Chinese Take away style
Kung Pao Chicken
Have you had this feeling when you are at home, all relaxed and chilling, don't feel like eating guilty from a restaurant or order a takeaway and wanted to have something Chinese and eat in about half an hour? I have always had that kinda craving especially on a cleanup spree day. It is always so satisfying to have easy to cook delicious homemade meal. Don't think of the dishes to wash. They can always be done later but a good family time with good food is always the best idea. No place outside can give the comfort of home.
Chinese cuisine has been close to my heart since childhood. My family always teased me saying I should have been born a Chinese and not Indian. My sister just cannot stand how chicken can be made sweet and spicy. That is what I love about Chinese cuisine. Especially Indo-Chinese. The aromatic white basmati rice balances the flavor of Kung Pao Chicken.
When you can make the perfect take out dinner why leave the comfort of your home. Relax and cook this easy peesy recipe at home with the family. Let's move on to the ingredients.
INGREDIENTS
- 1/4 Cup soy sauce, divided
- 2 tsp cornstarch, divided
- 300 gm chicken breast, chopped into 1" pieces
- 1/4 Cup low-sodium chicken broth
- 2 tsp sesame oil
- 1-2 dry red chilli
- 1 tsp red chilli sauce
- 1 tsp Sriracha sauce
- 1 tsp peri peri sauce
- 1 tbsp. vegetable oil
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 bell pepper, chopped
- 3 green onions, finely sliced
- 1/3 cup Chopped peanuts
INSTRUCTIONS
- In a medium bowl, combine 1 tablespoon soy sauce, and 1 teaspoon cornstarch. Whisk until smooth then add the chicken and toss to coat. Marinate 15 minutes.
- Make the sauce: In a small bowl, whisk together remaining 3 tablespoons soy sauce, remaining 1 teaspoons cornstarch, chicken broth, red chilli sauce, Sriracha sauce, and peri peri sauce. Whisk until evenly combined.
- In a large skillet over medium-high heat, heat vegetable oil. Add chicken and cook until golden and almost cooked through about 10 minutes. Remove from heat.
- Add more oil, if necessary, and add the bell pepper. Cook until tender, about 5 minutes, then stir in garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute more. Add the dry red chillies
- Return chicken to skillet and pour in sauce. Stir to combine and bring mixture to a low simmer. Cook until the chicken is cooked through and the sauce has thickened, about 2 minutes.
- Stir in green onions and peanuts. Serve immediately.
Note: You can avoid all the sauces and stick to just the soy sauce. And if you like it sour you may add in a little vinegar.
Do try this recipe and don't forget to share your experience/feedback with me here in the comments or feel free to send me a mail. Also, do tag me at #taystedit if you try out my recipes on Facebook, Instagram etc so that I can see when you make it. ♡♡♡♡
Parmesan Chicken Piccata
Looking for a lip-smacking side dish to along with your pasta or rice? This is the perfect side dish especially if you love Italian cuisine. I love love love Italian cuisine. I just cannot sum up how much I love Italian. Italian food is what made me love cooking in my teens. I just love how beautiful and aromatic it is when minced garlic is sautéed in butter or olive oil. My little brother just cannot wait on his legs when I start any dish starting with sautéing garlic in butter. He just doesn't leave until and unless he gets to eat it and I just get mad when I get interrupted while cooking, and he will come back every other minute to check if it is done to eat. Lol.
The chicken breast is cut lengthwise or in a butterfly shape and floured and then fried in olive oil to golden perfection. A sauce made from garlic-lemon-butter is poured over the chicken to make it slurpy good. The juice from the chicken gets combined in the buttery sauce when the sauce bubbles on a low flame for a minute or two. I know you might think, who has the time to make a side dish let alone a main dish. But I assure you this won't take much of your time, it is super easy. It only took me about 15 minutes only to make this. And the Mr. loved it. Alhamdulillah. The 15 minutes was worth it if you know what I mean. 😉 All a wife wants is a happy husband. ❤️
This juicy chicken can be served hot with pasta, rice or roasted veggies. This recipe is just too good yet so easy. This Chicken Piccata is going to be a family favorite in no time. I served it with some brown fried rice. The recipe of brown fried rice is on the blog.
Ingredients
For The Chicken:
2 large boneless and skinless chicken breasts halved lengthwise to make 4
2 tablespoons flour (all purpose)
2 tablespoons finely grated fresh Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon salt
1 egg
Cracked pepper
2 tablespoons fresh cilantro/parsley
Notes:
- You can make this chicken without using an egg instead you may just pat it in flour.
