Chinese Chicken/Vegetables Noodle Soup

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Keeping with the talk on love, these days my two- and- a- half year old lil imp comes first for me. Our regular readers need no introduction to my little boy since you have heard so much about him on this site. It is such an exciting age! The things a 2 year old comes up with can be funny to downright pull-out- your-hair types of things.



I am crossing my fingers and hoping you won’t mind another episode with my little guy. My boy has learned some numbers and mama is very proud. It is thanks to the cartoons that he watches religiously. And now, he loves to use this new found wisdom quite often. So much so, that my daughter prophecy’s that the whole family will forget to say numbers in the correct order in the near future. Yes, my son knows his numbers but for now, they are in random order, not in sequence. Can you see what little knowledge can do?



I know this too will pass, but not before he had his dad tearing out his hair. He and his dad have started taking the Parent-tot swimming class. This program is to familiarize children with the water, pool and swimming subsequently. One of the suggested ways, to make this program work, is for the children to jump from the bleachers, while a parent waits below in the pool to catch them. It’s great fun! His father is making up for time spent away during the week from his dear son. But this does not come easily when numbers are swimming in my son’s head. The stage is set - his Dad is in the water, my son on the bleacher and then the inevitable….
My son starts counting, “one, three, eight, and five...and then jumps! You should have seen his Dad’s concentration; he looks like the batsman waiting for the curve ball. While my husband is paying the price for the entire googly (a spin ball, term used in Cricket) he threw his own Dad, I cannot help but wonder what lies ahead.



Stories apart, this noodle soup is a very comforting meal that my family loves.'s.  By the way, these are wheat noodles and very healthy too.  It's very easy to concoct, believe me!  What is even better is that you can make it all vegetarian; if you don't eat meat.  Therefore, here we are, easy and versatile noodle soup recipe only for you.  :)



Ingredients:

Wheat Noodles- 250gm
Chicken breast/Tofu- 1 lb
Salt- To taste
Chicken/Veg stock- 1 packet(4 cups)
Sesame oil- 1 Tbsp
Ginger grated- 1 tsp
Garlic grated- 1 1/2 tsp

Soy sauce- 1 tbsp
Chilli sauce- 2 tsp
Black pepper powder- 1 tsp
White vinegar- 1 tsp
Carrot julienne- 1/4 cup
Broccoli pieces- 1/4 cup
Bell pepper julienne- 1/4 cup
Cabbage julienne- 1/4 cup
Spring onions- white part chopped from 1 bunch

Method:

1.Marinate the chicken cubes with salt.
2Heat the sesame oil in a pan. Add the grated ginger and garlic and saute till the raw smell leaves..
3.Pour and boil the stock and add the chicken and other seasonings.
3.After 5 minutes add the vegetables and cook until done.
6.Cook the noodles in boiling water with salt for 5-6 minutes or until done.
7.Serve the noodles topped with the chicken soup.Garnish with chopped green onions.

Notes:

1.As I've already mentioned, if you are a vegetarian,you could replace chicken with tofu and add vegetable stock instead of chicken stock.
2.The choice of vegetables is also up to you.
3.When you add chicken, you don't have to add a lot of veggies, if you want to get more flavor from chicken. My family prefers with all the veggies in it :-)



Contributor: Namitha

Indo-Chinese Fish Chili

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Batter fried fish in hot, spicy, tangy sauce is quite the pair for Chinese noodles or rice.  Having been making so much noodles and rice this last week it's only fair to wrap that roll with this recipe.  Coincidentally, the blustery, windy, wet weather outside is just the right time to eat Chinese curled up on your sofa, watching a nice romantic flick.  That's exactly what I plan to do this Saturday unless the rain let's up.

I am also charmed these days by Italian pockets on the baker's shelf in stores.  All things savory and Italian seems to be on my mind so now that we have had a definite dose of Chinese will move on.  Until then please indulge me.  Shall we have some fun with fish all Chinese? I heard you say "yes, get on with it"!?

Have a nice weekend!



Ingredients:
Tilapia - 3 Fillets (boneless, skinless fish about 1 and 1/2 fishes)

For Batter:
All purpose flour - 3/4 cup
Corn Flour - 1/4 cup (you could vary the proportion or only use corn flour)
Ginger garlic paste - 1 tspn
Chili powder - 1 tspn
Salt - to taste
Soya sauce - 1 tspn
Pepper - a sprinkle
Water - to make a thick batter which you can use to dip the fish and fry

Method:
1. Combine all ingredients and make a thick batter and set aside closed.
2. Pat dry the fish fillet and cut them into bite size pieces and marinate with soya sauce. If the sauce is not salty enough add some salt too. Marinate for and hour
3. Take the fish out pat dry and dust it with flour. Leave the marinade to use for the sauce
4. You can avoid marinating the fish but I find it too bland when not salted or marinated.
5. Dip in the batter and deep fry the fish on a medium fire because you have to cook the fish with this step.
6. Drain on kitchen towels and set aside



