American Chop Suey

Ingredients:
2 onions, each cut into 8 pieces
1 carrot, cut into thick pieces
8-10 french beans, cut into 1″ pieces
1 cup cabbage, cut into big pieces
4-5 babycorns, cut diagonally into two to three pieces
2 green bell peppers, cut each into 8 pieces
1 tsp light soya sauce
1 1/2 tsps chilli sauce
3/4 tbsp vinegar
1 1/2 tbsps tomato sauce
1 tsp brown sugar
1 1/2 tbsps cornflour combined in 1 cup water
salt to taste
black pepper powder to season
2 tbsps sesame oil or peanut oil

For fried noodles:

3 cups par-boiled noodles, drained and dried on a kitchen towel, sprinkle a tbsp of cornflour and mix
oil for deep frying

• To parboil vegetables, boil a liter of water with 1/2 tsp salt. Add carrot, cabbage and beans to the boiling water and cook for 2-3 mts. Remove from heat, strain and pour cold water over the vegetables and strain again. Keep aside.

•   Heat oil in a large wok, once the oil is hot, add the onions and saute on high for 2 mts.

•   Add the baby corn and capsicum and saute for 5 mts. Add parboiled vegetables and saute for another 3 mts.

•   Add soy sauce, vinegar, chilli sauce, tomato sauce, black pepper, sugar and salt and mix. Add 2 cups of water and bring to a boil. Reduce flame and cook for 3-4 mts. Add the corn flour along with water and go on stirring continuously till it thickens slightly and coats the vegetables. Remove from heat and keep aside.

• To prepare fried noodles, heat oil for deep frying in a heavy bottomed vessel. Once hot, reduce flame to medium and place around 1 1/2 cups of noodles (if the vessel is small, add only one cup) and cook till it turns golden brown. Remove onto absorbent paper and repeat with rest of the noodles.

•   To serve, place the fried noodles on a plate. Ladle the vegetables over the bed of fried noodles and top with a bull’s eye (fried egg). Topping with egg is purely optional. Serve warm.