Chinese Fried Rice

Today I will share a recipe that is very common and everybody’s favorite one. It’s fried rice. We generally order this half of the times when we go to a Chinese restaurant. But we rarely make this at home though it’s very easy to make and doesn’t take more than 20 minutes. Fried rice is a dish of steamed rice, stir-fried in a wok, often mixed with other ingredients such as eggs, vegetables and meat. It has countless variations and different Asian countries make their own version of it. Some of them are popular worldwide like Indonesian Nasi Goreng, Thai Pineapple fried rice, and Filipino garlic fried rice and Chinese Fried rice. We Indians generally love the Chinese one because it has become integral part of Indian Food habits. So much so that street shops in some cities like Calcutta sell more Chinese style fried rice than any other Indian food.    

After experimenting for couple of years, I gathered some simple tips to make my fried rice perfect. Let me share these tips before starting the actual recipe:

1. Use long grain rice because short grain rice can stick together.

2. Cook the rice and then refrigerate it for couple of hours. This will not make actual fried rice mushy.

3. Use a big pan or wok and cook fried rice over high flame; this will help to get the burnt flavor. 

If you follow these 3 things, you can make fried rice like restaurant or far better and healthier  than that as most of the restaurants use MSG that is not good for health. 

Recipe of Chinese Fried Rice : Serves : 3 to 4 

Prep time : 20 minutes, Cook time : 10 minutes, Total time : 30 minutes 

Ingredients :

Rice : cooked, 3 cups ( long grain rice )
Vegetables : 1 cup as per your choice ( carrot / green bell pepper / cabbage ( shredded or finely chopped ) or peas / fresh bean sprout whatever you like ) 
Garlic : 4 cloves, minced 
Eggs : 2 
Chicken : 1 cup boneless and skinless, cut in long-thin strip or use leftover cooked chicken 
Cornflour : 1 tablespoon
White vinegar : 1 teaspoon 
Shrimp : 3/4 cup peeled and deveined without tail
Green onions / Scallions : 2  ( the white part and the green part separately finely chopped )
Oil : 5 tablespoon
Salt : to taste 
Ground Black pepper : to taste 
Soy sauce : 4 tablespoon 
Sesame oil : few drops

Method :

1. Marinate the chicken pieces with vinegar, soy sauce, black pepper and a pinch of salt for 10 to 15 minutes.

2. Take a large skillet or wok, heat it up and add 2 tablespoons of oil. Sprinkle cornflour to the marinated chicken pieces, mix well until they get a nice coat. Add the chicken pieces to the wok. Stir it until they are cooked. Once done set it aside.

If you use cooked chicken skip the above steps. 

3. Add oil to the same wok, add the shrimp and sprinkle salt and pepper. Saute it until they are pink. Once shrimps are cooked, keep it aside.

4. Clean the wok by scraping it off and add oil. Once oil is hot, add the garlic. Once garlic is lightly brown, add the white / onion part of scallions. Stir it for couple of minutes until fragrant. Add the vegetable and keep stirring for 2 to 3 minutes or until tender. 

5. Add the beaten egg and stir to scramble. Add the chicken and shrimp and mix it well.  Stir and toss between each addition. 

6. Break up the large clumps of rice and separate the grains and add it to the wok. Give some stirs.

7. Add the sauce and ground black pepper. Taste and check seasoning, add salt if required. Stir everything until the rice is well-coated and gets a light brown color. Sprinkle the green part of chopped scallions and the sesame oil. Switch off the gas and serve immediately. 

 Related recipes, you may like :

 Chow mein-Chinese Mixed Noodles

 Egg Drop Soup

Mushroom Chicken

Continue Reading...

Tweet

Garlic Prawn Pasta

As you might have already guessed from my picture earlier, I'm going to share a pasta dish today. Off late, this has become regular dinner or lunch dish on working days, especially for me and my son. Because it is fast and at the same time, fresh and fabulous. It takes only 10 minutes from chopping board to plate. When you are in busy schedule or too tired but still love to have fresh and home-cooked food, this is the dish for you.

