Cooking Made Easy: Szechuan Chicken

Cooking Tips

To avoid sticky rice, soak washed rice in water for at least ten minutes before cooking.

A teaspoon of oil can be added to get separate grains of cooked rice.

While make any deep fried dish, if the hot oil starts foaming and rises in the pan, add a small piece of tamarind to the oil.

This will prevent foaming and spill over.

If you want to have soft idlis, do not beat the batter before pouring idlis. The air bubble sin the batter helps you to get soft idlis. Beating the batter removes these air bubbles.

Cooking Tips

When you soak rice and urad dal for idlis and dosas, wash everything thoroughly before soaking. Later use the soaked water while grinding.
If you wash rice and dal after soaking you will lose most of the vitamins.
Excess salt in any dish can be brought down by adding diced potatoes, tomatoes or a teaspoon of sugar.
When you are making vadas, if the batter is watery - you will have the problem of oil splattering when you fry it.
Add a tablespoon of ghee to the batter and your problem will be solved.

Ingredients:

Chicken, medium size 1 no.
Oil For deep frying

For the Marinade:

Ginger paste 1 tsp.
Garlic paste 1 tsp.
Chili paste 1 tsp.
Soya sauce 2 tbsps.
Cornflour 2 tbsps.
Egg 1 no.
Salt To taste

For the Sauce:

Spicy chili oil or ordinary oil 3 tbsps.
Finely chopped ginger 1 tsp.
Finely chopped garlic 1 tbsp.
Dry red chilies cut into 4 pieces each 2 nos.
Sesame seeds(optional) 1/2 tsp.
Slanting pieces of spring onion 1/4 cup.
Chicken stock 1/2 cup
Tomato sauce 1/3 cup
Soya sauce 1 tbsp.
Chili sauce 1 tsp.
Vinegar 1 tbsp.
Sugar 1 tsp.
Black pepper 1/2 tsp.
Ajinomoto a pinch
Salt to taste
Cornflour mixed with water 3/4 tbsp. & 1/4 cup

For the Garnish:

Spring onions 4 long thin pieces
Spring onion tops 4 long thin pieces

Cooking Method:

Cut the chicken,retaining the bone, into small serving sized pieces.
Combine all the ingredients mentioned under 'For the Marinade' and rub on the chicken pieces and set aside for 30 minutes.
Heat oil in a frying pan and deep fry the chicken pieces,a few at a time, till golden brown and cooked.
Drain and set aside.
Heat 3 tablespoons of spicy chili oil or ordinary oil in a pan.
Add the ginger, garlic, red chilies, sesame seeds and spring onion a stir fry on a high flame for 1 minute.
Add the remaining ingredients mentioned under sauce except the cornflour, bring to a boil and add the chicken.
Cook covered on a low flame for about 4 minutes and then add the cornflour mixed with water and stir continuously, so that the sauce becomes thick.
Garnish with the spring onion and spring onion tops.

Cooking Tips

Don’t salt meats before you cook it. Always salt meat halfway through cooking (little less than what is required).
Then taste the meat when it is done and then add salt as needed.

To thicken any gravy or soup, add corn flour to it. It is an excellent thickening agent.

Remember to mix it in good water before adding to avoid lumps.

While making any pasta add salt to the boiling water in which you are cooking it.

That will be the only chance you get to salt it. Add salt after the water boils. If you add it before, it will take a longer time to boil.

How To Make Paneer?

Boil the milk in a pan.
When it's boiling add lemon juice or vinegar or citric acid which ever you are using, while stirring.
If citric acid is being used, dissolve it in 2-tbsp water before adding.
When milk curdles full turn off the gas and keep aside for 5 minutes.
Pour it on to a cotton/muslin cloth and tie it with a tight knot.
When all the water is drained from the paneer shape it into a rectangular block.
Now place the cloth under heavy weight for 2-3 hours before using it.

Note: Do not throw away the leftover water as it can be used for kneading chapati or paratha dough.

Cooking Tips

Chill onion is refrigerator before cutting to avoid tears.

One other way to avoid tears is to soak peeled onion is water before cutting.

To get crisp, golden dosas add a teaspoon of fenugreek seeds to the urad dal and grind it.

To make a healthy chicken dish remove the skin from the chicken.

This will remove the major fat content on the chicken.

Add a pinch of sugar while cooking any green leafy vegetables. This will help maintain the bright green colour.

For maintaining the bright colour of any vegetables, don't forget to put it in ice cold water as soon as you blanch them.

To keep apples from turning brown, add little citrus juice like the juice of a lemon or orange and toss apples in it.

A pinch of turmeric powder added to all kinds of dal when cooking hastens the cooking process.

Remove the stems from chilies before storing them. This will keep them fresher for a long time.

It is better to use round dishes in the microwave oven rather than square or rectangular dishes as round dishes spread heat faster.

Oil applied to dal before it is cooked helps it to cook faster by softening the proteins.

Cooking Made Easy