These easy vegan Hakka noodles are flavorful Indo-Chinese style noodles with healthy vegetables and a spicy sauce. The dish originated from Chinese people living in Kolkata, India, and usually includes cabbage and peppers stir-fried with wheat noodles in a spicy oil-based sauce.
I first discovered Hakka noodles at our favorite Indian restaurant. I was just in the mood for noodles that day when I saw this on the menu. My husband thought that I was crazy to order Chinese-style noodles at a great Indian restaurant, but after one bite, the whole family wanted my Hakka noodles.
I recreated the recipe at home and now it's one of our favorite plant-based easy weeknight meals! Plus, it's great for meal prep and it's delicious when served the next day in lunches either hot or cold.
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🧾 Ingredients and substitutions
- Noodles - use a good quality spaghetti or linguini-style noodle. You can also use rice noodles, soba noodles, or bean thread noodles to make it gluten-free.
- Onions - any type of onion will work.
- Cabbage - you can chop up your own cabbage or to make it super easy, simply use a bag of pre-cut coleslaw mix.
- Carrots - I like to use a shredded carrot to give it a pretty color and a little sweetness. (This will also come in a bag of coleslaw mix.)
- Bell Peppers - I like to use red peppers, but you can use any color of bell pepper that you wish. (You can also toss in any other veggies that you want like baby corn, peas, or broccoli.)
- Oil - any neutral-flavored oil with a high smoke point will work well. You will stir-fry the veggies at a high temperature, so you will not want them to smoke. Safflower or sunflower oils work well.
- Garlic - for added flavor.
- Ginger- (optional) a teaspoon of freshly grated ginger adds a lot of flavor to the noodles.
- Garlic Chili Sauce - this is a key ingredient in making this dish great. You can find this sauce in the Asian section of most major grocery stores. It is very spicy, so you may want to adjust the amount to suit your taste. If you can't find it you can use sriracha sauce instead.
- Seasoned Rice Vinegar - this adds a little sweetness and a nice flavor. White vinegar will also work if you don't have rice vinegar.
- Soy Sauce - for flavor. You can also use Tamari or Bragg's Liquid Aminos if you need the Hakka noodles to be gluten-free.
- Green Onions - to garnish the noodles and give more flavor.
🥄 How to make vegetable Hakka noodles
Step 1 - Boil noodles of choice according to package instructions, drain and rinse.
Step 2 - While the noodles are cooking, wash and chop up the onion, and pepper into small pieces, and shred the cabbage and carrots (or use a bag of pre-shredded cabbage.)
Step 3 - Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a large wok and stir fry the onions for 1 minute, then add the remaining veggies and 1/4 teaspoon salt and cook over medium-high heat for 3 more minutes before transferring to a large bowl.
Step 4 - Turn the heat to low and add 1/3 cup of oil, 1/4 cup garlic chile sauce, and 3 cloves of garlic and stir. Allow the garlic chile sauce and oil to warm for about 5 minutes to let the flavors blend.
Step 5 - Add 2 tablespoons of soy sauce and 2 tablespoons of seasoned rice vinegar to the oil and stir.
Step 6 - Then toss in the cooked noodles and veggies and mix well.
Step 7 - Garnish with 1/4 cup of chopped green onions.
👩🏻🍳 Pro Tips
- Saute the veggies at a high temperature for just a few minutes to ensure that you don't overcook them and that they stay crispy.
- Simmer the garlic and chili sauce in the oil over low heat to infuse the flavors and so that you don't burn the garlic.
- The garlic chili sauce is very spicy, so only add 1-2 tablespoons if you don't like things too spicy. These are supposed to be spicy noodles though, and the garlic chili sauce is what gives the dish much of its flavor.
🍞 How to gluten-free Hakka noodles?
You can use rice noodles or bean thread noodles instead of wheat noodles in this recipe to make gluten-free Hakka noodles. It won't be exactly the same as traditional Hakka noodles, but it will still be a delicious noodle dish. You will also want to swap out the soy sauce for Tamari or Bragg's Liquid Amino. Every other ingredient is naturally gluten-free.
🥡 Storage and reheating
Refrigerate: The vegan Hakka noodles will keep well in the fridge for 3 - 5 days in a sealed container. They work great for lunches and the noodles are even delicious when served cold.
Freeze: Vegetable Hakka noodles will freeze well and can be stored in an airtight bag or container in the freezer for up to 3 months. You can reheat them directly from the freezer or put them in the fridge overnight to thaw.
Reheating: Reheat the noodles in the microwave for about 3 minutes or pan-fry until warm.
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📋 Vegetable Hakka noodles recipe
Hakka Noodles (Vegan)
Ingredients
- 16 oz. noodles (about 8 cups cooked) any long thin noodle will work
- 1 medium onion
- 6 cups cabbage (chopped small) or a bag of pre-cut cabbage
- 1/2 cup carrot (shredded)
- 1 medium bell pepper
- 1/3 cup oil (any neutral-flavored cooking oil)
- 1/4 cup garlic chile sauce
- 3 cloves garlic (minced)
- 2 tablespoons seasoned rice vinegar
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce (or Tamari or Bragg's Liquid Aminos)
- 1/4 cup green onions chopped
Instructions
- Cook noodles of choice according to package directions, drain and rinse.
- While the noodles are cooking, wash and chop up the onion, and pepper into small pieces and shred the cabbage and carrots (or use a bag of pre-shredded cabbage.)
- Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a large wok and stir fry the onions for 1 minute, then add the remaining veggies and 1/4 teaspoon salt, and cook over a high heat for 3 more minutes before transferring to a large bowl.
- Turn the heat to low and add 1/3 cup of oil, 1/4 cup garlic Chile sauce, and 3 cloves of garlic and stir. Allow the garlic Chile sauce and oil to warm for about 5 minutes to let the flavors blend.
- Add 2 tablespoons of soy sauce and 2 tablespoons of seasoned rice wine vinegar to the oil and stir.
- Then toss in the cooked noodles and veggies and mix well.
- Garnish with 1/4 cup of chopped green onions.
Notes
- Saute the veggies at a high temperature for just a few minutes to ensure that you don't overcook them and that they stay crispy.
- Simmer the garlic and chili sauce in the oil over low heat to infuse the flavors and so that you don't burn the garlic.
- The garlic chili sauce is very spicy, so only add 1-2 tablespoons if you don't like things too spicy. These are supposed to be spicy noodles though and the garlic chili sauce is what gives the dish much of its flavor.
Nutrition
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Another good one Monica! Thank you!
I'm so happy that you liked the recipe, Mandy! 🙂
Wow! These noodles are delicious and so easy! I made them for dinner last night and was excited to have leftovers for lunch today. I think they may even be better today!
I'm so happy that you liked them, Ben!
What sized package of noodles makes 8 cups?
You will want to use a full 16 oz package of noodles.