There would be hardly any Indian who wouldn’t have tried the desi chow mein and fried rice, we believe. With the huge fanfare of Indian Chinese in our country, there are many more passionate experiments with the cuisine that have taken place here than in China. At a street side cart, you’ll find them selling chow mein. In a fine-dining restaurant, you’ll notice several variations of hakka noodles and fried rice being offered to you. In fact, the concept of Instant noodles too has encroached the Indian homes and carved a place in the hearts of kids and adults alike.
Well, I’m an ardent fan of authentic Indian-Chinese myself. From chicken in black bean sauce to burnt garlic fish and schezwan fried rice, we’ve got plenty of gravies and side dishes to devour here. However, if you ask me about that one thing that satisfies me the most, it has to be chicken noodles. Not only is it filling, it also gives you a sense of complete meal without any additional side dishes. The interesting thing to note here is that the noodles that we keep slurping and relishing day in, day out are actually 4000 years old. Isn’t that fascinating?
It is believed that one of the first batch noodles was prepared from wheat dough. China has been considered the birthplace of this invention during the period of the Han dynasty in the 3rd century AD, and as they say, the rest is history. Do you remember the chilli oil noodles that were trending a while back? The boiled noodles were mixed in a bowl of chilli oil, made from Sichuan peppercorns, chilli flakes, garlic and hot oil. Not just Chinese, but other Asian communities like the Koreans have also been eating chilli oil noodles for quite some time now.
Whether it was due to the K-pop craze in the country or simply a repetition of history, noodles have been experimented with time and again. However, if you want to stick to your classic chicken noodles like me, then you could try some variations too.
Go ahead and give these delicious chicken noodle recipes a shot.
1. Hoisin Chicken Noodles
The flavourful and dark-coloured hoisin sauce is often mistaken for soy sauce. The difference lies in its blend of spicy and sour taste which changes the overall impact of the dish. Take some egg noodles, toss them with some red capsicum and beans. Throw in your chicken pieces and pour your hoisin sauce right away. The beautiful colour and the distinct aroma of these noodles will keep you busy slurping.
2. Teriyaki Chicken Noodles
Here, not only is the sauce the star of the dish, the noodles play an equally important role too. The fine strands of angel noodles are mixed together with carrots, broccoli and bell peppers. These are seasoned with a dark-coloured teriyaki sauce. The mildly spicy noodles are filled with chicken breast pieces and cooked along with whisked eggs in olive oil.
3. Schezwan Chicken Noodles
This has to be my favourite recipe from the lot. Schezwan sauce plays its magic each time and this time it is the noodles that need to be ready for its spell. Noodles are mixed with a pre-prepared chilli chicken dish and then schezwan sauce is added to it.
4. Thai Peanut Chicken Noodles
Infuse the Thai flavours in your bowl of noodles with kaffir lime, basil leaves and special Thai peanut butter. Paired with charred corn and some lime watermelon, the chicken noodles are taken to a whole new level.
