Vegetable Fried Rice

Vegetable Fried Rice

This fried rice pairs nicely with schezwan cauliflower and was taught by the same chef. Do try to use leftover rice for this as it really helps keep the grains separate while frying. From start to end, this takes a maximum of 15 minutes including chopping vegetables.

Another one of interesting his tips on chinese cooking was that the size of vegetables for any chinese dish should match th size of the carb ! So, for fried rice, the ingredients need to be diced in small cubes and for noodles, they should be chopped into thin strips resembling the noodles.The rice should not be in the wok for more than 3 to 4 minutes max !

Ingredients



Cooked Rice 2 cups

Mix vegetables chopped finely 1 cup

( I used carrots, bell peppers, spring onions, french beans and bean sprouts)

Chopped garlic 1 tsp

Chilli paste 1 tsp ( optional)

Light soya sauce 2 tsp

Oil 1 tbsp

Salt to taste

Heat oil in a wok and add garlic and chilli paste. Fry for 20 seconds and add the vegetables except beansprouts and spring onion greens. Fry for 30 seconds or so and add the rice. Splash in soya sauce and salt if required and toss together . Add beansprouts and fry for another 30 seconds. Garnish with spring onions and serve.

Schezwan Cauliflower

Schezwan Cauliflower

Believe it or not but this and the fried rice recipe that follow were taught to me by an ex sous chef from the House of Ming, Taj , Delhi. A decade back, House of Ming was considered one of the best chinese restaurants in the city, and perhaps India. I learned this during a cookery workshop I attended with some friends at his house in Delhi. This is how it goes:

Cauliflower florets 8 to 10

Maida 1/4 cup

cornflour 1/4 cup

water 1/3 cup approxiamately

1 tbsp Chilli garlic paste (This one minus cumin is versatile and great)

2 tbsp light soya or 2 tsp dark soya

bell pepper 1 small

Spring onions 2

Ginger, garlic chopped 1 tsp each

green chillies slit 2

2 Shallots/1/2 Red onion

Method

1. Blanch the cauliflower lightly and keep aside

2. Make a thick, pakora type batter with maida and cornflour.

3. To get a deep brown colour in the restaurant, they add soya sauce to the batter. I skipped this.

4. Here's his chef's tip: The proportion of maida to cornflour depends on the texture desired. For a crispy, crunchy effect keep cornflour proportion high ( around 40 to 60% and for a more spongy texture, keep maida : cornflour ratio 3:1)

5. Dip the blanched cauliflower in this batter and deep fry.The remaining batter can be thinned with 1/2 cup water to be added to the sauce.

6. For the schezwan gavy, fry the dried chillies, followed by ginger garlic and green chillies. Add shallots, bell pepper and chilli paste.Add soya and the thinned batter and boil.

7. Taste the sauce to check for seasonings

8. Turn off the flame and and add the fried cauliflower. Mix gently and serve with fried rice.

Hokkien aka Hakka Noodles

Hokkien Noodles

Craving a quick, healthy lunch in less than half an hour ? These Hakka noodles can be rustled up quickly and nicely fulfil indo Chinese grub cravings.

Here’s what we need:

1 coil of dried noodles
Veggies of your choice 1 cup
( I used carrots, bean sprouts, spring onions, long beans, kalian/spinach)
Fried Tofu strips (optional)
Light soya sauce 2 tbsp
Salt ½ tsp
Your favourite chilli paste or sambal ( I used homemade paste)
Completely optional : I also had some soya chunks from the previous night that I tossed in, which added a great texture to the noodles
Garnish:
Thinly sliced cucumber
Lime

Method:
1. Boil noodles according to package directions. Mine required boiling for 5 minutes

2. If using long beans, can parboil together with the noodles. French beans usually do not require boiling.

3. Heat 1 Tbsp oil in a non stick wok and stir fry carrot, beans and any hard veggies that need to go in first. Add tofu, if using. ( Can use chicken instead). Fry until cooked.

4. Add the noodles and salt. Add chilli paste and fry nicely. A few splashes of soya sauce if using light soya, otherwise add dark soya to taste.

5. At this stage I added soya, and the other veggies. Fry for around a minute or so, sprinkling water( yes ! water) if it looks too dry.

6. Serve with lime and cucumber.

Serves 1 hungry adult