Kung Pao Fish

The Valentine’s day dinner at the Hotel Le Royal Meridien this year will definitely be a memorable evening for both of us. The Candle-lit tables with heart-shaped arrangements of bright red roses everywhere with lovely music and delicious food made it a perfect date. But there was one dish amongst a huge buffet spread that made us go for it again and again, " Kung Pao Yee". Being a curious cook, I just had to walk to the Chef and ask for the recipe and he immediately gave a hand-written note of the recipe. Now, I share it with you.

Ingredients

Fish [ boneless] - 500 gm ; cubed or sliced.

Spring Onions - ½ cup(finely chopped)

Celery - ½ cup(finely chopped)

Capsicum - 1 (cut into medium sized pieces)

Ginger - 1 tsp. (finely chopped)

Garlic - 1 tsp.(finely chopped)

Chilli Paste - 2 - 3 tbsp (adjust according to your spice level)

Soya sauce - 2 tsp.

Vinegar - 2 tsp.

Dried Red Chillies - a few

Fried Cashew nuts - a handful.

To Marinate the Fish.

Egg - 1

Flour - 1 tsp.

Corn Flour - 1 tsp.(optional).

Fish Fry Masala/ Chilli Powder - 2-3 tbsp.

Aji-no-motto - 1 or 2 tsp.

Sugar - 1 tsp or less. ( just a pinch of sugar would do).

Salt - to taste.

　

Method

1. Marinate the fish after adding all the Ingredients mentioned for 30 - 45 min.
2. After the Fish is marinated, deep fry the fish cubes, pat excess oil and keep it aside.
3. Heat the wok and add 2 tbsp of oil.
4. Add the chopped celery, shallots, capsicum, red chillies, ginger, garlic and sauté.
5. Ad the Chilli paste, soya sauce, salt, aijinomotto, sugar, vinegar and saute.
6. Add the Fried Fish and Cashews and saute again for 2 minutes.
7. Serve and eat Hot.

Note : This dish could also be made with tofu or paneer or chicken.

Learn from my mistakes!

• Do not marinate the Fish for a very long time. The Fish could become rough. The moisture of the fish should be retained.
• Adding a lot of soya sauce makes the dish bitter or sour.Dont overcook the vegetables.

My Desi Fried Chicken

Our entire family is a great fan of the Kentucky Fried Chicken(KFC). The hype about "Find the secret Ingredients in the KFC chicken" made me create a Desi version of the KFC. The taste is pretty close and I didn’t use a lot of Ingredients. My Desi chicken became quite a hit in my family. According to me, the secret lies in the cooking of the chicken, the surface should be crispy and golden brown but the meat inside should be succulent and juicy. Mouth watering …. Isn’t it???

Ingredients

Chicken pieces(leg or wings or breast) - 4
Flour - 4 tbsp
Egg - 1
Ground Pepper - 1 tbsp.
Parsley - 1 tsp.
Chilli flakes - 1 tsp.
salt - 1 to 2 tsp.
Chicken fry masala - 2 to 3 tbsp (Ahh...Blame the Indian palate!!! cant do without masala..) spices
Chicken soup cube - 1 (optional)
Ajinomotto - 1 pinch (optional)
Oil to fry

Method

1. Mix the spices(Pepper, chilli flakes, Parsley, chicken masala),chicken soup cube and salt.
2. Marinate it for about 30 - 45 min. pierce with a fork on the chicken pieces to help the masala seep in.
3. Beat the egg in a bowl. You can also add 1 to 2 tsp. of milk to the egg if you prefer.
4. Spread the flour in a plate.
5. Heat oil in a pan .Don’t overheat the oil since it will lead to quicker burning of the surface leading to undercooked chicken inside.

tip : there's an old method that says if you drop a piece of bread in the oil, it should turn to golden brown color in 60 seconds but I just drop in a little piece of flour in the oil. If it rises to the to the top then the oil is ready to fry.

6. Take a chicken piece , dip it in the egg mixture and then roll it in the flour.
7. Repeat the process to get a thick coating. So it goes like

           egg --> flour ---> egg --> flour

8. Place it in the oil and deep fry in low flame. It takes almost 8 - 10 minutes to cook.
9. Keep turning the chicken in the oil to get a uniform golden brown color . Remove from the oil and pat with a tissue paper or kitchen towel and remove excess oil. Serve hot with Ketchup.