For the Gravy
Ginger - 1 Tbspn julienned
Garlic - 1 Tbspn julienned
Onions - 1 Diced
Green Onions (scallions/spring onions) - 2 chopped 1 inch size
Green Chilies - 6 julienned
Soya Sauce - the thin kind 1/4 cup (if you are using thick sauce I think a tablespoon diluted in a Tbspn in water will suffice.
Corn Flour - 1 1/2 Tbspn
Water - 2 cups
Chili Sauce - 1 Tbspn (optional)
Oil - 1 Tbspn from the oil used to deep fry fish



Method:
1. Dilute/dissolve the corn flour in 1/4 cup water and set aside
2. Heat oil, saute the ginger, onions, garlic, green chilies and the lower end of the spring onions leaving the green leafy bit for garnishing. Spoon out this and set asid
2. Reduce the heat, add water, soya sauce and bring to a boil
3. Check for taste. If it's enough salty add the dissolved corn flour a little at a time stirring. Stop when you like the consistency of the sauce.
4. Add all fried ingredients including the fish and and serve.

Notes: If you have to wait for your guest or cook ahead. Mix the fried fish only when serving.

Contributor: sunitha

Chinese Fried Rice

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How are you doing on the 2nd of September? Happy New Month! Nobody wishes on a new month, what!? I will.. Happy New Month to you and me.

I cooked some Chinese fried rice today not to celebrate the new month but just out of whimsy. It's quite convenient you see for a Malayalee to make fried rice. After all, the china wok is what we use daily for our thoran and mezhukkupuratti 'cheena chatt.' Yep! Kerala and China go a long way back. Otherwise I don't know why everyone I know back home uses this chatti.

Now that we have established the convenience of making fried rice for me let me also say I quite like this dish. When we make it at home we can bring the amount of oil to a bare minimum making it quite healthy too. I will not keep you with anymore rambling. Let's get to the point, alright!



That little golden glory you spot in the picture is outside my window. Yellow leaves mottle the oak tree and the iredescence of the sunlight on it. Quite distracted with the sun and the rustle of leaves outside

Ingredients:

Rice - 2 cups

All vegetables diced to small pieces (I say, smaller the prettier)
Ginger - 1 tspn
Garlic - 1 Tbspn
Green Chilies - 4 nos
Onion - 1 small diced into small cubes
Carrot - 1
Beans - 20 nos
Cabbage- 1 cup chopped
Celery - 1 stick
Oil - 1 Tbspn
Soya Sauce - 4 Tbspn (watery kind, use more if you like)
White pepper powder - 1/2 tspn



Method:

Cook rice, please follow instructions here

1. Heat wok and add a tablespoon of oil
2. Add vegetables starting with onions, ginger, garlic and green chilies. Fry on high heat
Followed with carrots, beans, cabbage quickly stirring with each addition. If you cannot keep up with quick stirring crank the flame down so as not to burn the vegetables
3. Add salt once vegetables are done.
4. Sprinkle the pepper and stir in

5. I set the cooked vegetables aside and then add 1 day old cooked rice. Add soya bean sauce and when the rice is heating. Stir in the cooked vegetables.
6. Finally, top with scrambled eggs



We would like to send in some entries for Jay's Letz Relish- Paneer event



Kadhai Paneer
Malai Kofta

Entering the rice for Festive Rice Event 

Contributor: Sunitha

Shrimp Noodle

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   How about more noodles?  The recipe is quite similar to the vegetarian one I posted a while back.  But the addition of shrimp and oyster sauce gives it another dimension.  The process is all similar but as you will agree it's the ingredients that makes the difference.  Most of the ingredients I have used today can be found in anybody's kitchen and also a few tips to enhance the flavors if you choose can be found in the foot note.

  Cleveland where I am right now is proving to be quite exciting.  Did I tell you there is going to be a Onam Sadya around here..  Broadview Heights Recreation Center, 9543 Broadview Road, Broadview Heights , Oh 44147.  This will be on Sep 4th, 6 PM to 10 PM.  If you are in Ohio you might want to go take a look.  I haven't decided if I am going but it sure is in my mind.

   While I go enjoy my rest of the day browsing in blogland I wish you a good day too.
  


Ingredients:

Egg Noodles - 1 packet (200 gm)
Ginger - 1 Tbspn
Garlic - 2 Tbspn
Carrot - 1 julienned
Cabbage - long slender shreds (1 cup packed)
Beans - 20 nos juliened

Soyabean sauce - to taste.  I added 2 Tbspn
Green chilies - 2

Marinate Shrimp

Shrimp - 10 or 15 in number
Ginger garlic paste - 1/2 tspn
Oyster sauce - 1 Tbspn
Chili powder - 1/2 tspn

Ground Pepper - 1 tspn (or sprinkle to taste)



Method:
1. Cook Noodles as per packet instruction.  I run cold water over the cooked noodle and pour and toss it in 1 tbspn of oil and set aside