This Angel hair Pasta with garlic and prawns is my personal favorite, as I like prawns and garlic both and pasta is anytime hit in my family. I used angel hair pasta to this recipe, but you can use any kind of pasta or spaghetti as per your choice. This particular recipe is adopted from Donna Hay's Garlic Prawn Pasta. The use of fried egg on the top of the pasta is completely optional. I liked to serve the dish this way and I feel it makes this dish more delicious.

Though original recipe uses fresh prawns, I did with some raw frozen prawns because I wanted to make this real fast. Thaw the frozen prawns. Add your favorite pasta when salted water is boiling and let it cook. In between finely chop or slice some garlic pods and make some peeled lemon zests ready. Cook - stir and mix it up together. A cozy meal is ready to serve. 

The Recipe of Garlic Prawn Pasta : serves 2 

Ingredients :

Angel hair pasta / Thin Spaghetti : 8 oz / 200 g 
Butter : 3 tablespoon 
Olive oil - 1 tablespoon or as per needed 
Garlic : 5-6 cloves, finely chopped or sliced 
Chili flakes : 1 teaspoon or as per your tolerance 
Lemon zest : ( shredded ) 1 tablespoon 
Prawns ( raw )  frozen or fresh, cleaned and peeled : 12 or 1 cup 
Lemon juice : 1 tablespoon 
Salt :
Pepper : if needed 
Parsley leaves : roughly torn, 1/4 cup 
Eggs : 2

Method :

1. Take a large sauce pan, add water and let it boil. Add salt, add pasta and cook the pasta as per package instruction. To avoid sticky pasta add few drops of oil, when it starts boiling. 

2. Clean and peel the prawns. Sprinkle salt on them, coat it well and set it aside.

3. Once pasta is well cooked, drain it and save some of the liquid and set aside. 

4. Heat a frying pan over medium heat. Add the butter and oil to the pan. Once butter or oil is ready, add the garlic, chili flakes and the lemon zest and cook about 2 minutes. 

5. Add the prawns and keep stirring. Cook until the prawns are tender and cooked. 

6. Reduce the heat, add the pasta, lemon juice, salt and pepper and torn fresh parsley to the pan. Toss to combine, if the pasta is too dry add some of the saved liquid. 

7. Adjust salt and pepper and serve warm with more fresh parsley, chili flakes and olive oil ( if you wish ) 

To cook the eggs :

Heat butter or oil in a frying pan. Break the egg carefully in to the pan, the yolk should not break. Cook at medium heat until the white is set but yolk is still soft or runny. Sprinkle salt and pepper on the egg. Remove from heat and top pasta with eggs and serve.




Note : The amount of the ingredients are adjustable. Since it is fast and simple, there is hardly need to measure anything.

Continue Reading...

Tweet

Egg Drop Soup

Wish all my readers a very happy new year and hope 2014 will fulfill all your dreams and ambitions. I am back after a long break. We spent a very relaxed and warm year-end vacation in the midst of beautiful and sunny San Diego weather. It’s so hard to imagine 70 F temperature and people going to beaches in the last week of December. So only way to feel the cold and snow was to visit nearby mountain tops like big bears. It was so refreshing to see snows on the road while driving. My kid had a nice skiing experience for the first time. Like every other years, we celebrated 31^st night at residence of our family friend with other members from Bengali community. It was great fun with authentic Indian food and music.

But eventually I had to be back to my old routine and so started preparing myself for new blog post. I was searching for some quick and easy recipe that would be perfect to start the New Year. During the vacation, we tried out different Chinese cousins and today’s idea is influenced by those experiences. Today I will share the recipe of a soup, which is favorite not only at my family, but probably to most of the people who likes soups. It’s called Egg Drop Soup. This is the most soothing and comforting dish that needs only three basic ingredients. It is very simple, flavorful and a healthy choice, if you are looking for a lighter soup. It takes only 15 minutes to be on the table from oven. 

It is a Chinese Soup of beaten eggs in boiled chicken broth. The chicken broth is seasoned with white pepper and soy sauce. It is finished by adding a thin stream of beaten eggs to the boiling broth. Once it’s done thin and silken threads of cooked egg floats in the soup. You can add your choice of vegetables in the broth that makes the soup healthier! A warm bowl of protein and vegetables give you that feel good factor at any time. I am sure that it will slowly become everybody’s favorite in your home and then regular refreshment in the evening.

