Chinese Bhel is a delicious Indo-Chinese vegan snack made with crispy fried noodles. Make this easy Indian/Asian noodles salad in minutes and wow your guests!Indo-Chinese is a term we Indians have coined. This cuisine is also very much an integral part of the Indian street food DNA.
Ingredients
To prep the noodles300 gms Veg Hakka Noodles
1 tsp Yondu
Water as needed
1-2 tbsp oil
3-4 tbsp cornflour
Oil for frying
To prep the veggies
1 tbsp sesame oil
10 cloves garlic
1 bunch scallions seperate the white and green parts
2 carrots
1 cup cabbage
1 Bell pepper
1/2 cup chilli garlic sauce
1 tbsp vinegar
1-2 tbsp tomato ketchup optional
2 tsp Yondu
salt
pepper
1 tsp sugar
1/4 cup cilantro
Method
To prep the noodles- Add a teaspoon of Yondu to the water when boiling noodles.
- Then add and cook the noodles al dente as per instructions on the packet.
- Strain the water and spread the cooked noodles on a plate or over a baking sheet. Pour some oil and toss it.
- Once they cool down, then add cornflour and give coat them. Oil and cornflour prevent them from sticking to one another and helps absorb the excess water.
2 ways to fry the noodles- To deep fry, heat oil in a frying pan.
- Then fry the noodles in batches, in hot oil till they turn light golden and crisp. Spread them out as much as you can. Flip them a couple of times to ensure even cooking.
- Break them once they cool down.
- To fry in an Air Fryer, fry the cooked noodles in small batches at a time.
- Cover the air fryer basket with foil with gaps around the edges. Prick a few holes in the foil for air circulation.
- Place the noodles onto the foil-lined basket and place them into the air fryer at 300 degrees F for 10 minutes.
- Toss the noodles every 5 minutes to ensure even frying.
- Once done, take out the crispy noodles and break them lightly.
- You can prepare these crispy crunchy fried noodles in advance and store them in an airtight container.
To prep the veggies- Then comes the part where you cook the veggies. Shred/chop all the veggies and keep them ready.
- In a wok, add sesame oil. Fry garlic, onions, and the white part of the green onions.
- Then add shredded carrots, cabbage, and bell peppers to the wok. Cook on high flame and ensure that the veggies don't cook fully. They need to have a crunch.
- Add chili-garlic sauce, rice vinegar, pepper, and sugar. You can also add tomato ketchup here. Then add Yondu. Mix them well on high flame till the sauce combines with the veggies.
- Take it off the flame and allow it to cool.
How to assemble
- In a mixing bowl, add the broken fried noodles.
- Then add this prepared vegetable sauce mixture. Mix them all together.
- Garnish with the green part of the spring onions and cilantro.
- Chinese Bhel should be served immediately as it will become soggy later. It should be crispy and crunchy at the time of serving.