Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Black Pepper Noodles with Stir Fried Vegetables
It was late morning on a lazy Sunday. The sun shone high up in the sky and the garden had burst into a myriad of colours. Under the clear blue skies, the scent of flowers hung heavy in the air and the bees buzzed noisily. High up on the branches of a tree whose name I don't know, the weaver birds worked furiously to build their nests.
It was the kind of day that made me want to do nothing but bask in the warm sun and feel the gentle breeze ruffling through my hair. It was the kind of day that made me want to lie down on a hammock (which, unfortunately, we don't have) and read a book whilst sipping on a cocktail.
It was also the kind of day that made me crave a hearty home cooked lunch, but one that took little effort to make. I went over the contents of my vegetable crisper but somehow, the cauliflower, the carrots and the potatoes just didn't inspire. .
With the vivid colours of the garden still dancing before my eyes, what I wanted was a splash of colour on the plate.
Since nothing in the vegetable crisper quite fit the bill of 'colourful', the reluctant husband was sent to the nearest fruit and veg market with a list of vegetables to buy.
Within minutes of having the vegetables, lunch was ready. Easy enough to put together, light yet filling - a one pot meal that was bursting with flavour and colour......
Black Pepper Noodles with Stir Fried Vegetables
Ingredients:
Dried Noodles: 150 gms
Red, green and yellow peppers: 1/2 each, thinly sliced
Onion: 1 small, sliced
Garlic: 3 cloves, sliced
Purple baby cabbage: 1, thinly sliced
Brown mushrooms: 6 nos
Spring onions: 5-6 stalks, finely chopped (discard the onions)
for the sauce:
Soy sauce: 1 tbsp
Sweet soy sauce: 2 tsps
White wine vinegar: 1.5 tsps
Black pepper powder: 1 - 2 tsps (adjust as per your spice tolerance and preference)
Salt, to taste
Oil: 1.5 tbsps + 1 tsp
Method:
Cook the noodles as per package instructions. Drain the hot water from noodles, wash them in cold water, toss in 1 tsp of oil and set aside to cool.
While the noodles cook, slice the vegetables. Also, mix together the soy sauce, sweet soy sauce, vinegar and black pepper powder in a bowl.
In a non-stick wok, heat oil till it starts to smoke. (When stir frying the veggies, always work on high heat and stir constantly). Add the sliced garlic and stir till it starts to turn brown. Add the onions and stir till they start to soften. Toss in the mushrooms and stir till they are cooked.
Then add the sliced peppers and the cabbage and toss for about 2 minutes. Don't cook them, you want them to retain their crunch.
Add the sauce to the veggies. Finally, add the cooked noodles and toss till they are coated with the sauce and the stir fried veggies are evenly distributed through the noodles.
(At this stage, taste for salt; the sauces have a lot of salt in them and I normally don't need to add any table salt to my black pepper noodles).
Dish out the noodles in a bowl and garnish with the chopped spring onions.
It is said that we eat with our eyes first. Tell me, doesn't that bowl of noodles with a rainbow of colours look absolutely appetising?
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Hainanese Chicken Rice
And so, the day we landed in Singapore, we made our way to a food court to have what is the national dish of Singapore.
However, when I first lay my eyes on the plate of chicken and rice, all I felt was disappointment. "Why is there so much fuss about Hainanese Chicken Rice? It is just boiled chicken," I whispered to my husband.
It was, however, love at first bite. The chicken was extremely fragrant and succulent, the rice very flavourful. It looked no fancier than boiled chicken, but the taste was anything but.
I have so many people to thank for this recipe - a couple of Singaporean friends, my chicken vendor in the Tekka wet market and Elaine's blog.
Here's how you make it:
Ingredients:
for the chicken
Chicken: 1 kg (buy the best and freshest chicken you can, I normally buy a free range chicken)
Chicken bones, to make the stock: optional
Garlic: 8-10 cloves,
Ginger:1.5" piece, peeled
Cloves: 4
Star anise: 2
Screwpine leaves (pandan leaves): 4 nos, washed and tied into a knot
(if you can't find these, replace with 4 stalks of spring onions - discard the onions)
Salt: 3 - 4 tsps
Sesame oil: 2 tbsps
Light soy sauce: 1 tbsp
Method:
In a large pot, pour about 2 litres of water. Add to it the chicken bones (if using), 2 tsps salt, 4 cloves of garlic, 1/2" piece of ginger, 2 cloves, 1 star anise and 2 pandan leaves. Bring to a boil, turn down the heat and allow to simmer for about 15 minutes. Retain the spices and the herbs, discard the bones.
While you make the stock, wash the chicken. Sprinkle the remaining salt over the chicken, leave for about 5 minutes and rub thoroughly. Salt is a meat tenderiser and this step goes a long way in making the chicken succulent. Wash the chicken again and stuff the cavity with the remaining cloves, star anise, ginger, garlic and pandan leaves.
