Chinese Egg Fried Rice

 

            Chinese Egg Fried Rice is a yummy street food and is very popular in all Chinese restaurants. It is very quick and easy to prepare right at home. Assorted veggies that is easily available can be added. The eggs can be either scrambled or made into an omelet and then cut into strips. For a veg. version, simply skip it. 

           I have added some homemade red chili-garlic paste instead of tomato sauce, besides green chili sauce and soy sauce. You can adjust the sauces accordingly. This is a simple and a wholesome one pot meal - Chinese style, which can be relished with or without any side dish. So check out the step by step pictorial recipe to prepare this great comfort food.

• 2-3 cups cooked rice
• 2 eggs, well beaten
• 2 tbsp. oil 
• 1-2 dry red chilies, broken
• 1 tsp. garlic
• 2 green chilies, chopped
• 1/4 cup spring onion (white part), sliced
• 1 cup bell pepper, capsicum, cabbage, carrot, beans and baby corn, chopped
• 1/4 cup frozen green peas 
• 1 tbsp. soya sauce 
• 1 tbsp. red chili sauce 
• 1 tsp. green chili sauce
• pinch of salt or to taste
• 1/4 tsp. pepper powder
• 2 tbsp. spring onion (green part), chopped

           Heat 1 tsp. oil in a wok / kadai and stir fry the egg till it is well scrambled. Keep aside.

          Temper the remaining oil with dry red chilies, garlic and green chilies. Sauté till the garlic turns slightly pinkish in colour. 

           Then add the spring onion (white part). Sauté for a minute.

          Now add all the chopped veggies, including green peas and sauté for a minute more. 

  

          Time to add the cooked rice, followed by all the sauces, pinch of salt and pepper powder. Stir fry for 2 minutes.

          When done, add the scrambled egg and sauté for a minute. Garnish with spring onion (green part) and enjoy just as it is or with chili garlic prawns / any side dish.

                          Heat 1 tsp. oil & stir fry the egg till it is well scrambled. Keep aside.

                   Temper the remaining oil with red chilies & garlic. Sauté till the garlic turns

                   slightly pinkish in colour. 

                                  Then add the spring onion (white part). Sauté for a minute.

                     Add all the chopped veggies, including green peas & sauté for a minute. 

  

                                Time to add the cooked rice, 

                    followed by all the sauces, pinch of salt and pepper. Stir fry for 2 minutes.

                                 When done, add the scrambled egg and sauté for a minute. 

                                 Garnish with spring onion (green part).

                                 Enjoy just as it is or with chili garlic prawns / any side dish.

Seaweed Soup

          This is a real healthy, light and a simple vegetarian version of seaweed soup, a popular cuisine among the Koreans, Chinese and Japanese. Seaweeds contain a lot of nutrients, minerals, iodine, calcium, is low in calories and helps in purifying the blood. So it is highly recommended in your diet. 

          Traditionally, seaweed soup, apart from the basic seaweeds, is made using small bite size pieces of stir fried beef, chicken, shrimps or pork. For a veg. version, you may try with tofu, paneer, mushrooms, noodles or any veggie. Made with very few ingredients, it can be dished out in a jiffy for a great comfort meal. So check the step by step pictorial recipe to prepare this nutritious one-pot delicacy. 

          My son was able to get these seaweed sheets from South Korea on his recent visit. So I decided to give it a try. 

          At first I was quite skeptical as to how it would taste as this was my first try. But surprisingly it turned out quite yum and I loved it. 

          You may enjoy it for breakfast or for a light dinner. It can be had as it is, with steamed rice, noodles or any grilled stuff as a side dish. Choice is yours. 

          Traditionally a thicker and unprocessed variety of dried seaweeds are used for this kind of a soup. But as I just had these finely pressed nori sheets, I decided to try with them. The only difference was that there was no need to soak it for a longer time. I just soaked for 5-10 minutes and it turned soft. 

          The Koreans call this soup as Miyeok Guk or a Birthday soup and is given to new mothers for a couple of weeks for her recovery from childbirth. On the other hand, the Japanese love to relish Seaweed Soup with Tofu, noodles and Dashi-Miso broth.

• 30 small seaweed sheets
• 1/2 cup small paneer cubes 
• 2 tbsp. oil
• 1 tbsp. chopped garlic
• 1 sliced onion
• 3 cups stock
• 1 tbsp. soya sauce
• 1 tbsp. sesame oil
• 1/2 tsp. red chili flakes (opt)

          Soak the seaweed in lukewarm water for 5-10 minutes. Wash well and drain. Keep aside. 

          Heat oil in a pan and sauté the paneer cubes till light brown. Drain and keep aside. 

          In the same oil sauté the garlic till golden brown. Add the sliced onion and continue to fry till it turns translucent. 

          Add the stock and bring it to a boil. Now add the drained seaweed and soya sauce. Simmer for 2 minutes.

          Add the sesame oil and the fried paneer cubes. Simmer further for 2 more minutes and switch off the flame. Serve in individual bowls, garnished with red chili flakes. 

          

                        I used 30 of these small seaweed sheets.

                        Soak seaweed in lukewarm water for 5-10 minutes & drain.

                        Heat oil & sauté paneer cubes till light brown. Drain & keep aside. 

                        Sauté garlic too, till golden brown. Add onion & sauté till it turns                                                        translucent. 

                        Add the stock & bring it to a boil. 

