Vegetable Chow Mein (Chinese Noodles with mixed vegetables)

Every country has its cuisine and when it comes to India,it is customised according to people’s tastes!So years ago say 1850 AD when the first Chinese settlement was put up in the imperial city of Kolkata (then Calcutta) the city pounced on the food with a vengeance.They expertly customised the food to match the tastes and very soon Chinese food for lunch and dinner were being savoured by almost all the populace,including the British Empire who was completely mesmerised by the array of absorption in people,cultures and food which Calcutta had attracted in less than a 50 years including the fact that the rich “Burra Babus”  – big men had turned almost British by visiting pubs and throwing lavish parties at their homes where trained cooks from East Bengal (now Bangladesh) served English feasts to please the highly critical,but good hearted Englishmen to derive a wondrous smile from amazed faces which were so prized to the Indian countenances!

The Chinese version of Chow Mein contained items like Pork,Beef and meat stocks which were alien to Indian cooking in those times!So they concocted a version which was :

• Oilier
• Drier
• Two versions : Vegetarian and Non Vegetarian as some castes of Indians were (and even now) were purely vegetarian to the extent that they did not touch Onion or Garlic!

This was followed by those days when the housewife wanted to make the same at home and so the Calcutta Chinatown was filled with small stalls where plump Chinese Women sold half boiled noodles in plastic packs,packs of beancurd (tofu) and exotic Chinese Vegetables.

My own tryst with this delicious wonder began in the year when me still a very small child had it in a freshly opened Chinese restaurant with my mother and my newly married aunt.We had gone shopping and were famished and wanted a drink.Seeing people eating noodles we were fascinated and asked the restaurant manager the name of the dish.He said “Chow Mein from China and its new to the Nawabi City of Lucknow”.We ordered a plate and loved it so much that we ordered another and then we had a new recipe to try out!

To boot my enthusiasm I had a classmate Michelle (lovingly called Misha) whose mom was a Chinese and yes she bought the most delicious Chow (as she called it).I gladly sacrificed my food for 2 tbsps of that delicious Chow!Those were the days when there was no social media,no effective cook books and more frustrating was that when I knew in a couple of years time that the recipe included Soy Sauce,Chilli Sauce,Vinegar and Ajinomoto (MSG) these were either not available or at exorbitant costs which killed the basic excitement to try this out!At that time we got locally manufactured noodles dried and packed which we boiled to the right texture and mixed with our vegetable stir fries (subzis) thereby giving an Indian touch to the exclusively Chinese recipe.

After some time the prices of the condiments dropped,but we came to know that MSG was cancerous and my grandma was strictly against the same (though she loved Chow Mein).So I made noodles without MSG and the learning is something to remember.I added Soy Sauce and salt the first time to make such a salty brine that we had to sprinkle it on the plant soil to keep out ants that were ruining our precious fruit crops.Misha was unavailable as the contact was lost and there was no one to provide me her details.I had Chow Mein in a marriage and immediately ran to ask the Caterer and he was so good to say that for each cup of boiled noodles they used 1/2 tbsp Soy Sauce which was a real shock to me who used almost 1/2 a cup of it!Then started trial and error and finally in 2007 I made THE perfect Chow Mein on my little cousin’s 5th birthday!It was loved by everyone who had it and the 8 packs of 500 gms Noodles I made were completely empty which made me one of the proudest people on the planet that day!My grandma who was a strong critique of my cooking said finally ” Yes,it is the ultimate in taste”!What more could I want?

In due course of time I developed my trademark recipe which includes some other ingredients which gives it an “also spicy,also sweet,also salt,also slightly sour” and ultimately delicious taste.I am sharing this recipe remembering my grandma who was one of the biggest fans of this recipe!Misha this is to our friendship!

This recipe was entered for the 152nd FoodieMondayBloghop where the theme was Asian Recipes!

Some people sprinkle some toasted Sesame Seeds on top of the noodles.You can do that if you want,however I do not prefer the over nuttiness of the Sesame Seeds.You can also add meats like shredded chicken,pork or beef to make it more substantial!Use vegetables of your choice!

Links for :

1.Carrot and Daikon Pickle

Carrot and Daikon Korean Pickle

2.Thai Sweet Chilli Sauce

Thai Sweet Chilli Sauce (Nam Chim Kai)

Preparation Time : 1 hour

Makes : 4 servings

INGREDIENTS

For preparing the Noodles :

500 gms Noodles boiled according to instructions on pack

2 tbsp Oil

1 litreWater/as required

Iced water as required

1 tsp salt

The stir fry ingredients :

I bunch green Onions (whites and greens chopped separately)

1 Carrot – peeled and cut into matchsticks

1 cup Cabbage – shredded

1/2 Bell Pepper/Capsicum – chopped into thin and long ribbons

2 Button Mushrooms (Quartered) – optional

1/4 cup super firm Tofu – optional

1/4 cup beansprouts – optional

2 baby corns – chopped diagonally

2 cloves Garlic – finely chopped

2 tbsp Corn Syrup/Honey/sugar

1 tsp salt – optional

2 tbsp Soy Sauce

2 tbsp sweet Red Chilli Sauce (see recipe link on top)

2 tbsp white Vinegar

2 tbsp oil

1 tbsp sesame oil

METHOD

Boil the Noodles :

Boil the water in a pan and when it attains a rolling boil,add 1 tbsp oil and salt and mix well.Add the noodles and boil till al dente – the noodles should neither be too soft or very hard.

Boiling the noodles

This depends on the quality of noodles but takes 5 – minutes by the watch.Immediately immerse in ice cold water to stop the noodles cooking and separate the starch.Drain in a colander.

Draining them..

Prepare the stir fry sauce :

The vegetables…

Heat the oil in a pan and let it heat up.Add the chopped garlic and Onion whites and fry till translucent.

Add the carrot and cabbage and fry for 2 minutes,but never decreasing the heat.

Add the rest of the vegetables(keep 2 tbsp Onion greens and 1 tbsp beansprouts for garnish) and tofu,mushrooms and baby corn,the syrup/honey/sugar,soy sauce,chilli sauce and vinegar.

Adding the sauces…check the steam

Mix well to amalgamate and add the prepared noodles.Toss with all the ingredients to completely merge with the flavoured vegetables and the sauce coats the noodles uniformly!

Use 2 forks to mix the noodles which is by far the best way of amalgamation in my experience.In 3 – 4 minutes the noodles would be perfectly cooked and with a great texture.Mix in the Sesame Oil and toss to mix.

Take out a serving dish and garnish with the reserved green onions and bean sprouts.Serve with Carrot and Daikon Pickle (see link above) which is an absolute must as an accompaniment.Ketchup works great as well as do green chillies in vinegar!

Enjoy!

Shots to make you salivate..: