CHILI CHICKEN - THE INDO CHINESE CLASSIC

Chili Chicken is an iconic part of the entire cult of Indo-Chinese Cooking. From the road side fast food stall, to authentic kitchens of China Town, Chili Chicken is omni present. Having grown up in Kolkata, India, I share an undying love for this classic. Chili Chicken and Hakka Noodles are a match made in heaven for any Indo Chinese lover.

India has had its share of Chinese immigrants. They brought their Cantonese cooking, and it adapted over the years in the various China Towns across Indian Cities. This strain of Chinese cooking, is very different from the Chinese food we get across our local Chinese takeouts spread across North America. It s a part of our nostalgia, its something we hold on to. Its something which is very difficult to not love.

What exactly is Chili Chicken? Chunks of skinless boneless Chicken thigh are crispy batter fried. Then cooked in an aromatic blend of chopped ginger- garlic, onions, peppers, soy sauce and chilies. The trick to a great Chili Chicken is cooking it on high heat, and in the right wok. It can turn from a delicacy to a mushy mess in no time, if you over cook it.

There are as many variations of the basic Chili Chicken recipe, as there are Indo-Chinese food connoisseurs in town. Every household might add its own special touch. My Husband has its own trick with it. We love it and keep demanding that he make it more often. Its the perfect home cooked Friday Night dinner .

If you don't prefer chicken, then you can substitute it with the protein of your choice. The cooking time will vary according to the protein. If you are cooking with prawns, then the cooking time with reduce, when you are frying your protein, and a meat tenderizer might be useful, if you are cooking with skirt steak.

Hope you enjoy making it at home. Be sure to write to me when you do.

CHILI CHICKEN :

Ingredients :
Chicken Thighs - Boneles & Skinless - 1 lb
Egg : 1
Salt : To Taste
Sugar : 1 tsp
White Vinegar : 1 tbsp
Soy Sauce : 2 tbsp
Sambal Olek : 1/2 tbsp to 1 tbsp
Dry Red Chilies : 10(Cut the number by half if you are also using Fresh Green Chilies)
MSG(Ajino Moto ) : 2 pinches
Chicken Bullion : 1 cube
All Purpose Flour : 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup
Black Pepper - Gound : 1 tbsp to 2tbsp
Canola Oil (for frying chicken and for gravy)
Sesame Oil
Red Onion : 1 large (Cubed)
Red Bell Pepper : 1 large : Cubed
Ginger : 1 inch Piece : Finely Chopped
Garlic : Half a large garlic : Finely Chopped
Shitake Mushrooms (Optional)
Corn Starch (Corn Flour) : 1 tbsp
Plain Water (Room temperature) - for Gravy and for making corn slurry
Red Chili Powder (or Paprika) : 1 tsp

Procedure:

Cut the chicken thighs in 2 inch chunks.

Make a dry rub of all purpose flour, a pinch of MSG(ajino moto), black pepper and a cube of chicken bullion.

Crach an egg in a bowl and whisk it. Dunk the chicken pieces first in egg and then in the dry mix. Keep aside. Heat Canola CaOil in a non stick pan. Fry the chicken in batches, till they are golden brown. Drain on a paper towel.

Finely chop  the ginger and garlic. Cube the red onion and bell pepper. If you have green chilies, you can chop them too.

We had soaked some dehydrataed Shitake Mushrooms in warm water. Drain the water , before you cook them.

In a wok or non stick pan, first add canola oil.

Then add some toasted Sesame Oil.

Add a teaspoon of plain white granulated sugar and let it caramelize .

Add in the cubed onions first, then the chopped ginger- garlic and chilies. We had messed the order a bit, but the taste didnt compromise .

If you are using MSG(Ajino Moto), add a dash of it now.

A dash of good black pepper powder.

Mix Mix Mix

Soy Sauce goes in next. Go easy on it .

Some Sambal Olek. Adjust acccording to heat preferences.

A touch of Red Chili Powder (or paprika if you want cut down on the heat, yet want the color) .

White Vinegar helps to tie in all the elements together.

Half a glass of water, to make a gravy .

Add in your fried Chicken Pieces and Shitake Mushroom(if you are using it).

Make a slurry (runny paste) of Corn Starch(Corn Flour) with plain water. Mix well, as it tends to clump. Add it to your gravy to thicken it. Make sure you stir well.

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CHINESE BREAKFAST 'FOOD WALK' IN KOLKATA

I love me some god Chinese food. And by that I don't mean the neighborhood Chinese takeway which has its stash of over sweetened gravies. Having grown up in Kolkata, in India, my taste buds are attuned towards a different kind of Chinese food experience.  For those of you who did know, Kolkata, is truly a melting pot of flavors,with a large Chinese population. While the current China Town, or Tangra is known for its bevy of well known Chinese restaurants, what some foodies are not aware of is the old China Town and what it has to offer. The CHINESE BREAKFAST in Tirrety Bazar or Sun Yat Sen Street is iconic. 