                        Now add the drained seaweed 

                        & soya sauce. Simmer for 2 minutes.

                         Add the sesame oil and 

                        fried paneer cubes. Simmer further for 2 more minutes.

                                  Serve in individual bowls, garnished with red chili flakes. 

Fried Paneer Wontons

          Fried Wontons are crispy appetizers, very popular in Chinese restaurants. They are usually stuffed with chicken mince or shrimp paste and served with a lip smacking sweet chili garlic sauce. 

          So come lets learn a vegetarian version with some paneer filling. These visually appealing small bites are in fact very easy to prepare. So give it a try by checking for a step by step pictorial recipe to prepare them right in your own kitchen and enjoy with your loved ones. 

Dough - 

• 1 cup plain flour 
• Pinch of salt
• water to knead

Stuffing - 

• 100 gms. paneer, grated
• salt & pepper to taste
• 1 tsp. sesame oil
• 1 tbsp. coriander leaves + stems
• 1 tbsp. fried onion
• 1 tbsp. tomato ketchup

Sweet Chili Garlic Sauce - 

• 1/2 cup sugar syrup
• 1 tsp red chili powder
• 2 tbsp. red chili flakes
• 1 tsp. garlic, grated
• pinch pf salt

Other Ingredients - 

• Oil to deep fry
• 1 tsp. coriander leaves, chopped

          Sweet Chili Garlic Sauce - In a bowl, mix together all the ingredients for the sauce and keep aside.

          Dough - Make a dough with plain flour, salt and water. Cover with a muslin clothe and keep aside. 

          Stuffing - In a bowl, mix all the ingredients and keep aside. 

          To make wontons - Divide the dough into equal portions. Roll out into a large thin circle. Cut small roundels with the help of a cookie cutter.

          Take one roundel and place 1 tsp. of the paneer filling in the centre. Add some water around half of the edge and fold in a half moon shape. 

          Pinch the edges to seal tight and pull the two corners of the triangle and seal them with some water. Make similar wontons with the rest of the dough and stuffing.

          Heat oil in a pan and deep fry till they turn light golden in colour. Drain on a kitchen towel and enjoy with the sweet chili garlic sauce. 
      

          

                       To make wontons - Divide dough into equal portions. Roll into a large 
                       thin circle. Cut small roundels with help of a cookie cutter. Take one
                       roundel and place 1/2 tsp. of the paneer filling in the centre. 

                      Add some water around half of the edge & fold in a half moon shape.

                      Pinch the edges to seal tight.

                       Pull the two corners of the triangle and seal them with some water. 

                       Make similar wontons with the rest of the dough and stuffing.

                      Heat oil & deep fry till light golden in colour. Drain on a kitchen towel.

                                 Enjoy with the sweet chili garlic sauce. 
      

Chinese Style Chicken Stir Fry

          This is a very easy, simple and a quick recipe that can be dished out in a jiffy. It is healthy and nutritious as it has the goodness of vegetables and chicken which is a lean meat. Minimum of spices goes into it, yet there is no compromise in the taste and flavour. It is light on the tummy and goes very well either with fried rice, plain steamed rice or noodles. 

• 1 chicken breast, cubed
• 1 capsicum, cubed
• 1 carrot, cubed
• 1 onion, cubed
• 1 tbsp. oil
• 2 pinches of pepper powder
• 2 pinches of garlic powder
• salt to taste
• 1 tsp. corn flour
• 1 tsp. spring onion, chopped
• 1 tsp. coriander leaves, chopped

          Marinate the chicken with a pinch of salt for 10 minutes. Mix the corn flour in 1/4 cup water and keep aside. 

          Heat oil in a pan and stir fry the chicken for 2-3 minutes. Add the veggies, pepper powder and garlic powder. Stir fry for a minute. 

          Add 1 cup water and salt. Bring it to a boil. Cover and simmer for 1-2 minutes. Add the corn flour slurry and stir till the sauce turns slightly thick. 

          Switch off the flame and transfer to a serving dish. Garnish with spring onion and coriander leaves. Serve with hot steamed rice or fried rice.

Bok Choy Stir Fry - Chinese Style

          If you are a fan of greens of any variety, then you will surely like this simple, healthy and super easy Chinese style Bok Choy stir fry. It goes well as an accompaniment with either Chinese fried rice or noodles. 

         Few toasted sesame seeds, sprinkled on it gives a nice crunch and flavour to this dish. For a non-veg. version, prawns and chicken may be added. So check out the step by step pictorial recipe to prepare it.

• 2-3 bunches of Bok Choy, chopped 
• 1 tbsp. oil
• 1 whole dry red chili (opt)
• 1 tsp. garlic, chopped
• salt to taste
• 1/2 tsp. pepper powder
• 1 tbsp. sesame oil

          Heat oil in a pan and temper with the dry red chili and garlic. Saute till light brown. Now add the chopped greens and stir fry on high heat for 3-4 minutes.

          Add salt and pepper. Toss well and switch off the flame. Transfer to a serving dish and drizzle the sesame oil over it. Enjoy as it is or along with noodles.

                     Heat oil & temper with dry red chili & garlic. Saute till light brown. 

                               Add chopped greens & stir fry on high heat for 3-4 minutes.

                                  Add salt & pepper. Toss well & switch off the flame. 

                       Transfer to a serving dish & drizzle sesame oil over it. Enjoy it with 
                       noodles or Chinese fried rice.