Soooooooooooo. Have you watched this lovely documentary on Netflix called “What The Health”? No? Good. Don’t. Unless, you’re ok with making lifestyle changes. And if you have watched it, and didn’t get remotely spooked, then you’ll have no idea where I’m coming from. It’s been relatively controversial, and I’m not one to fall into a fad or anything, but substantial data and decent logic, will make me question things for sure. I won’t go into deets, but this documentary basically conveys the message that meat isn’t good for you. Now, I’m a pretty big omnivore. I love my leafy greens and veggies, but am a huge fan of a good steak/fish/goat/lamb/mussels/etc. I love it all…. But the data was a little too convincing. So convincing, that I’m trying that vegan life for a little while to see if I can actually see a difference in my health.
These past few days, all my meals have been vegan. I specifically even bought condiments and switched out lots of dairy products to make sure I was sticking to being vegan. It hasn’t been easy, but I don’t miss the meat and everything tastes amazing! So, I can’t really complain….yet. And yes, the hubs is on board for the most part. If he’s eating at home, he’ll eat whatever I make because his theory is “if you’re (me) doing something that is benefitting our bodies, I can’t really complain!”. I love him for that btw!
I was searching high and low for different meals to make this week since I’m so used to turning to meat for protein, and hakka noodles struck my mind! If you’re not sure what hakka noodles actually are, they are basically a noodle dish that is this medley of Indian and Chinese flavors, commonly known as IndoChinese. Can be vegetarian or with egg or with chicken. I normally get my hakka noodle fix from a local Indian restaurant, but it was time I figured these out for myself! I figured it was going to be one of the easiest, fastest, efficient ways to get a big pot of something delicious in my belly! And hello, leftovers galore if I make it a bigger pot! Which is a giant win for me these days since I mostly take my lunch to work everyday. Want another easy noodle dish? Check out how I make these easy asian noodles!
This whole thing came together within 30 minutes as well, which is a huge factor for me. Like HUUUUGE. It’s gotta be good, fast, and nutritious. And the amount of vegetables you can stick into this, it’s basically a rainbow guys.
Ingredients:
- 8-10 ounces of vegan hakka noodles (I found mine at the Indian grocery store) or soba noodles
- 1/2 of a large red onion, sliced thinly
- 4 medium cloves of garlic, sliced thinly
- 3 tbsp of oil, divided
- 1 inch of ginger, finely chopped
- 6-7 small sweet peppers, sliced
- Baby carrots (or a large carrot), sliced into rounds – I chose to slice about 10 baby carrots since I didn’t have a large carrot on hand
- 1/4 lb of green beans, sliced into little pieces
- 2 cups of shredded red and/or green cabbage
- 2 tbsp of soy sauce
- 2 tsp of rice vinegar
- 2 tbsp of water
- Sambal oelek or sriracha to taste
- salt to taste
- ground black pepper to taste
- 2 tsp of toasted sesame seeds
Directions:
- Cook the noodles according to the package instructions and keep aside. I also like to toss all of the noodles with 1 tbsp of oil to keep it from sticking to each other.
- Heat the other 2 tbsp of oil in fairly large skillet on medium heat. When it’s heated, add the onions, garlic, ginger, carrots and start to saute for 3-4 minutes.
- Add the rest of the veggies, and saute until they are golden around the edges, about 3-4 minutes. Add a little bit of salt to taste.
- Meanwhile, in a separate bowl, mix together the soy sauce, rice vinegar, water, and sriracha.
- Add to the veggies and give it a good toss. Throw in the noodles now and mix it all together until everything is coated. If you feel like you need to add a little bit more soy sauce to coat it all, definitely add some.
- Add ground black pepper to taste, and the sesame seeds and give it another good toss before serving!
These as leftovers are a game changer for what I take to work. You can make a giant batch on Sunday, which is what I did and ended up with leftovers for lunch Monday and Tuesday! I highly recommend you try these if you’re in a noodle rut, or just can’t get enough noodles in your life, which always the case for me. No, like seriously, I could live on noodles if that was an option.
If you give these a try, leave me a comment! I’d love to see how they turned out for you!
- 8-10 ounces of vegan hakka noodles (I found mine at the Indian grocery store) or soba noodles
- 1/2 of a large red onion, sliced thinly
- 4 medium cloves of garlic, sliced thinly
- 3 tbsp of oil, divided
- 1 inch of ginger, finely chopped
- 6-7 small sweet peppers, sliced
- Baby carrots (or a large carrot), sliced into rounds - I chose to slice about 10 baby carrots since I didn't have a large carrot on hand
- 1/4 lb of green beans, sliced into little pieces
- 2 cups of shredded red and/or green cabbage
- 2 tbsp of soy sauce
- 2 tsp of rice vinegar
- 2 tbsp of water
- Sambal oelek or sriracha to taste
- salt to taste
- ground black pepper to taste
- 2 tsp of toasted sesame seeds
- Cook the noodles according to the package instructions and keep aside. I also like to toss all of the noodles with 1 tbsp of oil to keep it from sticking to each other.
- Heat the other 2 tbsp of oil in fairly large skillet on medium heat. When it's heated, add the onions, garlic, ginger, carrots and start to saute for 3-4 minutes.
- Add the rest of the veggies, and saute until they are golden around the edges, about 3-4 minutes. Add a little bit of salt to taste.
- Meanwhile, in a separate bowl, mix together the soy sauce, rice vinegar, water, and sriracha.
- Add to the veggies and give it a good toss. Throw in the noodles now and mix it all together until everything is coated. If you feel like you need to add a little bit more soy sauce to coat it all, definitely add some.