Stir-fried Chicken and Broccoli with Noodles

Hey Friends, hope you all are having an awesome time! I have missed quite many wonderful posts and milestones of you all, but I hope I will be able to catch up on everything soon. My family and I are really busy going on small outings everyday with my in-laws and we also have a major trip in the making! Eventhough I hoped that I would be able to post as frequent as earlier, I understood that it would not be the case. But still it really is hard to stay away from the blog, without interacting with all my friends!!

Anyways, coming to the recipe, this is a stir-fry that I made from a cookbook that has become my favourite in no time. This was actually a stir-fry with pork, which I adapted to be made with chicken. My vegetarian friends can do without chicken/meat and add other veggies like snow-pea pods, mushrooms, carrots and onions along with broccoli to make an delicious and healthy meal. This recipe is distinct in that the cooked noodles are pan-fried with garlic which imparts a delicate flavor and texture to the noodles. The stir-fry also has a very balanced flavor, the white wine lending a unique and extraordinary distinction to the dish. It is kid friendly too. I have used dried (and not fresh) egg noodles, which was cooked to perfection in boiling water. My lil one and I thoroughly enjoyed it for lunch and JM, for dinner. It simply was perfect! Hope you all would give this a try! I will be back with another recipe soon. Until then, have a great time and enjoy!!

Recipe (Serves 4) :

Chicken (Beef/Pork) - 6 oz
Salt - 1/4 tsp
White pepper - a pinch
Cornstarch - 2 tbsp + 1/2 tsp, divided
Broccoli - 10 oz
Oyster sauce - 2 tbsp
Dried egg noodles - 8 oz
Vegetable oil - 2 tbsp, divided
Minced garlic - 2 tsp
White wine - 2 tbsp
Chicken broth - 1 cup
Green onion - 1, shredded

Method:

Cut the chicken into thing strips and mix with salt, pepper and 1/2 tsp cornstarch.

Cook the fresh florets of broccoli in boiling water for a minute and drain.

Immediately rinse in cold water, drain well and set aside.

In a small bowl, mix together the remaining 2 tbsp cornstarch, oyster sauce and 2 tbsp water.

Cook the egg noodles in a pot of boiling water until just al dente (about 5 minutes for dried noodles and 3 minutes for fresh noodles).

Drain well and set aside.

Heat a non-stick skillet over high heat.

Add 1 tbsp vegetable oil, garlic and noodles and pan fry until both sides are browned (about 2 minutes). Keep aside.

Add the remaining 1 tbsp vegetable oil to the skillet.

Toss in the marinated chicken and stir-fry until the meat is cooked (about 1 minute).

Pour the white wine and stir well.

Add the broccoli and chicken broth to the meat and heat to boiling.

Stir in the cornstarch mixture and cook, stirring constantly until thickened.

Pour the chicken and sauce over the noodles.

Garnish with the shredded green onion.

Serve immediately.

Source: Everyday Chinese Cooking by Leeann Chin and Katie Chin.


Tips:

1. Fresh egg noodles (14 oz) can be used instead of dried egg noodles.
2. I used frozen broccoli and cooked it slightly in the microwave.
3. Vegetarians can adapt this recipe by omitting the meat and adding a bit of their favorite veggies. Use vegetable broth instead of chicken broth.
4. The picture shows a garnish of green onions and red hot chilli peppers.

Hot and Sour Pork with Celery

Mmmm..Chinese food. Who doesnt love chinese food!? My family and I are great fans, we could eat almost everything if its made the Chinese way. The theme for AWED this month is Chinese and that made me hunt for Chinese cookbooks at the library. And I just found three books, but they were gems!! In one of those books I made a great discovery that it was by the famous restaurateur Leeann Chin who has several namesake restaurants around Minneapolis and a few other states. I've always enjoyed eating out at her restaurant, maybe thats why I wanted to try all ..... and I mean you cannot really choose .... all of the recipes from her book. I had some pork at hand and decided on making hot and sour pork with celery. When I try to do wannabe chinese, without a recipe, I just dump a few sauces in and be content with what I get. But with this recipe, I followed the recipe exactly, and what a difference it made! It simply was awesome! I would suggest this recipe to anyone in a heartbeat! For non-pork eaters, the book mentions that pork can be substituted with chicken. I just though I would mention it so that many more of you can enjoy! Since this is a non-veg dish, I cannot send it for the event, but I am only happy to find another vegetarian recipe from her cookbook!! :-) Enjoy your weekend everyone!


Recipe (Serves 4) :

Pork tenderloin - 8 oz
salt - 1/2 tsp, divided
White pepper - a pinch
Cornstarch - 1 tsp
Hot red chilli pepper - 1
Celery stalks - 8
Vegetable oil - 1 tbsp
Minced garlic - 2 tsp
White vinegar - 2 tsp
Sugar - 1 tsp
Light soy sauce - 1 tsp
Sesame oil - 2 tsp

Method:

Cut the pork into thin matchsticks 2 by 1/8 by 1/8 inch.

