As the drizzling sensation of monsoon approaches by, and the cool breeze saturated with the moist rain hits us, it is too hard to settle down for any less! We Bengalis always find solace in our hot plate of ‘Khichdi’ and ‘fish fry’; but this monsoon also calls for some crispy, spicy authentic Chinese.
After our local food, if anything found prominence were the Chinese cuisines which flourished in every nook and corner of the city. But the love for authentic, traditional Chinese is too hard to replace. With the unprecedented pandemic scenario there are only a few places in India that serves authentic Chinese. While it can be a little heavy on the pocket for some, for others, it is still a little difficult to indulge into restaurant food.
That’s where we come to the rescue! Below are enlisted few of the popular Chinese dishes with the most traditional style of cooking that are easy to be made in minutes and served at home –
Fried Rice/ (CHǍOFÀN):
A very common of the Chinese food, fried rice is something that we find very easy to make. However, the traditional Chinese comes with a teeny bit of nitty gritties which, when met, can come out to be excellent on a drizzling, cloudy afternoon lunch or a cool late-night dinner. Easy to be prepared within 20 minutes, we need some veggies (as per your preference), and your preferred variant of proteins like egg, chicken cubes or shrimps. Kindly omit the misconceptions of using onions in your rice; instead keep some Oyster sauce, fish sauce and soy sauce handy. You can get these from a supermarket or order online from an authentic source. Mince some garlic cubes and stir them in a wok or pan over refined oil. One-by-one keep adding your choice of veggies and proteins in the pan and keep stirring them till half cooked. Now comes the rice. Make sure that you use refrigerated rice kept overnight for that perfect dry and moist concoction. Keep stirring with all the ingredients, and then add the sauces on top of the rice. Do not fry for too long. Finally beat eggs and add them to your rice. Mix them properly after adding salt and MSG (if preferred) and serve hot!
Kung Pao Chicken/ (GONG BAO JI DING):
Popularly originating at the Sichuan province of China, Kung Pao Chicken has become a name in every restaurant serving traditional, authentic Chinese food and swept people off with its amazing flavourful taste. However, for those who are missing out on a restaurant style Kung Pao Chicken, we have got an easier home-made style of cooking that is no less appeasing than one from the restaurant. The most important element for cooking this is the Kung Pao Sauce which you can get from a store or prepare using red Soya sauce, Dark Sauce, water, sugar, and cornstarch. Dice chicken into pieces and cook them till light-golden brown, then keep them aside. Take minced ginger and garlic and fry them in cooking oil. Add red chillies into pan for the spicy streak. Then add the diced chicken and stir them in the prep. Slowly add the Kung Pao sauce, and flip and toss all the ingredients till the sauce nicely penetrates the chicken skin. Finally top it off with some spring onions for that look. And the perk of this recipe? In case Chicken is not appealing enough, use the same method to prepare Kung Pao Prawn or Fish.
Wonton Soup (HUNDUN TANG):
A slurp of this warm soup made with Chinese dumplings can be relief to a sore throat or a heavy heart. Especially to beat the gloom of the monsoon drizzle, we bring you a super easy wonton soup recipe that can be a perfect dish to marvel at while looking at your window with those drops of rain hitting the glass pane. You can stuff the wonton wrappers in your preferred protein like chicken or shrimp. First, take your choice of protein and marinate using chopped yellow chives, ginger and garlic. Then boil them using white pepper, sesame oil, and salt. Mince the protein and prepare the stuffing. Then wrap the stuffing with a store made wanton wrap or make the wrapper using cornstarch. Now take the chicken broth and start heating it. As it comes to the boiling point, add hot water and keep adding the wontons one by one while stirring the soup so that the wontons don’t stick. Add sesame oil and white pepper and minute pinches of salt to taste. Cook the whole preparation till the wonton is properly cooked. You can add black pepper for a spicy streak and enjoy your soup hot and tasty!
Sweet and Sour Pork:
If you want to go a little out of the blue and try some main-course lavish spread then the Chinese styled- sweet and sour pork is exactly the dish you are looking for. With variety of improvisation in its style of cooking from one province to the other, the sweet and sour pork has been winning hearts all around the world. But the traditional style Sweet and sour pork is a little tricky for those who do not know the recipe. So, here we go! Marinate pork strips using egg white, salt, starch and light soy sauce. Add cooking oil in a pan and fry the strips. Strain them and keep aside. In the pan add ketchup, and sugar and stir them evenly. Now add some lukewarm water into it to thicken and increase the gravy content. Stir them for a while till mixed properly. Add the pork strips and add some starchy sauce into the pan. Stir fry till we get the sauce and mix in proper mixture and thickness. Serve it to accompany your rice dish for an afternoon lunch.
Spring Rolls:
A starter dish, popularised in the southern region of Yangtze River, this dish comes with all the crisp and munch to make give your evening a soulful blessing with every bite! In fact, preparing them is super-easy and can be used to serve your guest who comes up as a surprise in a monsoon evening. Take white flour and mix them with salt and water to make the softest dough ever! Prepare a filling of veggies, chicken or prawn in the same way for wonton stuffing. Take the round wrappers and bake it. Add the stuffing and fold the wrapper like a roll. Finally, deep fry the rolls till crispy brown in refined oil. Strain them and blot the excess oil on a tissue. Serve hot with a glass of wine and let your guest leave for home all merry and satiated.
