Homemade spicy, soupy noodles for those monsoon cravings

For the Bold: Drunken Rice Noodle Stir-Fry from Raman Okram

If you can handle the heat, turn to this one, from Delhi-based food blogger Raman Okram, who knows his noodles. A bachelor who lives alone and is committed to his fitness regimen, noodles are an easy way to get the carbs, protein and fibre he needs, fast.

The recipe he shares with us is inspired by a Thai dish called Pad Kee Mao or Drunken Noodles - so called, because it has enough chilli in it to cure even the most severe hangover. The dish has the classic Southeast Asian flavour trio of salty, spicy and sour, with fiery Thai bird’s eye chillies. Raman uses his homemade chilli oil as a replacement to enhance the flavour and give the noodles a glossier coating and adds sausage and shrimp to give it some heft. The combination of heat + meat makes it the ideal cure for a Saturday night that grew into a Sunday morning - or for when you’re binge-watching a K-drama and get the cravings from everyone on screen eating noodles.

• How often he makes it: Once a week
  
  
• Why you should give it a go: This one’s pantry/freezer-friendly and doesn’t require a lot of prep.

Drunken Rice Noodle Stir-Fry

Ingredients

• 1/2- 3/4 cup cooked flat rice noodles
• 2 tbsp oil
• 1 tbsp chopped scallions
• 2-3 cloves pinched garlic
• 1 red chilli, sliced thinly
• 1/4 cup smoked sausage
• 1/4 cup diced chicken, seasoned lightly with salt and pepper
• 1/4 tip shrimp, seasoned lightly with salt and pepper
• 1 tsp light soy sauce
• 1 two dark soy sauce
• 1 tsp fish sauce
• Pinch of sugar
• Water as needed
• 1 egg
• A handful of fresh basil
• 1 heaping tsp Ramano’s OG chilli oil/any other chilli oil

For the Desi-At-Heart: Street-Style Chowmein from Anshul Malhotra

Desi Chinese or Chinjabi is a love child of Indian street-style food and Chinese food - and that’s what twentysomething food blogger Anshul Malhotra is sharing with us. Growing up in a home where both his parents worked and shared kitchen duties, he saw cooking as a basic, must-have skill, gender no matter. Now he shares his skills and love for food with his IG followers, posting easy everyday recipes and the occasional stunner of a cake.

Anshul says the pandemic has demonstrated the need to for youngsters to ramp up their culinary know-how from 2-minute noodles to more substantial stuff. This is his version of desi “thele waali chowmein” (hawker style chowmein), inspired by his childhood in Meerut, where he used to eat a plateful at the chaat bazaar each week. He’s taken the basic chowmein with cabbage, carrot and peppers and added chicken + chillies to make it filling + spicy. He also has a hack - adding turmeric to give the noodles that classic golden street food hue.

• How often he makes it: Once a week, for the entire family

Hawker-Style Spicy Chowmein

Ingredients

• 1 packet hakka noodles (150 g)
• 1 tsp turmeric powder
• 2 tbsp oil
• 1 large or 2 small chicken breasts, cut into thin strips and marinated in 1 tsp soy sauce, 1 clovesof grated garlic, salt & pepper to taste
• 1 small cabbage, thinly sliced (roughly 1/2 cup)
• 1 onion, thinly sliced
• 1 large carrot, julienned
• 1 small green bell pepper, thinly sliced (roughly 1/4 cup)
• 2-3 deseeded dried red chillies
• 3-4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1-1 1/2 tsp dark soy sauce
• Pinch of MSG (optional)
• Salt to taste

(You can also add bits of whatever vegetables you may have lying in the fridge - mushroom, broccoli, etc).

For the Vellage-Foeward: Spicy Coconut-Buckwheat Noodles from ana Khatiwara

Ana Khatiwara is a Kalimpong born-and-bred girl from the hills who now calls Pune home. The 24-year-old fashion graduate was diagnosed with PCOS and was on a cocktail of pills to manage the disorder. Looking for a way out of daily medication, she did her own research and switched to a vegan diet - and it helped.

This soupy noodle bowl has plenty of fresh vegetables and tofu - but you can add and subtract based on what you like. The veggies are combined with gluten-free buckwheat noodles, coconut milk, peanut butter and a special chilli paste made from Dalle Khursani (fireball) chillies, native to Darjeeling and Sikkim. The small, plump, dome-shaped chillies are amongst the hottest in the world, ranging between 1,00,000 to 3,50,000 Scoville Heat Units - on par with habaneros.

It’s not for the faint-hearted, so Ana says if you can’t source Dalle paste or handle the heat, use whatever chilli paste you have on hand. The final broth is well-balanced: hot enough to clear a sinus, but creamy enough to keep you from tearing up!

• How often she makes it: Pretty often, because everyone loves this dish at home!

Spicy Coconut-Buckwheat Noodle Bowl

Ingredients

• 1 packet buckwheat noodles (roughly 300 g)
• 1/2 tsp soy sauce
• 1 tsp brown sugar
• 2 tsp hot sauce, like Sriracha
• 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 2 tsp lemon juice
• 2 tbsp peanut butter
• 2 tbsp coconut oil
• 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1/2 cup crumbled tofu
• 1/2 cup oyster mushrooms, chopped
• 1/2 cup bell peppers, sliced
• 1/2 cup leeks, sliced
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 cups coconut milk
• 1/4 tsp red chilli paste
• For garnishing: 2 tsp chilli oil, coriander leaves, chopped spring onions