Gong Bao Chicken

Ingredients 

For the marinade

• 1 1/2 teaspoons potato flour or 2 1/4 teaspoons cornstarch
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons light soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon Shaoxing rice wine or medium-dry sherry
• 1 tablespoon water 
• 500-600 grams boneless chicken breasts, skin-on or skinless, cut into small chunks

For the sauce

• 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon potato flour or 1 1/8 teaspoons cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon dark soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon light soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon Chinkiang or Chinese black vinegar or rice vinegar
• 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon homemade chicken stock or canned chicken broth, or water

 For the chicken

• 3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• Ginger (enough to equal the amount of garlic), thinly sliced
• 5 spring onions, white parts only, cut into 1/2-inch lengths
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• A  handful of dried red chiles (at least 10) preferably Sichuanese
• 1 teaspoon whole Sichuan pepper
• 1/2 cup roasted unsalted peanuts

Directions

• Make the marinade
• 1. Mix the potato flour or cornstarch and salt in a small bowl. Slowly add the soy sauce, rice wine, and water mixing constantly with a fork. (If using potato flour, the marinade can be more of a paste rather than a liquid marinade, but press on.)
• 2. Add the chicken pieces and stir to coat the chicken evenly. Set aside at room temperature.
• Make the sauce
• 3. Combine the sauce ingredients in a small bowl. Set aside.
• Make the Gong Bao chicken
• 4. Snip the chiles in half or into three pieces if large. Wearing rubber gloves, discard as many chile seeds as possible.
• 5. Add 2 tablespoons of the oil to the wok and heat it over high heat. When the oil is hot but not yet smoking, add the chiles and Sichuan pepper and stir-fry briefly until they’re crisp and the oil is spicy and fragrant. Whatever you do, be mindful not to burn the spices. You can remove the wok from the heat if necessary to prevent overheating.
• 6. Raise the heat to high, plop in the chicken pieces, and fry them, stirring constantly. As soon as the chicken cubes have separated, add the sliced ginger, garlic, and scallions and continue to stir-fry for a few minutes, until everything is fragrant and the meat is cooked through. Check one of the larger pieces of chicken to make sure.
• 7. Stir the sauce and then carefully swirl it into the wok, continuing to stir and toss. As soon as the sauce has become thick and shiny, add the peanuts, stir to combine, and serve immediately.

Pav

1 package active dry yeast (1 tbsp)
¼ cup water
1 cup milk, scalded
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons butter + a little extra
1 teaspoon salt
3 ½ cups sifted all purpose flour
1 egg
------------------------------------------------------
Method:

Preheat oven to 375 F.

Soften active dry yeast in warm water.

Combine milk, sugar, butter and salt. Cool. Add 1 cup of the flour and beat well with a wooden spoon.

Beat in softened yeast and egg.

Gradually add remaining flour to form soft dough. Knead the dough (around 7 - 8 minutes) until soft and pliable, then roll into a ball and place in a large oiled bowl.

Cover and let rise in warm place until doubled in size (1½ to 2 hours)

Turn out on lightly floured surface and shape into 12 - 16 small rolls (I like to weigh them for evenness, 75 grams per roll)

Place rolls next to each other in a baking tray, then cover and let rise for another ½ hour, until risen.

Bake in moderate oven, 375 degrees F for 15 - 20 minutes, until the rolls are golden. Brush a little extra butter on the crusts while still warm.

Note: If you have bread machine, just place all the ingredients into the bowl, then make a dough using the dough cycle. Take out the risen dough, shape rolls by hand, and let rise again. Bake as directed.

Smacked cucumber salad

Ingredients

1 cucumber (about 300g)
4 tsp salt
1 tbsp finely chopped garlic
4 tsp caster sugar
2 tsp light soy sauce
4 tsp Chinkiang (brown rice) vinegar
2 tbsp chilli oil (recipe below)
a pinch or two of ground roasted Sichuan pepper (optional)

Lay the cucumber on a chopping board and smack it hard a few times with the flat blade of a Chinese cleaver or with a rolling-pin. Then cut it lengthways into four pieces. Hold your knife at an angle to the chopping board and cut the cucumber on the diagonal into 4-1cm slices. Place in a bowl with the salt, mix well and set aside for about 10 minutes. Combine all the other ingredients in a small bowl. Drain the cucumber, pour over the sauce, stir well and serve immediately.

