Rice Vermicelli with Chicken and bean sprouts

So, recent craze is trying out some Chinese / Cantonese style food. This is one I tried today, and it really is so easy to make and very tasty too. 

250 g dried rice vermicelli
3 tablespoons sesame oil
3 cloves garlic, finely minced
1/2 onions
2-3 chicken breasts
2 small carrots
2 cups of bean sprouts ends trimmed
2-3 green onion cut lengthwise


Seasonings

1 1/2 tablespoons oyster sauce
2 table spoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons ketchup
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon sesame oil
white pepper ( used black)
1 teaspoon fish sauce ( optional)

Garnishing
1 large egg beater, cut length wise
1-2 dry red chili , deseeded and cut length wise.

Method

1. Soak the dried rice vermicelli in warm water to soften, about 15-120 minutes. Drain in a colander and set aside. The packet will have instructions to cook it, just follow that else.
2. Bring together all the seasoning ingredients in a small bowl.
3. Heat the wok/skillet, add oil, make the egg omelet and slice it thinly and keep aside and use it later for garnishing.
4. In the same skillet or wok, add oil, add garlic, onion and stir fry , add the chicken stir fry till half cooked, add the carrot cut length wise and continue sir frying.
5. Add the rice vermicelli , seasoning ,  bean  sprouts, green onions and continue stir frying till they are cooked and well combined with the vermicelli.
6. Garnish the vermicelli with omelet strips, red chili strips and serve immediately.

Simple Egg Drop Soup

There is no doubt that this is the best recipe for egg drop soup that you have come across. Its so simple. If you have the chicken stock ready, it takes hardly 5-7 minutes to make this soup.

Ingredients

2 tablespoons cornstarch
3 - 4  tablespoons of water.
1 3/4 - 2 cups of home made chicken stock
1 cup of water
1 tomato - small diced
Pepper - according to taste
Salt to taste
2 large eggs beaten


1. Mix the cornstarch with the water, make sure there are no lumps.
2. Bring the chicken broth and water to boil. Add the tomato, pepper and salt. Add the cornstarch mixture. Once it thickens switch off the heat.
3. Swirl the beaten eggs into the soup, stir three times with a fork and cover the pot with its lid for 2-3 minutes. The eggs should be cooked and will form silken threads ( look at the pic below).

Serve it hot !

Sweet Corn and Chicken Soup

You will fall in love with this soup. This recipe is definitely a winner !

Ingredients

2 tablespoons cornstarch

3 table spoons water

6 oz ground chicken

1 3/4 cups Homemade Chicken Stock

1 1/2 cup water

1 can creamy sweet corn

white pepper ( according to taste)

salt to taste

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

Coriander leaves to garnish

1. Mix cornstarch with 3 tablespoons of water in a bowl. Stir well to blend.

2. Bring the chicken broth and water to boil, Lower the heat to medium and  add the ground chicken.

3. Add the creamy sweet corn, pepper, salt and thicken the soup with cornstarch mixture. Turn off the heat.

4. Swirl the beaten eggs into the soup and immediately stir three times with a fork. Cover the pot of soup with its lid for 2 minutes. The eggs should be cooked and will form into silken threads.

Serve Hot !

To make creamy sweet corn at home:

1) Take a sauce pan, drop the frozen corn into it, with a cup of half and half or milk, stir well, it becomes thick. Take 2 tablespoons of cornstarch and mix it with 3 tablespoons of cold water and stir till it blends well. 

2) Add the cornstarch mixture to the pan in which the corn is cooking. Stir well , switch off.

How to make homemade chicken stock:

1 cornish hen or a 1 kg regular chicken

2.25 litres of water

2" piece of ginger ( crushed on pester mortar)

Salt - to taste

Pepper - to taste

1) If you are using a slow cooker, cook it on high for 4-5 hours. you can do it in a pressure cooker or a stock pot.

2) When its done, let it cool, drain the chicken stock with a strainer. 

Chinese Chicken Fried Rice

You don't have to run to the Chinese restaurant every time you have a craving for some Chinese food. This a good recipe that I found online some time back. Its a simple one and almost better than the Chinese takeaway.

2-3 Chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
3 cups of cooked rice, cooled
2-3 tablespoons of sesame oil
1 small white onion chopped
1 cup frozen peas and carrots ( thawed)
2-3 tablespoon soy sauce ( adjust to taste)
2 eggs lightly beaten
2 tablespoons chopped green chillies

1) Cook the chicken breast with some pepper and salt. Shred it.
2) Preheat the wok or skillet.Pour sesame oil. Once the oil is hot, add onion, peas, carrots and fry until tender.
3) Slide these to the side and pour the beaten eggs and scramble.
4) Mix the veggies and the eggs.
5) Add the cooled rice and chicken to the wok, pour the soy sauce and stir fry till its heated through. Switch off and garnish with some green onions.

If your Indian taste buds demands some spicy flavor , then you may want to add some Chilli sauce to the fried rice and some pepper too. Another way to make it a little more spicy would be to add some dry red chillies slit lengthwise and added to the sesame oil in the beginning.

This can be eaten with or without any sides. I have a nice recipe for sesame chicken, you can have it with that too .

Simple Sesame Noodles

This is another simple recipe and this sure is a keeper. Its inspired from The Pioneer Woman's recipe, however, I have made small modifications to it. It hardly takes 10-12 minutes to pull this one together. 

Here's the recipe

12 ounces of thin noodles ( I used angel hair , you may use spaghetti or whichever is available in your pantry )

1/4 cup Soy Sauce

1/4 cup water

2 tablespoons sugar

4 garlic cloves, minced

2 tablespoons rice vinegar( i used normal white vinegar, i didn't have the rice vinegar, if you have it use it)

3 tablespoons toasted sesame oil ( Sesame oil (ellenna ) - I toasted a table spoon of white sesame seeds and slightly heated some sesame oil )

1/2 teaspoon hot chili oil ( if you don't have it, just crush dry red chili flakes with olive oil, thats what i did )

4 tablespoons canola oil

4 green onions ( not the white part ) chopped

Story

1) Cook the noodles according to package instruction

2) By the time it cooks you can get the rest of it ready. Mix Soy sauce, sugar, garlic, sesame oil, hot chili oil, vinegar,canola oil, 1/4 cup water. Stir it all together.

3) Pour the mixture over warm noodles and toss the chopped green onions into it. Enjoy !!!

It can't be simpler than that.



Tips: This is how I made the hot chili oil ,  by crushing the dry red chillies with some olive oil 

 This is how the mixture looks like. Once its ready, just pour it over the noodles

Baked Sweet and Sour Chicken

My family just loved it ! You should try this one, remember its on the sweet side as the name suggests.


Here is the recipe

What you need to get started...

3-4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, clean and marinate with salt and pepper

1- 2 cups of cornstarch

3 eggs beaten

1/4 cup canola oil

1/2 - 3/4 cup sugar ( I used half, you can decide )

4 tablespoons ketchup

1/4 cup white vinegar

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 teaspoon garlic salt ( substitute with garlic powder and salt if you don't have )

Story

Heat the oven to 325 degrees F.

Whisk together the sugar, ketchup, vinegar, soy sauce and garlic salt in a bowl and keep aside.
Dip the marinated chicken, first in eggs and then in corn starch , then fry in oil, cook both side.
Place the fried chicken in a greased baking dish, pour the mixture evenly over the chicken and bake at 325 degree F for 30 - 45 minutes, turning the chicken in between.

Enjoy this hot with some noodles heart emoticon