Slowly slide the chicken breast side down into the boiling stock; the stock should completely cover the chicken (if not, boil some water on the side and pour it into the pot).
Allow the water to come to a boil again, cover the pot and allow to simmer for 15 minutes. Then, turn off the heat and leave the chicken undisturbed for 1.5 hours. This is very important - don't open the cover of the pot.
I know how radically opposite this method of cooking chicken is to more popular method of cooking chicken, but trust me, the chicken will be fully cooked and absolutely succulent.
Uncover the pot after 1.5 hours and if desired, poke a skewer into the thigh; the juices should run clear.
Tip the stock into another pot - don't discard the stock for the rice is cooked in it and that is what gives the rice its flavour. Pour cold water over the chicken to stop it from cooking any further.
Mix together the sesame oil and the soy sauce and rub over the chicken.
For the rice:
Rice: 1 cup, washed
Chicken stock: 2 1/4 cups
Garlic: 1 clove
Ginger: 1" piece
Sesame oil: 1 tbsp
Light soy sauce: 1 tbsp
Screwpine leaves: 1, tied into a knot
Method:
Heat oil, and fry the garlic till it turns light brown. Add the ginger and the rice and saute for a minute. Add the stock, the screwpine leaf and the soy sauce. Once the rice has absorbed all the stock, cover the pot and lower the heat to the lowest, steam for a minute and take the pot off the burner.
For the sauce:
Pound together 4 cloves of garlic, 10 fresh red chillies, 1" piece of ginger. Add to it 2 tbsps of oyster sauce, 1 tbsp of sweet soy sauce, 1 tbsp of light soy sauce, 1 tbsp sesame oil, 1 tbsp of chopped shallots and 1 tsp of chopped coriande leaves.
To serve:
Slice the chicken and serve with a scoop of rice, sliced cucumbers, the stock and the sauce.
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Lemongrass Chicken Skewers
Thai cuisine is one of our favourites and one that we turn to very often. We love the spicy and zesty flavours, combined with the very aromatic herbs that almost do a tango on the tongue! Oh yes, I will say this again, we simply love Thai food.
Chicken mince: 750 gms
Garlic paste: 1.5 tbsp
Ginger paste: 1 tbsp
Red chillies: 2
Basil leaves: 2 tbsps, finely chopped
Coriander leaves: 2 tbsps, finely chopped
Lemongrass stalk: 2 tsps, very finely chopped
Fish sauce: 1 tsp, optional
Lime juice: 1 tbsp
Salt
Egg: 1, small (I use a 40 gm egg)
Lemongrass stalks: 10 nos
Wash the lemongrass stalks and pat dry. Run a rolling pin along the length of the stalks in order to release the aromatic oils. Cut the stalk into 2 (each piece should be about 5 inches long) and set aside.
Into the chicken mince, add the ginger garlic pastes, chopped red chillies, finely chopped basil and coriander leaves, lemon juice, salt and fish oil, if using, and mix well.
Lightly beat the egg and add it to the chicken mince. Mix well.
(You need to taste test at this stage to ensure that all the flavours are to your liking. To do that, fry a small ball of mince over the frying pan or zap it in the microwave for about 20 seconds. Taste and adjust the herbs and seasonings to suit your taste).
Divide the mince into 20 equal portions and chill for about 15 minutes in the fridge.
Dab a little oil over your palms, shape each ball of mince around one end of the lemongrass stalk and place over a baking tray lined with aluminium foil.
Cover and chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes or longer.
Serve hot with the dipping sauce and some salad on the side.
Monday, April 20, 2009
Thai Olive Rice
I would fuss and fret till I learnt what most mothers are very adept at...the art of camoulflage. I no longer sweat over stuff she does not eat, I simply disguise it like I do in this thai olive fried rice.
Thai Olive Fried Rice:
Traditionally, this rice uses pork mince (find the original recipe here), however, I have substituted the mince with grated cauliflower and cabbage. Being grated, they leave no visible trace of their presence in the rice and my otherwise fussy eater eats this without any protest!!
Ingredients:
Grated Cauliflower - 3/4 cup
Grated Cabbage - 3/4 cup
Pitted black olives - 1/4 cup, cut into small bits
Garlic, finely minced - 2 tsp
Ginger, grated - 1/2 tsp
Dark soya sauce - 2 tsp
Vegetarian oyster sauce - 1 1/2 tsp
Vinegar - 1 tsp
Sambal olek or chilli flakes, optional - 1 tsp (or to taste)
Sugar - 1 tsp
Spring onion - for garnish, optional
Oil - 1 1/2 tbsp
Rice - 3/4 cup
Method:
Cook rice with a little bit of salt. Spread it on a plate to cool; mix in a bit of oil so that the grains don't stick to each other.
