Chinese Bhel

• For frying noodles

150 g Dry Noodles

1 Tbsp. Sea Salt 

6 cups Water

3 Tbsp. Corn Flour (corn starch)

Oil for frying

• For stir frying the vegetables:

1 Tbsp. Oil

2 Cloves of Garlic, finely chopped

1 inch Ginger, finely chopped

1 bunch Spring Onion, finely chopped (keep whites and greens separate)

½ Carrot, thinly sliced (julienne)

½ Capsicum, sliced

1 cup Cabbage, shredded

100 g Pepperwicks Hot Garlic Dip

3 Tbsp. Ketchup

½ tsp. Black Pepper

Salt, to taste

For making fried noodles:

1. Add water, sea salt and a few drops of oil in a deep pot and bring to a boil.
2. Lower the flame and add in the noodles. Cook on a medium flame till they become al dente.
3. Strain the noodles in a colander and then rinse the cooked noodles with fresh water.
4. Remove the noodles in a large tray and drizzle a few drops of oil to prevent the noodles from sticking to each other. Spread them and let the noodles cool down to room temperature.
5. Once cooled, we can begin the frying process. Before frying, add corn flour (corn starch) to the noodles and mix well so that all the noodles are coated evenly.
6. Heat oil for deep frying and bring to temperature.
7. Add noodles in batches, and fry them till light golden and crisp on one side. Then turn over and fry the second side till crisp and light golden.
8. Remove the fried noodles and place on a kitchen towel to drain off the excess oil.
9. Let the noodles cool before assembling the bhel.
   
   

Stir frying the vegetables:

1. Heat 1 Tbsp. oil in a wok or a deep kadhai. Add in the garlic, spring onion whites and ginger. Sauté for a minute on high flame.
2. Lower the flame to medium and add in the carrot, capsicum and cabbage. Cook for a minute or until they are half cooked yet crunchy.
3. Now add in Pepperwicks Hot garlic Dip along with the ketchup, black pepper and salt, to taste.
4. Increase the gas to a high flame, add 2-3 Tbsp. of water and mix well until the vegetables and sauce are all combined.
5. Turn off the heat and check for seasoning.
   
   

• Break the prepared fried noodles into smaller pieces, add it to the prepared sauce along with half the spring onion greens and mix until everything is well combined.
• Transfer the Chinese Bhel into serving bowls, garnish with the leftover spring onion greens and serve.

• You can use any noodles of your choice:  hakka noodles, maggi, whole wheat or any other noodles made from alternative flours.
• To check if the oil is hot enough, drop a few strands of noodles and see if they rise and start sizzling. If they settle down at the bottom, let the oil heat up a little more until it is at the right temperature. This is important to prevent having oily and soggy noodles.
• You can fry the noodles in advance and store in an airtight container once cooled.
• We add a dash of water to prevent the sauces from burning on a high flame.
• You can also make these with leftover crispy noodles from your favourite Chinese restaurant.
• If you do not have spring onions, use regular onions to replace the spring onion whites and fresh coriander to replace the spring onion greens.
• Adjust the sweetness or spiciness of the bhel as per taste by increasing the amount of ketchup or hot garlic dip going into making the sauce.