Variations

A sweet-and-sour sauce for smacked cucumber

Smack, cut and salt the cucumber as in the main recipe, but dress it with the following seasonings: 4 tsp salt, 1 tbsp finely chopped garlic, 2 tsp caster sugar, 2 tsp Chinkiang vinegar, 1 tsp light soy sauce and, if you fancy a bit of heat, 2 tbsp chilli oil.

Smacked cucumber with sesame and preserved mustard greens

For a nutty, savoury flavour, smack, cut and salt the cucumber as in the main recipe, but dress it with the following seasonings: 2 tbsp Sichuan preserved mustard greens (ya cai), 1 tsp finely chopped garlic, 1 tbsp runny sesame paste, 14 tsp clear rice vinegar, 1 tsp sesame oil, and salt to taste.

HOW TO MAKE CHILLI OIL 

 

• 1 cup plus cooking oil
• 50g Sichuanese or Korean ground chillies
• 1 teaspoon sesame seeds
• Small piece of ginger, unpeeled, crushed

 

Directions

1. 
   
   Heat the oil over a high flame to about 400 degrees, then leave for 10 minutes to cool to around 275 degrees.
2. 
   
   Place the ground chillies, sesame seeds, and ginger in a heatproof bowl. Have a little cool oil or a cupful of water on hand. When the oil has cooled to the right temperature, pour a little on to the chillies; it should fizz gently but energetically and release a rich, roasty aroma. Pour over the rest of the oil and stir. If you think the oil is too hot and the chillies are likely to burn, simply add a little cool oil to release the excess heat. Do, though, make sure that the oil is hot enough: without the fizzing, it won't generate the rich, roasty fragrance you need. If you pour all the oil on to the chillies, then discover it's not quite hot enough, you can return the whole lot to a saucepan and heat gently until it smells fabulous and the color is a deep ruby red, but do take care as not to burn the chillies. (The chillies will seethe and fizz like a witch's cauldron as you heat them, releasing the most marvellous aromas, but can easily start to burn and blacken.)
3. 
   
   When the oil has cooled completely, decant it and the chilli sediment into jars and store in a dark, cool place. Leave it to settle for at least a day before using.

Pressure Cooker Pho Ga

 

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons canola or vegetable oil
• 2 medium yellow onions, split in half
• 1 small hand of ginger, roughly sliced
• 1 small bunch cilantro
• 2 star anise pods
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 4 cloves
• 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
• 1 teaspoon coriander seeds
• 1 small black cardamom (optional)
• 6 to 8 chicken drumsticks (or around 1.2 kg chicken meat with bones)
• 1/4 cup (60ml) fish sauce plus more to taste
• 2 tablespoons rock sugar or raw sugar, plus more to taste
•  
• To Serve:
• 4 servings pho noodles, prepared according to package directions
• 1 small white or yellow onion, thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup thinly sliced scallions
• 2 cups mixed herbs (cilantro, basil, and mint)
• 2 cups trimmed bean sprouts
• Thinly sliced Thai chilis
• 2 limes, each cut into 4 wedges
• Hoisin sauce and Sriracha

Directions

1. 1.
   Heat oil in a pressure cooker over high heat until smoking. Add halved onions and ginger, cut side down. Cook without moving, reducing heat if smoking excessively, until onion and ginger are well charred, about 5 minutes.
2. 2.
   Add cilantro, star anise, cinnamon, cloves, fennel seed, coriander, and chicken to the pot. Add 2 litres of water, the fish sauce, and the sugar to the pot. Seal the pressure cooker and bring it to high pressure over high heat. Cook on high pressure for 20 minutes, then shock under cold running water in the sink (or release pressure valve if using an electric pressure cooker).
3. 3.
   Open pressure cooker. Transfer chicken legs to a plate. Pour broth through a fine mesh strainer into a clean pot and discard solids. Skim any scum off the surface of the broth using a ladle, but leave the small bubbles of fat intact. Season broth to taste with more fish sauce or salt and sugar if desired.
4. 4.
   To serve, place re-hydrated pho noodles in individual noodle bowls. Top with chicken legs, sliced onions, and scallions. Pour hot broth over chicken and noodles. Serve immediately, allowing guests to add herbs, bean sprouts, chilis, lime, and sauces as they wish.
   
