It is Indo Chinese. It is Chinese ingredients given a strange but lip smacking Indian twist. Chinese Bhel is Crispy Noodles with vegetables, tossed with sauce.
College crowd grouped in street corners and Chinese Bhel remind me very much of the street side food stall culture in India and how everything is prepared at lightning speed to cater to so many waiting in the line. And that’s where it tastes the best!! It is also a great quick fix snack for unannounced guests in the evening. So here it is – the crunchy, munchy Chinese Bhel. Enjoy!
Chinese Bhel
Ingredients:
- 2 cups noodles (Any kind noodles like small bags of Hakka noodles, Ramen or Maggi Noodles are good to use). or the ready to use Asian Chow mein noodles
- a couple of tablespoons of sev (available in Indian store) – optional
- 4-6 tablespoon chopped red onion
- 1/2 cup chopped cucumbers
- 2 Serrano peppers chopped (Optional)
- ½ cup cabbage very finely shredded – optional
- 1/2 – 1 Roma tomato chopped
- 2 tablespoons green bell pepper, chopped – optional
- 4 tablespoons fresh cilantro/coriander very finely, chopped
- 2 stalks of green/spring onion, chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon very very finely julienned fresh ginger
- 2 tablespoons oil
For the sauce: (adjust/modify the quantity of each of the ingredients below to your taste)
- 1 teaspoon concentrated tamarind paste + 1/2-3/4 tablespoon sugar
- a couple of teaspoons of soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon ketchup
- 1 tablespoon Sriracha or any hot sauce (Optional)
- 1 tablespoon cilantro mint chutney (optional)
Note: the vegetables may be used in any proportions as you wish. Some maybe omitted if you do not have them. The proportions of the sauce can be changed too, as per your taste. This is a very flexible recipe
Method:
If you are not using the ready to use noodles, break the noodles in to pieces (Do not crumble them), so they are separated, and not in clumps. Heat oil and fry the noodles at low heat, frequently tossing it around so all the noodles are cooked. It should look light brown and should be crispy to taste. Set aside.
Whisk all the ingredients for the sauce.
Place the fried noodles in the serving bowl and add all the above ingredients except the sauce. Toss.
Spoon the sauce uniformly over the noodles and toss again. Serve right away before the noodles get soggy.
this one sounds really interesting Soma. I wish I could just take that plate of bhel from here 🙂
🙂 Thanks
Just tried this out ! awesome. Thanks for sharing.
I think this is exactly what I want to eat after a long day at work. Quick and tasty!
Very innovate idea. Will give this one a try. Looks very simple.
loved the bhel… was yummo! kids loved it tooo,
found the same recipe on superveggiedelight.com/chinesebhel.aspx
wondering if its your another website?
Wow, the cooking method of this dish is great, I’ll try it later and I hope it tastes the way it look. Thanks for sharing!
Really nice – thanks for sharing. I tried it by cooking the noodles by boiling in water (as per instructions on packet) and then deep frying and put some finely chopped green chillies in the sauce – gave it an extra kick!!
Madee it tonight for dinner ! skipped ginger and bell pepper as i didnt have any at home:) added some green chillies ! soooooooooooooooooooooooo goood ! Got a 10/10 from everyone 🙂 But must say quite a fattyyyy dish ! the deep frying of nooodles !
Great recipe. I used fine wheat noodles which tasted lovely added some more soya sauce. Quick and easy to make! Thanks for sharing!
very innovative recipe
just one query.,…..did u boil the noddles and then fried them…..or straight away fried them….
Straight away fry them. They wil get sticky if they are boiled.
Really the recipe is good one.
Soma,
Can you kindly give me an idea of how much ingredients I would need, if I want to make this recipe for about 8-10 people?
Thanks in advance 🙂
Sulagna
The 12oz La Choy bag along with the other ingredients makes the snack for about 6 people (More than a few tablepoon per person). I would say keep at least 2 bags ready, with the ingredients. What I usually do for bigger parties is separate the other ingredients (other than the noodle) in two containers. I mix one bag first with the one set and when I see I need more I mix the noodles to the other set. It helps as the noodles does not get soggy as it sits. And you also have an idea how much more you would need.
Thanks a lot, Soma 🙂 I will try your recipe out this time. I was going through your blog this evening and came across some fabulous recipes. Would love to try those out sometime in future 🙂
of course a tasty dish but not a healthy one at all