Toss in a bowl with 1/4 tsp salt, the pepper and cornstarch.

Cut open the chilli pepper and remove the seeds, then cut into thin 2" strips.

Remove and discard the celery leaves and the stringy stalks.

Cut the stalks into 2 by 1/4 inch.

Heat a wok or skillet over high heat and add the vegetable oil, garlic, celery and remaining 1/4 tsp salt.

Stir fry for 30 seconds and add the marinated pork strips.

Turn the heat down to medium and stir-fry for an additional 2 minutes.

Add the vinegar, sugar, soysauce, sesame oil and chilli pepper.

Stir fry over high heat for 1 more minute.

Serve hot or cold.

Source: Everyday Chinese by Leeann Chin and Katie Chin.


Tips:

1. Chicken can be used instead of pork, in this recipe.
2. I used a small serrano pepper in place of hot red chilli.
3. Distilled vinegar was used as the white vinegar.
4. It is a good accompaniment to Noodles with Peanut sauce which I will share with you once I try it out!

Try this out friends, you wont be disappointed.

I was tagged by Sailaja of Sailaja's recipes for a meme. Since I did the meme just a week back, I am hereby redirecting eveyone to that post. Read my meme here. Anyone who is interested can take up this meme.

My blog was given a giant bear hug by Vani of Illatharasi. Thank you sooo much Vani, I am so happy that you like my blog!!

I would like to pass the hug to,

Ranji of Ranji's Kitchen Corner
Bhags of Crazy curry
Shubha of Chutki Bhar Pyar who badly needs a hug
Laavanya of Cookery Corner
Sailaja of Sailaja's recipes

Once again, have a great weekend everyone! Oh, one more thing, my wrist is feeling much better now, thanks for all your concern! Your comments themselves made it all the more bearable! :-) Hugs!

I am sending this to Eat Healthy - Protein Rich event at Sangeeth's Art of Cooking Indian Food.

Almond-Pork Curry (Rogan Josh)

Well friends, the votes are in.......Dont know what I'm talking about? I was conducting a poll on my blog about the reader's favourite set of lemon rice pictures. And the winner is...Set 2 (Pictures 2 & 4) which, as many of you guessed, is my choice too!! Yaaay!!! I believe I proved my point, we should stick to what we do best. JM is the best at photography between the two of us and I guess food styling should be left to me! But to tell you the truth, I value JM's suggestions a lot, but sometimes, we do disagree!! That happens, right? Like a few readers mentioned, the pictures of rice in the bowl does look wholesome and would probably be how I would serve when I have guests over. Thanks a lot everyone who took a minute to participate in the poll, I had a lot of fun!!

Please dont forget to vote for my entry: Black forest cake at the "Great Cooks Community: Kid Friendly Cooking" event. I would really appreciate your support. Click on the link below and vote for JZ's black forest cake. For the original recipe, click here.

http://www.greatcooksblogroll.com/group/greatcookscountyfair

Last night I made "Rogan josh" at home. Until now I thought "rogan" meant lamb in some other language. After a bit of research on the net, I am as confused as ever. On wiki, it is mentioned that rogan means clarified butter and josh means fiery, hot or passionate! It is also mentioned that almost always it is made with lamb. But another site mentions that rogan means red. I am more inclined to go with rogan = red! If anyone knows the actual deal, please let me know. Anyhow, I was going through the Betty Crocker's Indian cookbook and the chef mentioned that lamb can be substituted with beef or pork. So I adapted the recipe to be made with pork. When I work on unfamiliar territories like this one, I usually follow the recipe as such. The speciality of this particular recipe was that it involved baking the meat in the oven for a long time and the meat came out succulent, moist and perfectly cooked! I just do not have words to explain how rich, creamy and tasty it was. I wish you all couldve had it!! As you all might know, this Kashmiri dish is a rich curry with almonds and cream, so dazzle the eyes of your guests with this "fit-for-a-king" recipe! Enjoy!

Recipe:

Lamb/Beef/Pork - 1 lb, cut into 2" cubes
Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Red onion - finely chopped, 1/2 cup
Ginger - finely chopped, 2 tbsp
Garlic - 5 medium cloves, finely chopped
Slivered almonds - 1/2 cup, ground
Red chilly powder/ cayenne pepper - 1/2 tsp
Vegetable oil - 2 tbsp
Tomato sauce - 1/2 cup
Water - 3/4 cup
Fresh cilantro - 2 tbsp, freshly chopped
Whipping (heavy) cream - 1/2 cup

To grind together:

Cardamom seeds - 1/2 tsp
Whole cloves - 1/2 tsp
Black peppercorns - 1/4 tsp
Coriander seeds - 1 tsp ( I used coriander powder)

Method:

Heat oil in a heavy pan over medium-high heat.