   
   
   * makes 1750 ml of broth which is 580ml for 3 portions and 430ml for 4 portions
   
   

Gobi Aloo ki Tahiri

Ingredients

650gms white onions thinly sliced
5 tbsp vegetable oil
3 tbsp softened butter
250gms basmati rice
600mls water or vegetable stock

2 bay leaves
1 tsp cumin seeds
8 black peppercorn
5 cloves
1” cinnamon

5 garlic cloves roughly chopped
1 ½” ginger roughly chopped
2 green chillies

1 tbsp coriander seeds coarsely crushed
¼ tsp mild chilli powder
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp garam masala powder

3 tbsp Greek yoghurt/ thick yoghurt whisked
350gms potatoes cut into quarters
350gms cauliflower cut to florets
Salt to taste
Fresh coriander for garnish

In a large frying pan heat the vegetable oil on a medium heat and add 400gms of the onions. Fry for 25-30 minutes stirring every few minutes. As they begin to turn golden brown drain the fried onions on kitchen paper and set aside.
Coarsely crush the whole spices in a pestle and mortar and set aside. Add the garlic, ginger and chilli in a blender and blitz to a fine smooth paste with a splash of water.
Heat butter in a large heavy bottom sauce pan on medium heat until the foam begins to subside. Add the crushed coarse spices and fry for 20 seconds. Add the remaining onions and stir well frying for 12-14 minutes. Now add the garlic, ginger and chilli paste and fry for a minute. Add the coarse crushed coriander seeds, mild chilli powder, turmeric powder and garam masala. Add a splash of water, scrape the bottom of the pan stir well and fry for 20 seconds. Add the potatoes and cook for 5 minutes.
Taking the pan off the heat add the yoghurt stir well and put it back on a low heat. Add half the amount of water or stock and simmer with the lid on for 4 minutes. Stir well, season to taste and add the cauliflower florets. Continue simmering with the lid on for 5 minutes.
Now add the rice, handful of fried onions and the remaining water. Put the heat up to medium and cook for 8 minutes without the lid. Turn the heat back to a low setting and continuing cooking with the lid on for 14-15 minutes. Turn the heat off and let the tahiri rest.
Leave the Tahiri to cool slightly for 20 minutes before you open the lid. Serve with the fried onions for garnish and some fresh coriander. Accompany the tahiri with pudina raita and some mooli or onion salad.

Pork Indad

Ingredients

1 kg pork shoulder, marbled with fat and cut into 1 - 2 inch chunks. 
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons unscented oil
25 ml dark rum

Spice Mix:

10 long mild red chillies, preferably Kashmiri
1 teaspoon whole cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/2 teaspoon whole black pepper
1/2 teaspoon whole cinnamon sticks or cassia bark
1/2 teaspoon whole cloves

Sauce:
 
2 large onions, chopped
Thumb sized piece of ginger, peeled and chopped
12 garlic cloves, crushed
1 green bird's eye chili, chopped
1 teaspoons tamarind concentrate
25 ml white or red wine vinegar 
Small handful fresh mint leaves, chopped
50 ml of water, if required + an extra 1/2 cup beef stock or water

Garnish

Fresh mint leaves
50 ml dark rum
Salt and sugar to taste

Method

Salt the pork and keep aside for about half hour.

In a heavy pan, dry roast the chillies, cumin, pepper, cinnamon and cloves, one by one, for about 30 second to a minute, until fragrant. Blend until finely powdered.

In the same pan, dry fry the onion for a few minutes until the raw smell has disappeared and the onions are very lightly toasted.Add the ginger and garlic, and fry for another minute. Remove to a blender, and add the green chili, tamarind, vinegar and mint leaves. Process to a fine paste. Add the spice mix, and blend until well mixed. Add a splash of water to help the process, if required.

Heat the oil in a a heavy based pot. Add the salted pork slices, and fry on a high heat, in batches, until the meat is caramelised and sealed. Remove to a plate, leaving any rendered fat behind. 

Deglaze the pot with the rum. Add the onion-spice paste to the pot, and saute for a few minutes, scraping up any caramelised bits. Turn down the heat, and fry this masala for about 15 minutes, stirring often. The oil and fat will start to separate at this point. Season with a little salt.

