Friday, January 04, 2008

A Chindian meal

There is no authentic version of the Chinese food we eat in India, so do not go to China expecting to eat Manchurian, Chilli chicken, Hot and sour soup or any of the dishes that we Indians love as Chinese food. However Indian Chinese or Chindian is a delicious addictive cuisine in itself. Here is a favourite meal of ours.
Mushrooms and Chicken in Black bean sauce

Ingredients

500 gms chicken breast - cut in 1/4" strips
2 tbsp rice bran oil (I use Tandul)
500 gms mushroom - Quatered
4 tbsp black bean garlic sauce (I like Lee Kum Kee Spicy blak bean sauce best)
2 teaspoons cornflour

For the Marinade
2 tbsp soy sauce + 1 tbsp vinegar and 1 tsp sugar OR 3 Tbsp Chicken Marinade from Lee Kum Kee
1 garlic clove - minced
2 teaspoons fresh ginger root - grated
2 red chiles - thinly sliced (optional)

For the Marinade
In a bowl, combine LKK Marinade or soy sauce, vinegar and sugar with the garlic, ginger and chillies, stir well and add chicken. Leave for 1 hour. Remove chicken from the bowl with a slotted spoon and to the marinade left behind add the stock or Maggi cube mix. Stir well. Set aside.

Method
In a wok or large frying pan, heat sesame oil over high heat. Add chicken and stir fry till lightly browned (3 minutes). Add mushrooms, and allow to cook till they release juices. Continue to stirfry till juices from the mushrooms have evaporated and they are slightly brown in patches. Now add the black bean sauce and stock-marinade mix and let them warm through. In a small cup, stir the cornstarch together with a little cold water. Pour this into the pan and cook, stirring constantly, until sauce is thickened.

For a vegetarian option double mushrooms and substitute Chings secret all stir fry sauce for Chicken marinade.

Stirfry of Jullienned vegetables

Ingredients
2 tablespoons oil
1 ½ cups carrot juliennes
1 head Broccoli Florets (set florets aside and julienne stalks)
1 cup french bean juliennes

Method:Put Wok on the flame and let it get hot. Add oil, swirl once to oat the base and add in julienned carrot, beans and broccoli stalks - in that order - stirring briskly all the time. Cook for 2 minutes. Add Broccoli florets. Splash 2-3 tablespoons of water into the wok. (This should really steam up the kitchen if your wok is hot enough). Toss vegetables well. Salt just before you serve.

Celery and Spring Onion Sticky rice
Ingredients
2 cups short and fat grained rice ( I like Kolam)
5 – 6 cups water
2 tsp Massels stock owder (I imort this from Australia but you can use Maggi Chicken or vegetable stock cubes in a pinch)
1 tbsp oil
1-2 whole red fresh chillies or some Chilli oil (optional)
½ cup garlic, chopped fine
1 cup celery sliced fine
2 cups spring onion sliced fine

Method
In a large deep pan place water, rice and stock cubes. Bring to a boil and simmer until rice swells, at this point take of ¼ cup of the cooking liquid and set aside. Let rice cook till all of the water is almost absorbed and switch of flame. Cover and keep till ready to serve. In a frying pan add 1 tbsp of oil and heat, add chopped garlic and sauté for a while until the edges start to get golden, add in the celery and stir well. Add the reserved cooking liquid from the rice and the spring onion and stir well. As soon as the spring onion starts turning bright green, take pan off flame and set aside and stir in salt to taste.

To serve pack rice tightly into a large 250 gm measuring cup and ease onto the plate, spook some of the Celery spring onion mix on top of the rice and top with a couple of chillies or a drizzle of chilli oil. Arrange the other two dishes around the rice and serve.




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1 comment:

Penelope Potty Snooper said...

MMMMMMMmm. my daughter told me that she had the most divine chicken in Black bean sauce thanks to your blog! I can't wait to try it.