Add the cumin seeds and sizzle for 15-30 seconds.

Toss in the onions, ginger and garlic and stir-fry for 3-5 minutes or until onion and garlic are light brown.

Add the ground almonds, ground coriander, salt, red pepper, cardamom powder, ground cloves and ground black pepper.

Stir-fry for 1-2 minutes or until the almonds are partially brown.

Stir in the tomato sauce and 1/4 cup of water and reduce heat.

Partially cover and simmer for 4-5 minutes or until a thin film of oil separates from the sauce.

Stir in the meat and a half of the cilantro.

Heat oven to 300F.

Cover and simmer for 5-7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the meat is partially cooked.

Stir in the remaining water.

Spoon the meat mixture into an ungreased casserole/baking dish and cover with foil.

Bake for 40-45 minutes.

Uncover and bake for 45 minutes longer or until the meat is tender and the sauce is slightly thickened.

Remove from the oven and gently stir in whipping cream and cilantro.

Seve hot with rice or any Indian bread.

Source: Betty Crocker's Indian Homecooking, Recipes by Raghavan Iyer.

Tips:

1. I used about 2.3 lbs of pork. For this, I just doubled all the ingredients except salt.
2. I had less that a cup of almonds, so I used a few cashews to compensate.
3. I used store-bought 12 oz can of tomato paste which yields about 1 cup.
4. While adding water with the tomato paste (to simmer) I had to add more than what was mentioned in the recipe.
   

Kerala-style Pork fry (Pork ulathiyath)

As we all know, pork is the culinary term for the meat from pigs and is one of the most consumed meats around the world. It is unclear if pork is considered a red meat or white but USDA considers pork as red meat (wiki). But leaner cuts of pork are probably healthier than beef. In India due to cultural and religious reasons many people do not eat pork. In some states it is not available. After my marriage, JM introduced me to pork as an interesting choice of meat. Coming from a typical carnivorous family, I had sampled pork before, but it was never my 'choice of meat'. Soon after we got married, he took me to one of his favourite restaurants in Ernakulam which had sweet and sour pour as one of its speciality. I fell in love with the dish then and there. I stuck to the recipe for sweet and sour pork the few times I had to make it.

Only after coming to US did we start to buy pork more often. I always try to make different Indian recipes of pork when I get a chance. The meat available in US is more tender, easier to cook and a good choice of lean cuts are also available. In search of another recipe for pork, I visited Sig's blog, Live to eat. I instantly knew that this recipe was going to be perfect for what I had in my mind. I was not wrong, try this out and you wont be disappointed. The recipe would be best made with pork belly cut which is fattier but I made it with a lean cut of pork, which still tasted great. The only change I would recommend is to reduce the amount of chilly powder. It was a bit spicy for our needs, especially since we have a toddler who eats the same food. But those who love spicy preparations dont have to look any further, this is the recipe for you. Thanks to Sig for the recipe. Hope you all would enjoy this version of Kerala style pork fry.

Recipe:

Pork - 1.5 lbs, cut into small pieces (use pork belly alone or ½ pork belly - ½ lean cut pork)
Onions - 1 cup, thinly sliced
Ginger - 2 tbsp, thinly sliced
Garlic - 2 tbsp thinly sliced
Tomato - 1/2 cup,
Green chillies - 3, slit
Red chilly powder - 1 tbsp
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Salt - to taste

For the masala powder:

Cardamom pods - 4
Fennel seeds - 1 tsp
Cloves - 6
Black peppercorns - 1/2 tsp
Coriander seeds - 1 tsp

For final sauteeing:

Shallots - 1/4 cup, thinly sliced
Coconut slivers - 1/2 cup
Curry leaves - 1 sprig

Method:

Mix the pork with the onions, ginger, garlic, green chilies, tomatoes, red chilly powder, turmeric powder, ground masala powder and salt.

Cook the meat in a pressure cooker for about 6 minutes after the first whistle.

Remove from heat and keep aside to cool.

When cool, open the cooker, for the gravy formed which would mostly be fat.

Heat about 3-4 tbsp of this fatty liquid in a pan.

Heat on high, till most of the water from the gravy is evaporated and just some melted fat remain in the pan.

Add the shallots, coconut pieces and curry leaves to the pan.

Sauté until the shallots and the coconut pieces start to brown.

Pour the contents of the pressure cooker, along with the gravy into the pan.

Mix well and cook till all the liquid is evaporated.

Tips:

1. I used nearly 2 lbs of lean pork and followed the quantities of the other ingredients as is. (I did not change the quantities proportionately).
2. I didnt have tomatoes at the time, so omitted that. (This could be why the dish turned out a bit spicy).
3. If using lean meat, add a bit of oil to the pan, to saute the shallots and coconut slivers.
4. I made it without coconut slivers and curry leaves. ( Eventhough it wouldnt be as authentic as the dish made with them, we could also do without them).