Add the 1/2 cup water or stock to the pot and simmer gently, until the sauce is quite thick.

Gently lower the fried pork into the sauce. Bring to a gentle boil, then stir until the slices are well coated with the masala. Add a little more water, if required, and simmer the pork on a low heat for at least an hour, topping up with more water is the sauce looks dry. The meat should be fork tender once it is cooked and the sauce should be thick, but not dry.

Season generously with the salt and sugar to taste, then stir in the rum.

Simmer for a few more minutes, then take off the heat and garnish with the fresh mint leaves. 

This dish tastes best if made a day ahead, and left to mature in the fridge. Reheat and serve with sannas, pulav rice or fresh bread. 


COPIED FROM TheTiffinbox for personal use only !!!

Beef Biryani

Masala Beef:

2 tablespoons neutral oil
1 kilo boneless chuck or blade steak, cut into chunks
1 large onion, chopped roughly
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 inch piece of ginger, grated
1 green chili, chopped
¼ cup of cilantro stalks, chopped
¼ cup mint leaves, chopped
4 – 5 tablespoons biriyani spice mix*
2 large tomatoes, chopped
¼ cup beef or chicken stock
Salt and pepper to taste

Biriyani Rice:

I tablespoon oil
½ tablespoon unsalted butter
1 inch piece of cassia bark
4 – 5 whole cloves
4 – 5 whole green cardamom pods
1 star anise
1 bay leaf
3 cups basmati rice
4 ½ cups boiling water
¼ teaspoon salt
A generous pinch of saffron

Garnishes:

2 tablespoons neutral oil
1 large onion, finely sliced
¼ cup unsalted cashew nuts
¼ unsalted raisins
Splash of rosewater
Small handful finely chopped cilantro
Small handful finely chopped mint
4 boiled eggs (optional) 

Raita:

1 cucumber, seeds removed, and finely diced
¼ cup plain Greek style yogurt
¼ teaspoon ground cumin
Salt to taste

Method:

Preheat oven to 300 F.

In a heavy, oven safe pot, drizzle in some oil, then sear the beef chunks on all sides, until caramelized and sealed. Do this in batches to avoid crowding the pan, and add more oil, as required. Remove the beef pieces to a plate.

Add the onion to the same pan, and fry, scraping up any caramelized bits of meat. Fry for a few minutes, until the onion starts to go brown around the edges, then add the garlic, ginger and green chili. Fry for 30 seconds, then add the cilantro and mint. When the herbs wilt, add the biriyani spice mix, and fry for an additional minute. Take off the heat, and scrape into a food processor or blender. Blend this onion mixture into a fine paste.

Add an extra splash of oil into the same pot, and return the onion masala to the pot. Add the tomatoes, beef and stock and bring to a gentle simmer.  Season with a little salt. Place a cartouche made of parchment paper on top of the sauce, then cover with a lid, and transfer to the oven. Let the meat slow cook in the oven for at least 2  - 3 hours, checking on the liquid level, every hour or so. Top up with extra stock, if it looks like it is drying out.
Meanwhile make the rice and garnishes.

Place the oil and the butter for the rice in a heavy based pan. When hot, add the cloves, cardamom, cassia, star anise and bay leaf. Fry for a minute until the spices are fragrant, then add the rice. Fry the rice for an additional minute.

Add the saffron, salt and boiling water to the rice. Use aluminium foil or a tight fitting lid, cover and cook the rice over a low heat for 15 minutes. Turn off the heat, and let the rice steam for an additional 5 – 10 minutes. Carefully open the lid and fluff the rice up with a fork.
For the garnishes, place the oil in a small pan, and add the onions. Caramelize the onions on a low heat for 20 – 30 minutes, until sweet and brown. Add a pinch of sugar to speed up the process, if you wish. To the same pan, add the cashews and raisins, and toast for a minute. Remove to a bowl and keep aside. When the beef is cooked, add a tablespoon of almond paste to the sauce. Taste and season with salt and pepper.

Start layering the biriyani. In a large, oven safe pot, or serving dish, place a layer of rice. Then add about a third of the beef masala on top. Sprinkle over a few caramelized onions, raisins and cashews, then a sprinkle of rosewater, cilantro and mint. Add a second layer of rice, then a second layer of beef , caramelized onions, raisins, cashews, rosewater, cilantro and mint.

