, or add a splash of green chili sauce for more bite.

Make ahead

"Shred and slice all vegetables up to 1 day ahead and refrigerate in airtight containers. Mix the sauce up to 3 days ahead and refrigerate. Boil, rinse and oil the noodles up to 4 hours ahead and keep covered at room temperature."

Storage & reheating

"Room temperature: up to 2 hours. Refrigerator: airtight container for up to 3 days. Freezer: not recommended, as vegetables turn soft. Reheat in a hot skillet with 1 tablespoon of water or oil for 2–3 minutes, tossing until steaming hot."

Substitutions

dried hakka or thin wheat noodles (or spaghetti) → Spaghetti, linguine or rice noodles. Spaghetti works well; cook to 1 minute under package time. Rice noodles should be soaked or cooked per package and are gluten-free if you also use tamari.
green bell pepper (capsicum) → Red or yellow bell pepper. Milder and sweeter, with more colour.
red chili sauce (Indian-style or sriracha) → Sambal oelek or 1 tsp red chili powder plus 2 tsp water. Adjust to taste for heat.
dark or regular soy sauce → Tamari. Makes the dish gluten-free when paired with gluten-free noodles.