Heat oil in a pan - the oil has to be really hot! Fry the ginger and garlic till fragrant. Next add the grated cabbage and cauliflower and stir fry for a minute. Add the olives (reserve some for garnishing), followed by the sauces and stir fry for a further two minutes.
Next, toss in the rice and stir till the rice is evenly coated with the stir fried mince. Check for salt, the sauces have plenty of it, chances are you won't need to add any.
Garnish with the reserved olives and spring onion and serve hot with some cucumber slices.
Notes:
Cold rice does not work for this, room temperature is what is needed when making fried rice.
Heat is the key to this rice - work quickly on a very high flame for best results.
This goes out to:
AFAM: Olives guest hosted by Priya of Priya's Easy N Tasty Recipes , event started by Maheshwari,
Vaishali's It's a Vegan World: Thai guest hosted by Priya of Akshayapaatram and
Cooking for Kids: Rice, event started by Sharmi guest hosted by Trupti.
As an aside, anyone wants to guess what the following picture is all about? All about it in my next post :)
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Thai stir fried minced meat with basil leaves
It is 12:50 at night, and I am staying up because I can't put down this book I'm reading - The Girl with the Dragon Tatoo by Stieg Larsson. Mid-way through the book, I decided to check out what everyone else has been cooking and here I am writing a post! No one has ever managed to tear me away from a book...such is the lure of blogging!
Other than Italian food, Terradaze and I generally tend to agree on all other cuisines and Thai cuisine is one of our favourite; the use of spices and herbs and coconut milk is something that totally suits our palette. Needless to say, Thai food is something that features very regularly on our table. Since I have a book to return to, I will cut the crap and leave you with something I make very very often at home...this one is ridiculously easy to put together resulting a tongue tickling delight of flavours. Enjoy!
Mince (chicken/pork/meat/beef) - 500 gm (the mince used here is pork, but I have made this with the others as well)
Garlic - 8 cloves
Chillies - 5 birds eye red chillies (adjust according to spice tolerance)
Coriander leaves, stem and root - 6 stalks
Fresh sweet or holy basil leaves - 3/4 cup, firmly packed
Fish Sauce - 1 1/2 tbsp
Oyster Sauce - 1 tbsp
Soy sauce - 1 tsp
Stock - 1/2 cup (or use 1 stock cube in 1/2 cup of water)
Brown Sugar - 1 tsp
Oil - 1 1/2 tbsp
deep fried basil leaves - 1 tbsp, optional, for garnish
(there is no salt in this list of ingredients - the sauces used are very high in salt, so add some only if you need to)
Method:
Wash and pat dry the coriander stalks. Pound the chillies, coriander stalks and garlic together.
Heat oil, fry the paste till fragrant. Turn up the heat to high and then add the mince in small batches - ensure that every batch you add is nicely browned before adding the next batch in; as you stir, the mince will release water. Keep cooking till the water dries up - by this time, the mince would be almost done.
Add all the sauces, sugar and half the basil leaves. Next add the stock, a little at a time and cook till the mince is well done.
Before serving, add in the remaining basil leaves, stir till they wilt. Garnish with the fried basil leaves and some sliced red chillies and serve with steaming hot rice.
Note: I have made the exact same thing with cauliflower. Steam the cauliflower till it is half cooked, mash it into tiny bits and proceed as above, just use vegetarian fish sauce in place of the real thing - it tastes just as good!
Sending this to Yasmeen who is hosting Weekend Herb Blogging this week , a lovely event conceived by Kalyn and now conducted by Halo.
Friday, February 13, 2009
Chicken in oyster sauce and Red - the end
Chicken in oyster sauce
Ingredients:
Boneless chicken - 500 gms, cut into cubes
Onions - 2 , cut into cubes and separate the slices
ginger and garlic, 1 tbsp each, finely minced
Bell pepper - 1.5 (I used a mix of red, yellow and green for a better look), cut into cubes
Mushrooms - 6, sliced
spring onion, for garnish
oil - 1.5 tbsp
for the marinade:
oyster sauce - 1 tbsp
soy sauce - 1 tsp
red wine vinegar or grape flavoured vinegar - 1 tbsp
for the sauce:
(these are approximate measures, since I eye -balled these)
oyster sauce - 3 tbsps
soy sauce - 1 tbsp
red wine vinegar - 1 tbsp
brown sugar - 1 tsp
red chilli flakes - 1/2 tsp (or as per your spice tolerance level)
cornflour - 1 tsp, dissolved in a little water
Method:
Whisk the marinade together and add to the chicken. Let the chicken marinate for about half an hour.
Heat oil and stir fry the ginger, garlic and half the onion on high flame for a couple of minutes. Add the chicken and cook till done. Set aside.