We were in India a few months back. It was Father's Day and my Father,my Husband and Brother(not in the video) were in their co-ordinated Fathers Day Tshirts picked out by me. We were all set to drive to the beach. Rather than a breakfast along the highway, we decided to do something different. 

Join me and my family in this unique Food Walk, by clicking on the Video below .    

If you find your mouth watering, here's some more teasers : 

If you are in KOlkata, let me help you with your weekend plans .Grab your Family or your Friends or both, and head to Tirrety Bazar for this awesome food walk. If you are away from Kolkata(and India), You can watch the video yet again ,and spread the word

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P. F . CHANG'S CHINA BISTRO, KC : EATING OUT : FATHER'S DAY DINNER

 

It was ages since we had dined at P. F .Chang. You always tend to overlook the obvious choices and go for the fancier ones. But there are times, when you want to get back to the familiar places and have some good old family time. So some of my mom friends and me decided to treat the Dads for Fathers Day. And as it was a surprise and all the Dads have very different tastes in food, we thought of sticking to common grounds. Everyone likes Chinese, right. P. F . Chang's it was. It also meant that we could all squeeze in some typical KC Photos with the Plaza Fountains before or after dinner, if the girls were in the mood for it.

It was almost a year after we went to P F Chang's. It always holds a special place for me, and my expectations were pretty high.

They had a new menu for smaller plates, but we opted for the regular menu as we were 12 of us(including hungry children), and surely needed bigger and wholesome helpings.

We started off with SALT AND PEPPER CALAMARI, CHICKEN LETTUCE WRAP AND DYNAMITE SHRIMP. The Calamari was tender and not rubbery and just had a hint of seasoning. I could do with a  lil more salt. I personally prefer the Beef Lettuce Wrap but the chicken one didn't disappoint. The disappointment started with the Dynamite Shrimp. It used to be served in a Martini glass and used to have a good hint of spice to  it. The current version was served in a plate with some crisps. And it was clawingly sweet. Did I mention I hate my non vegetarian fare to be sweet. It somehow kills my appetite for me. But I let it go, thinking, that maybe it was one dish which was bad. But I was clearly mistaken on that. It was just the beginning of the food disasters which were to follow. So much for a special night huh !

SALT AND PEPPER CALAMARI

DYNAMITE SHRIMP

CHICKEN LETTUCE WRAP

For the main course we ordered CHANG'S FRIED RICE, SINGAPORE STREET NOODLES, HUNAN FISH, CHANG'S SPICY CHICKEN and GARLIC NOODLES.

CHANG'S FRIED RICE

Chang's Fried Rice was nice and light and the kids seemed to love it. We had requested that our food be MSG free as with kids and allergies its best not to take chances.  It was almost like a typical egg Fried Rice that you might find at every Chinese joint across the globe. Nothing special about it.

The Singapore Street Noodles always make me feel as if I am on a vacation. I have never been to South East Asia, but whenever I taste this noodles, it makes me feel thats this is what street food would taste in that part of the world. The shrimps in the Singapore Street Noodles were a decent size and overall the noodles packed a punch in terms of taste.

I hate food photography with flash, but the restaurant had really bad lighting in its private dining area,so had to use flash for some photographs. My apologies for that.

SINGAPORE STREET NOODLES

HUNAN FISH

If the Dynamite Shrimp was a let down, then the Hunan Fish and Chang's Spicy Chicken were a disaster. First of all they tasted exactly similar. It was almost tasted like both had been doused in the same sauce and just plated differently. This was clearly not the first time for us in P F Chang, so we know our sauces and at least their signature dishes. Secondly, both the fish and the chicken were super sweet.  What's with the name tag of Spicy and having a Chili sign next to the entry on the menu.

CHANG'S SPICY CHICKEN

With kids and four families, we had to re-order a few things. So we opted for LOBSTER FRIED RICE and another round of SINGAPORE STREET NOODLES.

The Lobster fried rice was a nice and buttery and the natural sweetness of the lobster was a good compliment to the fried rice. It was pretty balanced and I could make a meal out of just this.

But the star of the show was surely an old favorite of ours, which luckily still is good. Its GARLIC NOODLES.  These are noodles, which are cooked with a heady mount of garlic then tossed with ed chili flakes and served with cucumber juliennes to cool it all down. Its a vegetarian noodle dish, but its so good, that you can actually eat plate full of it. The noodles have a good kick to them, and while you might feel hot, you will still reach out for more.

GARLIC NOODLES

We finished off dinner with huge slices of decadent CHOCOLATE CAKE which I decorated with some candles, to make it more apt for the occasion.  The Restaurant didn't have any candles even for special occasions.

It was a great time with friends and family, as Four Dads celebrated their special day together. But in terms of food and service, P F Chang's has literally gone down the hill. What was the need to re-formulate the recipes of popular dishes which everyone loves so much. And our server was so in his own world and didn't do anything to make the special time a bit more special. This is clearly not the service one expects from a chain like P F Chang. 

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