Recipe - Egg fried rice

Ingredients - 

1. Rice - 200 gms
2. Onions - 2 big
3. Green chillies - 2 big
4. Garlic - 15 cloves
5. Ginger finely chopped - 2 tsp
5. Red chilli powder - 1 tsp
6. Salt - as per taste
7. Eggs - 2 or 3
8. Red food color - 1 pinch, if needed
9. Oil - 1 Tbsp

Method - 

1. Chop the onions in a long thin pieces.
2. Chop the chillies also in long thin pieces.
3. Chop ginger and garlic into small pieces.

4. Wash the rice and put in a pan. pour a lot of water in it and cook on medium/low flame. Keep checking if the rice is cooked. If the water level goes down, pour more water in it.
5. When the rice is ALMOST cooked, quickly take the pan off the burner and pour it out in a sieve. Make sure that all the water is thrown out. Spread the rice on a big plate so that all the steam goes out and also the rice grains don't stick to each other.

6. Heat oil in a wok. Put the garlic and ginger pieces in. Cook for 2 min.
7. Put the green chillies in and cook for 1 min.
8. Put the onions in and mix well. Cook for 5 min.

9. Put the eggs in and mix vigorously so that the egg gets cooked but at the same time the egg becomes more like scrambled egg in texture.
10. Put the red chilli powder in and then put the rice in it. Mix well.
11. Put salt and food coloring in. Mix well and let it cook for 3-4 min.
12. Serve with a Chinese dish like General Tso's chicken.
Tip -
1. You can put some vinegar/soy sauce in the rice for enhanced taste.

Recipe - General Tso's Chicken / General Tao's Chicken

General's Tso's chicken or General Tao's chicken is available in many upscale Chinese restaurants. However, it's not a Chinese dish. It was invented in America. It still tastes and is made in a way that Chinese/Schezwan dishes are made.

Ingredients -

For Marinade
1. Dark soy sauce - 2 tsp
2. Sesame oil - 2 tsp
3. Egg yolk - 1

For sauce
1. Tomato paste - 1.5 Tbsp
2. Corn starch - 1 tsp
3. White sugar - 3 tsp
4. Dark soy sauce - 2 tsp
5. Rice vinegar - 1 tsp
6. Medium dry sherry - 3-4 tsp
7. Ginger chopped - 1 tsp
8. Garlic chopped - 2 tsp

Other
1. Chicken boneless - 500 gms
2. Onions medium - 2-3
3. Dried red chillies - 10
4. Oil - Enough for frying
5. Sesame seeds - 1 pinch

Method - 

1. Mix marinade & put chicken pieces (small) in it for 15-20 min.

2. Mix all the ingredients for the sauce well (except sherry). Keep covered.
3. Fry the chicken pieces and dry off the excess oil on kitchen paper.

4. From this oil, take about 1 tablespoon of oil in a wok. Heat it and put the dry red chilli pieces in it for 1 min.
5. Put onions in . Let them cook for about 5 min.
6. Put the fried chicken pieces in and cook for another 3 min.
7. Meanwhile, put sherry in the sauce and mix well. Put this sauce in the wok and keep mixing so that the corn starch doesn't stick to the wok.
8. Cook for 5 min.
9. Garnish with sesame seeds.
10. Serve with fried rice.

Additional tips - 

1. If you don't have say sauce, put salt to enhance the taste
2. 500 gms of normal chicken becomes about 350 gms boneless
3. To make more gravy, mix equal amount of water and sherry and put some soy sauce as well
4. Put the sherry in the sauce as late as possible. It evaporates quickly.
5. Saki can also be used instead of sherry. The taste differs a little.

Restaurant Review - Mainland China, SB Road Pune

Mainland China, Pune

Location - SB Road, Pune.

Ambiance - ****
Menu options - ****
Taste - *****
Service - ****
Price - ***

Overall - ****

There are 3 outlets of Mainland China in Pune. I have been to all of them, but this review is for the one on SB road.