While the chicken is cooking, mix the ingredients for the sauce together.
In the same pan, add a little bit of oil and stir fry the mushrooms, followed by the remaining onions and the bell peppers. Cook for a minute - you want the onions and the peppers to retain their crunch. Add the cooked chicken and stir for a half a minute. Make a well in the middle of the pan and add the sauce. Cook till sauce starts to bubble and thickens. Since all the sauces contain salt, taste at this point and then add salt, if needed. Garnish with spring onions and serve hot with rice.
Red - the end (continued from part 1 and part 2)
The abortion was scheduled a week hence. It was an agonising time for Arva. The visions kept recurring, yet she felt unable to share it with Raghav. Though he was extremely caring, Arva knew he was actually very unhappy with her decision and this was causing a considerable strain in their relations.
For just a few moments, she was actually tempted to go ahead with the pregnancy, just for his sake. But those were fleeting thoughts and here she was now in the OT. Arva looked around her as the doctors and nurses buzzed about in the procedure room, their movements so well co-ordinated and seamless. "This is it," she thought. "There's is no going back now..." Her thoughts were interrupted by a loud clanging noise - one of the instrument trays had fallen to the floor.
And then it came back to her. The memory came gushing out as if someone had opened the floodgates.
They were at a Chinese restaurant. Arva, all of 8 at that time, had encountered chopsticks for the first time and was absolutely intrigued at the prospect of eating with them. Her excitement was, however, somewhat dampened though by her normally gregarious older sister who appeared extremely anxious about something. "Here didi, from me to you, with love. The pretty waitress in red let me keep these," she said to her sister, handing her the chopsticks, hoping to humour her.
That night, she was woken up by the sound of muffled sobs. Curiously, she walked to the source of the sound - the bathroom. Curiosity quickly turned to horror when she saw her sister in the bathtub, curled up in pain, her pyjamas completely stained in blood, the bloody chopstick in her hand clanging as it fell to the floor. "Mama," Arva had screamed.
Lying here in the hospital, as the long suppressed memory returned and the horror of her sister's actions and the reason for all those visions now became clear to her, Arva saw the doctor moving in to start the procedure.
One year later....
She was returning to her desk after a year. So much had happened in the last one year, so much that she had to share with her colleagues. "My my, look at you Arva! You are looking absolutely gorgeous. Who would say that you had a baby just few months ago,"gushed Divya.
The end.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Thai Green Mango Salad and Red - part 2
Thai green mango salad
Ingredients:
Thai green mango - 2, shredded
Shallots - 1, sliced
Green/red chilli - 2
Roasted peanuts, pounded coarsely - 2 tbsp
Coriander, finely chopped - 1 tbsp
for the dressing
honey - 1 tbsp
lime juice - 1 tsp
soy sauce - 1/4 tsp
thai fish sauce - 1.5 tsp (else, use vegetarian fish sauce)
Method:
Whisk the ingredients for the dressing and set aside.
Mix the mangoes, onions, chillies and peanut powder and let chill in the fridge.
Toss these in the dressing just before serving. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves and serve. Simple and delicious!!
I don't always get thai green mangoes, in which case I substitute those with sprouts and granny smith green apples - and it tastes just as good.
Red - part 2 (part 1 here)
"But I don't want to have the baby Raghav. Not now. And nothing you do or say is going to make me change my mind." Finally, very reluctantly, Raghav, anguished as he was at her decision, had given in. That night, for the first time since their marriage 4 years ago, Raghav and she had slept in separate bedrooms.
But sleep eluded her and as she tossed restlessly, the vision returned to haunt her again, after a long time. It was the same vision as always. Of a Chinese restaurant, food being served by waitresses dressed in red. An anxious young girl. And chopsticks clanging to the floor. Red floor. Blood stained floor. And someone screaming, calling out "mama."
Though she had had this vision for many years, in fact since her pre-teen years, she could feel a chill run down her spine. For long, she had thought that it had something to do with her future, but of late, she was increasingly convinced that it had everything to do with her past. She knew this was some old memory straining to come out. Like a caged bird restlessly trying to flutter out of its cage.
But what memory was it? Try as she did, she was never able to recall anything beyond what she saw - a Chinese restaurant, waitresses in red and the chopsticks falling on the red floor, followed by the crying child.
She tried to push the vision to the back of her mind - she had other things on her plate right now. Tomorrow, she thought, she would fix an appointment with the gynae and have everything sorted by the weekend.
However, she couldn't push back the vision or the feeling of dread that seemed to fill her entire being. Her heart hammered and she broke into a sweat. Why were the visions occurring with such an intensity now? And what was it about the Chinese restaurant and the chopsticks? And why couldn't she recollect anything? Or was she wrong - did it portend the future after all?
end of part 2
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Soba noodles with orange peanut dressing