- You can make it more crumbly by using bread crumbs after the chicken is dipped in the egg/flour mixture.
- The parmesan cheese gives it a more cheesy flavor you may always avoid it; it becomes a classic delicious chicken Piccata.
- You may also make it creamy by adding heavy cream/Evaporated milk.
- Use tender Chicken Breast for best results. It will be super juicy or you may always brine it.
- Pound the chicken breast if it is too thick or else the inside of the chicken will not get done.
- Be careful when you add salt, remember the stock already has salt in it.
Do try this recipe and don't forget to share your experience/feedback with me here in the comments or feel free to send me a mail. Also, do tag me at #taystedit if you try out my recipes on Facebook, Instagram etc so that I can see when you make it. ♡♡♡♡
Ratatouille - A French Veggie Stew
Have you heard of the movie Ratatouille? It's a Disney Animation Movie, whose story involves the dish Ratatouille. And I watched this movie when I was doing my schooling (I didn't know much about food and cooking back then🙊) and loved how pretty the dish looked! I was fascinated!😍
I used to pronounce the name as Rat-at-uillee whereas it's pronounced as rat-at-toolee. I was in love with how beautiful it looked. If you are fond of roasted veggies, then you're definitely going to love this meal. The tomato gravy acts as a sauce to go with the veggies, they are cooked till tender and has charred a bit. I love my veggies crisp, the more you bake, the crisper and it enhances the flavor (keep an eye while it gets done, you don't want it to burn😁).
Ratatouille is a veggie stew, where the veggies are thinly sliced and placed in a consistent fashion around the dish. Basically, it is a healthy and tasty meal idea. I am sure, anyone who sees the ratatouille will be amazed. I love how tasty it turned out as I was a little reluctant to try it. You must definitely try this out if you're looking for a recipe for guilt-free eating. My hubby and dad loved it. They were saying I had to make more such dishes since it was delicious at the same time healthy too. Being it a French dish I doubted my dad would like it but I was proven wrong.
But hey! I don't know about yours, our fam has this thing, everything we eat has to have a companion. Like in the case of this dish, it's more like a veggie stew, so it has to be had with some roti. To compensate that I paired it with some homemade pita bread to go with the extra tomato gravy. 🍅So let's make some Ratatouille! You're gonna love it. ❤️
INGREDIENTS
- 1 cup of Tomato puree/ crushed tomato (fresh/tin, tetra pack)
- Dried Oregano, to taste
- Red Chilli flakes, to taste
- Dried Basil, to taste
- 1 tsp Minced Garlic
- Salt and Pepper to taste
- Pinch of Sugar
- 4 tbsp olive oil
- 1 aubergine/eggplant
- 2 red bell pepper/ tomatoes
- 4-5 zucchini
- 2 Potatoes/ yellow bell pepper
- Salt, pepper, thyme, olive oil to drizzle
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat oven to 190°C.
- Slice all the veggies into thin rounds using a sharp knife. Add some salt, pepper, oregano, Thyme and a drizzle of olive oil to the veggies and give it a toss.
- To make the sauce, heat the olive oil in a 12-inch (30-cm) oven-safe pan over medium-high heat. Sauté the onion and garlic until soft. Season with salt and pepper, then add the crushed tomatoes. Stir until the ingredients are fully incorporated. Add the red chili flakes. Remove from heat, then add the dried basil. Stir once more, then smooth the surface of the sauce with a spatula.
- Arrange the veggies over the tomato sauce, alternating the colors in a consistent manner, starting from the outer edge, and ending in the middle of the pan. Season if required. Drizzle a good amount of olive oil over the veggies.
- Bake for 35-40 mins until the veggies have softened and completely cooked and develops a crispy effect on the edge of the veggies.
- Serve with some crusty bread or pita bread or as a main course itself.
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Notes:
- It tastes best the next day, reheat for 15 minutes or simply microwave.
- I used fresh tomatoes pureed and some tomato paste too.
- It is usually prepared with tomatoes, I used red bell pepper instead.
Do try this recipe and don't forget to share your experience/feedback with me here in the comments or feel free to send me a mail. Also, do tag me at #taystedit if you try out my recipes on Facebook, Instagram etc so that I can see when you make it. ♡♡♡♡