Marinate Shrimp:
1. Add oyster sauce, chili powder a little soya sauce and the ginger garlic paste and marinate for 20 minutes
2.  Heat a wok or big open pan which can hold the vegetables and noodles together and heat.
3. Pour 1 Tbspn of oil and add the chopped ginger and stir for a couple of seconds and add garlic.
4. Add the marinated prawns and saute for a minute and add the green chilies, beans, carrots and cabbage
5. Once the prawns have turned white or pink (color the shrimp turns to when cooked) depending on the type of shrimp you use add capsicum and stir on high heat to cook the edges
6. Add some remaining soyabean sauce and toss in the cooked noodles
7. Check for salt and taste and add some more soyabean sauce if needed



Notes: You can add 1 tspn of the stir fried chili sauce, maggi chicken bullion 1/2 packet etc to enhance the taste.  Aginomoto about 1/4 tspn also will help to enhance the flavors.  When I need to add a little spark to the noodle I do that sometimes.  On a regular basis prefer to avoid.

Contributor: Sunitha

Gobi Manchurian (dry)

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As Sunitha has already mentioned,  in our previous post, Chinese food always reminds us of Mangalore's Hao Ming and Hao Hao. Two restaurants most of us friends in college frequented. Little did I know that it was just the beginning.  Chinese food is a favorite around India and I have lost count of the number of chinese joints I have frequented since college times.  I am sure you will agree most of us Indians like Chinese food. A lot! So now we have invented all these Indo- Chinese dishes like Manchurian, which probably is a universal favorite. You might also have seen endless versions of Gobi Manchurian. I am no different and try many variations myself.  Nevertheless, today's recipe is one of our favorites at home and my children love it.

   Stir up some fun this weekend with Gobi Manchurian! If you are not a fan already I guarantee you will be.  Have a fun weekend guys! I am coming around to see what you have lined up.



Ingredients:

For fritters:

Cauliflower- Florets of 1 medium sized
All purpose flour- 3/4 cup
Corn flour- 3 Tbsp
Salt- To taste
Red chilli powder- 1 tsp
Ginger-garlic- 1 Tbsp
Oil- For deep frying

For the sauce:

Ginger grated- 2 tsp
Garlic grated- 1 Tbsp
Green chillies chopped- 2-3
White part of Green onions- 3 Tbsp
Green part of green onions- 3 Tbsp (for garnishing)
White pepper powder- 1/2 tsp
Bullion cube (powdered)- 1 (optional)
Dark Soy sauce- 3 Tbsp
Red chilli sauce- 2 Tbsp
Tomato sauce- 3 Tbsp
Sesame oil/ any other cooking oil- 1Tbsp
Salt- to taste.

Method:

1.Make a batter of all the ingredients listed under fritters, except cauliflower and oil.
2.Heat the oil for frying
3.Boil some water in a pan and dip the florets in it and boil for a couple of minutes.It should be cooked 3/4th, not fully.Drain the water completely.
4.Dip the florets in the batter and fry them till they turn golden brown in color, on both sides.
5.Drain them on a paper towel.
6.Heat a pan and pour 1 tbsp of sesame oil.Saute the ginger and garlic in this oil.
7.Now add the chopped green chillies and white part of green onions and saute for another 3-4 minutes.
8.Add Bullion cube powder,all the sauces and pepper powder and continue stirring for a couple of minutes.
9.Throw in the fried fritters into this and mix well.Turn off the heat and sprinkle with the green onions before serving.
10.Serve with hot vegetable fried rice or as it is, as a starter.




Notes:

1.To get the restaurant style manchurian you could add MSG(trade name-ajinomotto), a pinch. I don't buy MSG, since I'm not sure about the health problems it could cause.
2.You could replace the red chilli sauce with the green one, I used the former since I didn't have the later :-)

Contributor: Namitha

Cucumber in sweet vinegar

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     How are you?  I hope you are doing well.  The weather in these parts have been rather crazy see-saw between sunshine and snow.  Thankfully, yesterdays flurry din't last long on the ground and there is news that the weekend will be bright and sunny.  This is good.  It means a long walk in the woods for me.

The recipe today is a special one even though its the easiest concoction ever.  Most Chinese restaurants in India serve these on the table with pickled cabbage, soya bean sauce and ketchup.  I love it.   This is my own version of the recipe purely inspiried and concocted keeping the taste from the aforementioned restaurants in mind.  Please add more sugar or salt as needed since the strength of these, you know, depend on the brand and product. 

Ingredients:

Cucumber - 2
Sugar - 2 tspn
Salt - 1 1/2 tspn
Vinegar - 1/4 cup
Boiling Water - 1/4 cup
Green chillies - 2 to 4 nos

Method:
1. Add salt and sugar to the boiling water and once cool add vingegar
2. Slice cucumber and add to the mixture and keep overnight
Notes:

1. I don't make this to last a long time but just as a starter to a meal.
2. This way its tasty and you can do without the use of rich dips

   Great news also for me is this pretty post-it book that came in my mail the day before.  Oh! What joy!  Thank you Oraphan for this pretty lil book I adore.



We are participating in Pari's Combo Event .  Please find her announcement here

Our Entries:

Appam
Pav Bhajji
Poori Chole

Contributor:
Sunitha