This is my version of Egg Drop Soup. I have no idea how to make the authentic one. But this one is based on the tastes that we used to have American Chinese or Indo-Chinese restaurants. 

Recipe of Egg Drop Soup : Serves 2 to 3

Ingredients :

Chicken Stock  / vegetable stock : 2 cups and half cup

Corn Starch : 1 and half tablespoon 

Water : 3 tablespoon 

Light Soy Sauce : 1/2 tsp 

White pepper powder ( ground ) : as per taste

Salt :  to taste 

Egg : 2 lightly beaten 

Spring onion or green onion : ( a handful ) finely chopped ( keep the green part and white part separately). 

Vegetables : I used finely sliced carrot ( a handful ), you can use mushroom / bean sprout / celery / tomato / tofu.

Method :

1. In a small bowl, mix the corn starch with the water. Stir it well to blend and set aside. 

2. Take a medium sized soup pot, pour the stock or broth and add vegetable and the white part of spring onion. Bring it to a boil.

3. Let it boil for couple of minutes. Add white pepper, salt, and soy sauce. 

4. Add slowly the corn starch mixture to boiling soup. Cook for about 2 to 3 minutes.

5.  Reduce the heat and now hold the bowl of beaten eggs several inches  from the soup pot. Pour eggs in a very slow and thin stream into the boiling mixture, and at the same time stirring gently with a fork or with a pair of chopsticks in one direction.  ( This is the tricky part to make this soup, and this way the silky egg strands will be formed. Do not pour egg too fast or too much quantity )

6. Switch off the gas and pour it into bowls. Garnish with chopped green onions and serve hot. 

Continue Reading...

Tweet

Bacon Wrapped Egg Cupcakes

I love lazy weekend as I can get up late and there is no hurry to get anything ready or to go anywhere. Also my happy weekend means a relaxed one with yummy food! Both the boys are early risers, so I don't get much time to prepare their favorite breakfast on weekend. 

Off late I've collected several yummy breakfast recipes which are easy to make but a lovely way to start the day. Bacon Wrapped Egg Cupcakes is one of them, favorite breakfast to my 6 years old. 

Couple of my friends have been asking me to post some back-to-school lunch recipes. This one is not very usual kid's lunch but will go well for a change once in a month.   

I do not experiment much for my kid's school lunch. As my son is picky eater, I give him whatever he likes. Usually he carries chicken sandwich, Potato / Chicken wrap, any quick fix pasta, meatballs, smashed potato, steamed or stir fry veggies. Recently I tried this Bacon wrapped Egg Cupcakes with some baked potato wedges and some vegetables. He really liked it as the lunchbox returned empty.

Bacon Wrapped Egg Cupcakes, is not technically a cupcake in the traditional sense, but a cute and impressive addition to any breakfast or brunch spread. It uses minimal ingredients and takes less than 30 minutes to whip together. You can add green or red peppers and onion with egg though. Most of the time I do not add any vegetables or meats with the egg, except cheese.

Try it for your kids, they will surely enjoy!

Recipe of Bacon Wrapped Cupcakes : for 12 cupcakes

Ingredients :

Eggs : 9 

Bacon : 12 slices 

Cheese : 1 cup, Shredded Cheddar  ( or as per your choice )

Chopped Vegetable : 1 cup (optional ) you can add chopped onion, green or red bell peppers, tomato, mushroom. 

Fresh herbs : 

Salt : 

Pepper : 

Method :

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

2. Cook the Bacon on medium heat, until it is brown but not crisp.

3. Spray muffin tin and line each cup with a bacon around the edges.

4. Take a big bowl and whip all eggs. Add cheese, vegetables, salt, pepper and other desired herbs to it. Mix them together.

5. Evenly pour the egg mixture into each cup. Fill it about 1/2 way.

6. Bake about 15 to 20 minutes, until egg is done.

7. Pop out and serve. 

Note : Wrap tightly in plastic wrap, then refrigerate up to 24 hours before serving.