Finish with a layer of rice. Sprinkle over the remaining onions, raisins, cashews, cilantro and mint and another splash of rosewater. Tuck halved eggs on top of the rice (if using) then cover with foil or a tight fitting lid and transfer back to a 200 F oven until ready to serve.

To make the raita, mix together the cucumber, yogurt and cumin. Season to taste with salt.

Serve the biriyani with the raita on the side.


*

3 inch stick of cinnamon or cassia bark

10 cloves

10 cardamom pods, lightly crushed (if using black cardamom, reduce to 5 pods)

4 bay leaves, dried

4 tbsp coriander seeds

2 tbsp whole cumin

1 tsp fenugreek seeds (methi)

1 tbsp fennel seeds

1/4 tsp of ground nutmeg (freshly grated is better)

3 or 4 pods of black cardamom, opened and lightly crushed (optional)

2 long mild red chillies

In a hot, heavy pan, add all the spices, except the nutmeg, and toss them around, constantly stirring, for around 1 - 3 minutes until they are lightly toasted and the kitchen smells heavenly! Do not allow the spices to burn, keep a sharp eye out. 

In a powerful spice blender, grind the spices till they are a fine powder. Add the grated nutmeg to the mix, stir and it is ready to use. If making a big batch, store in an airtight container.

Honey Ginger Chicken

3 tablespoons oil
1 large onion, cut into wedges
1 lb (500 g) boneless chicken thighs or breasts , cut into thin strips
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2-inch piece fresh ginger root, peeled and cut into matchsticks
½ teaspoon 5 spice powder
1 tablespoon fish sauce
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons honey
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

finger length red chili, deseeded and cut into thin strips, for garnish
spring onion or chopped cilantro leaves, for garnish

• Heat oil in a wok over high heat until very hot. Stir fry the onion until fragrant and translucent—about 1 minute. Add chicken and stir fry for 1-2 minutes. Add garlic and ginger and stiry fry for another 30 seconds.
• Reduce heat to medium and add five spice powder, and mix well. Add fish sauce, soy sauce, and honey, and stir fry 2 minutes more until chicken is well-coated with sauce and cooked through. Remove from heat and transfer to serving platter.
• Sprinkle with black pepper and garnish with chili and spring onion or coriander leaves. Serve hot with steamed rice.

Suon Nuong (Vietnamese Pork Chops)

INGREDIENTS

½ cup plus 2 tbsp. sugar
⅓ cup thinly sliced shallots
¼ cup thinly sliced lemongrass
2 tbsp. peanut oil
2 tbsp. soy sauce
2 tbsp. fish sauce
1 tbsp. ground black pepper
8 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 lb. ¼″-thick pork blade chops, pounded thin ( 6 veprovych kotlet )

Cooked white rice and nuoc cham (Vietnamese chili-garlic sauce), fried eggs for serving

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Heat ½ cup of sugar in a 1-qt. heavy bottomed saucepan over medium-high heat, swirling pan often, until sugar dissolves and turns to liquid caramel. Remove from heat; add ¼ cup boiling water. Return pan to heat; cook, swirling pan gently, until caramel dissolves in water. Remove from heat and let cool. Transfer to a food processor along with remaining sugar, shallots, lemongrass, oil, soy sauce, fish sauce, pepper, and garlic; purée until smooth. Place pork chops in a 9″ × 13″ baking dish and pour over purée; cover with plastic wrap and chill at least 1 hour or overnight.

2. Heat a 12″ cast-iron grill pan over high heat. Working in batches, add chops; cook, turning once, until charred in spots and cooked through, about 2 minutes. Serve immediately with rice,fried eggs and chili-garlic sauce.

Vietnamese dressing

• 30 ml (¼ cup) fish sauce 
• 30 ml (¼ cup) rice vinegar 
• 1 tbsp white sugar
• 70 ml (¼ cup) water
• 1 garlic clove, very finely chopped 
• 1 red birdseye chilli, very finely chopped 
• 1 tbsp lime juice

To make the dressing, place fish sauce, vinegar, sugar and water in a pan over medium heat and stir to combine. Bring mixture to just below boiling point, then set aside to cool. Add garlic, chilli and lime juice, and stir to combine.