The place is huge with lot of seating space, not exactly brightly lit, but then that's how most of the restaurants are nowadays I suppose. Interiors are quite good. There are many tables, but it doesn't feel too crowded. There are two sections in the restaurant, but not sure what the difference is.

The menu is of course Chinese  Many of the options there are usually available only in high end Chinese places - including the famous Peking duck. There are enough options for non-veggies and veggies both. Also, they serve complimentary Chinese tea if you want.

We ordered crispy corn and spring rolls as starters. Amazing as usual. Crispy corn especially is the best starter here. Main course was fried rice and General Tso's/Tao's favourite chicken and spicy veg dumplings. Again amazing taste. Had ordered some mocktails which were good. They have a dessert called ice cream spring rolls which were unfortunately not available. so we ordered chocolate spring rolls, which didn't disappoint at all! These are the desserts are not really Chinese  but the fusion of traditional Chinese with western food, is amazing.

The service was good despite the restaurant being full. Fresh cutlery was being provided after every course promptly and there was no delay in getting any of our food. The staff was extremely courteous.

The bill was about 3400 INR for 4 people where we ordered mocktails, two starters, four main courses and a dessert.

This is one of my favourite restaurants and I hope it will always remain so :)

Recipe - Spring Rolls (Chicken/Lamb/Beef/Vegetable)

So today, I decided to make something that I have never made before. Suddenly remembered that I bought Japanese rice paper last week. The decision to go for spring rolls was a logical one then :)

Ingredients: Makes about 12

1. Japanese rice paper (refined wheat flour based dough can be made - but I was lazy)
2. Chicken - 500 gms (including bones)
3. Onion - 1
4. Cabbage - same quantity as sliced onion
5. Capsicum  - 1
6. Ginger/Garlic chopped - 3 tsp
7. Carrots - 1 small (if you like it)
8. Sprouted beans (if you like it)
9. Bamboo shoots (I love it, but couldn't get it)
10. Chilli powder - 1 tsp
11. Dark soy sauce - 2 tsp
12. Chilli vinegar - 2 tsp
13. Salt - To taste
14. Oil - LOADS

Method:

1. Cook the chicken in a pressure cooker. 3 whistles of the cooker should do the trick and then let it cool down. Take the meat off the bones and use the bones (and the water in the cooker) to make chicken stock for use in other dishes. Make small (and if possible long) pieces of the meat. Any meat can be cooked in the same way.

2. Chop the onions, capsicum, cabbage and other veggies in long thin slices.

3. In a wok, heat some oil and put the garlic and ginger in it. After about 15 seconds, put the onions in and let it cook for 2 minutes. Then put the other veggies and let them cook for another 3 minutes. Put the chicken pieces in and mix well. Put some salt, red chilli powder, vinegar and soy sauce and mix. Cook for another 3-4 minutes and take off the stove.

4. For making the rolls from the readymade rice paper, some things need to be made ready first. Take a metallic sieve and keep it inverted. Take a flat pan or metallic box lid and fill it with water. Start heating the oil in the wok for frying.

 

5. This is how a rice paper will look before doing anything

6. Immerse one rice paper into the water in the pan with your hands, and hold it there for 5 seconds. Keep one finger below one edge of the paper so it's easy to take out. Take it out and put on the inverted sieve for 10 seconds till it becomes soft.

7. Put some of that filling that we made on the rice paper below the center horizontally.

8. Roll the lower side of the rice paper over the filling.

9. Then roll the mixture towards the top of the rice paper, thus making a nice rolled up rice paper with the filling.

10. Fold the sides on to the roll and stick them properly with your finger using a little water.

11. Put it in the hot oil for frying slowly. As soon you put it in, immerse another rice paper into the water for 5 seconds and put it on the sieve for softening. The roll takes about 20-25 seconds to cook. Be careful not to over cook it.

12. Serve with sweet chilli sauce.

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It turned out to be quite good. A couple of the rolls did break while frying, but overall all the rolls turned out quite well. Next time, I am planning to make the wrappers using wheat flour myself.