Continue Reading...

Tweet

Egg Devil ( Dim r Chop )

A whiff of some food’s flavors can send you back to your childhood memories when weekend was not synonymous to party or eating out! Rather your mom or grand mom would make something special on Sunday or some traditional “tele-bhaja” will be brought from nearest famous shops. The entire family would be reunited to enjoy the same. Some of these recipes are age-old and handed down through generations. “Dimer Chop” is one of such snacks preparations, which is also called 'Dimer Devil' / Egg Devil ☺

Today I'll share this secret recipe of Egg Devil which is also popular as a street food in Bengal. Egg Devil is actually result of the influence from Mughlai Cuisine, introduced to Bengali Cuisine in the early eighteenth century. It has several different procedures to make. Sometimes it is made with boiled half egg when yolk is taken out. Then mix it with the potato mixture and place back in position. Give it a shape of full egg with the potato mixture and then dip in egg wash. Roll in the bread crumbs and finally deep-fry it.

There is another version of the same dish when you can use either the half of a boiled egg or the full one. Then cover the egg with potato mixture, dip in egg-wash, roll in bread-crumbs and deep-fry it. This version is the most popular and usually found in any restaurant in Calcutta or street-side stalls. Today I will follow the same version. This is very similar to Scotch egg, while Scotch egg consists of a hard-boiled egg wrapped in sausage meat. Only difference is that our Egg Devil is wrapped in potato mixture. You can serve this Crunchy deep-fried Egg Devil either as a snack or an appetizer with your favorite dipping sauce. It goes well with kasundi (zesty mustard sauce) and with some salads. 

Recipe of Dim r Chop ( Egg Devil ) : For 6 pieces

Ingredients : 

For Potato mixture :

1. Potato - 3 (medium to big sized ) boiled and smashed 
2. Oil - 3 tbsp
3. Onion - 1 small ( finely chopped )
4. Garlic - 1 to 2 tbsp (paste or grated )
5. Salt - 
6. Bhaja Masla ( Roasted Spice Powder ) - 1 tbsp 

 Hard Boiled Egg - 6 ( if you want to make it of full egg ) or 3 ( if you want it of half egg )

Egg : 1 for egg wash

Bread Crumbs : 

Oil : for deep frying 

Method : 


For Roasted Spice Powder - Take a tablespoon of cumin seeds, and a whole ( or half as per tolerance) dry red chili. First dry roast it till it becomes fragrant, then grind them into a powder.


1. Take a pan, add oil and heat it up, once oil is ready, add onion. Saute the onion, til it is light brown, add salt to it. 

2. Add the garlic paste and stir it until raw smell goes off.

3. Add the boiled and smashed potato to the pan, add salt, stir it and mix it well.

4. Add 1 tbsp of Roasted Spice Powder ( bhaja masla ) and again give some stirs. Check seasoning  and once potato is enough dry, turn off the gas. The Potato mixture is ready, set it aside and let it cool down at room temperature. 

5. Take the boiled egg, cut into two vertical pieces. If you want to make the devil of full egg, don't need to cut it.

6. Take a piece of egg, cover it with the potato mixture and give it to an oval shape. Repeat the process for the rest of the eggs.

7. Make the egg wash by whisking the egg with 2-3 tbsp of water to have a smooth consistency. Spread the bread crumbs on a flat surface. 

8. First dip the potato mixture coated egg in the egg wash then roll in the bread crumbs.

9. Repeat the same process for all the eggs and make sure they are well coated with bread crumbs. 

10. Heat oil in deep frying pan. Once it's ready, fry them one by one at medium temperature till they get nice brown color on the both sides. Take them out from the pan and place on a paper towel to absorb the excess oil. 

11. Egg Devil aka Dimer Devil is ready!! Serve hot with mustard sauce( kasundi ) or your favorite dipping sauce and with some salad.

Note :  If you want to avoid deep frying method, you can bake it at oven,  for baking method click here, go to the 'Method' and follow 11th and 12th steps.

Continue Reading...

Tweet