Vegetable Rice Noodles

Ever since I can remember, my mom has made fancy dishes at home.  I would feel ecstatic when my friends would get so jealous and gush about what a cool mom I had. One who would make yum dishes like noodles, fried rice, burger and pizza at home and sometimes pack them for my school lunch as well. This was way before the entry of McDonalds, Pizza Hut or the influx of Chinese restaurants (God does that make me feel old)

Even after exposure to the variety of veg noodles out there; like that at a top end Pan Asian restaurant, the small Chinese place round every corner, or the roadside thela wala, I still like my mom's noodles the best. The only time someone has come close to her's has been the cook making 'Chowmein' in the pantry of the Mumbai- Delhi super fast express. Go figure.

However, with Sanju and me going on all types of health food fads and the big hullabaloo on the ill effects of eating refined flour, one day, I decided to try making my Mom's recipe with rice noodles. We loved it so much that now I almost always make this dish with the rice noodles instead of the traditional flour noodles.

Recipe

Ingredients

1 pkt rice sticks/rice vermicelli

5 - 6 cloves garlic

1 large onion or 1 bunch spring onion

2 medium sized carrots

1 bunch runner beans

1 cup shredded cabbage

2 tbsp oil

2 tbsp soya sauce

2 tbsp chilli sauce

1 tsp vinegar

2 tsp pepper

Salt to taste

Preparation

Preparation is key when making any Chinese dish. I'm never more organized as when making Chinese food in my kitchen. Not even when baking. Although it takes time, the fact that the cooking time is minimal makes up for the headache.

• Cut carrot, beans, cabbage and capsicum into thin long strips
• Cook the carrots and beans in boiling water for 15 - 20 mins till they go soft.
• Remove from heat and add the cabbage. Cover and let stand for 15 minutes after which, drain out the water
• Finely chop garlic and onion
• Pour boiling water into the rice noodles, cover and let stand for five to seven minutes. Drain water

Method

• Take oil in large pan
• To this add garlic and onion and saute till onion turns translucent
• Add the capsicum and stir for a few minutes
• Add the carrots, beans and cabbage
• Add salt and pepper and stir everything together
• Reduce the heat and add soy sauce, chili sauce, vinegar and stir for a few minutes to let the vinegar cook out
• Add the rice noodles and stir until everything is evenly mixed.

Notes

Instead of adding the carrots and beans to boiling water, the mix can be microwaved with water for 20 mins.

The water drained out of the carrot, beans and cabbage mixture is an excellent vegetable stock. It can be stored and used in soups or even risotto.