Schezwan Sauce

               Today I am back to blogging after a really long time and posting a really simple, but a versatile sauce recipe. Schezwan Sauce is widely used in Indo-Chinese cuisine, it has a very unique flavor and can enhance any dish. It is a blend of  mainly red chilies, garlic and ginger. It is a simple sauce with minimal ingredients and very easy to make.
             
               There are a variety of red chilies available in the market, you can choose to use any of them depending on your preference, and how spicy you want it to be. My personal preference is a combination of some fresh peppers and some dried chilies. This sauce can be used for making noodles, manchurian, fried rice or as a simple stir fry sauce too for Asian dishes.

Here is my version for this simple, yet delicious Schezwan sauce recipe.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup red chili paste
• 12-15 finely chopped garlic cloves
• 1/4 cup finely chopped Onions
• 2 tbsp finely chopped ginger
• 2 tsp white Vinegar 
• 1 tsp Soy sauce
• 1 tsp Sugar
• 1 tsp Black pepper
• Salt to taste
• 2 tbsp Oil

Instructions:

•  For the red Chili paste, I used a combination of fresh red jalapenos, dry red Kashmiri chilies, and dry Thai chilies.
• Soak the chilies in hot water for 30 minutes. Then drain the chilies, de-seed them and grind them to a smooth paste. Add little water, if needed, while grinding. Keep the paste aside.

• Heat the oil in the pan.
• Add the garlic and ginger. Saute them until the raw smell of the garlic goes away. 

• Make sure the garlic is not brown.

• Now add the onions. Saute the onions until they are translucent.

• Then add the chili paste. Saute the paste for 3-4 minutes or until the oil separates from the side.

• Now add the soy sauce, vinegar, salt, black pepper, sugar and 1/2 cup water and mix it well.

• Let it cook for another 5-6 minutes, until the sauce thickens.

• Once it is cooled, store it an air-tight container. The sauce will stay good for about 3 weeks in the refrigerator.

• If you want to store it for a longer time, you can also freeze the sauce
• I generally keep a small container in refrigerator for daily use and freeze the rest 

Chinese Bhel

                 Chinese Bhel is a fusion snack in which we combine the idea of the famous Indian snack Bhelpuri and the Indo-Chinese flavors. It is an quick recipe, just mix all the ingredients together and its ready. You can have it as a snack or even as a light dinner.

Ingredients:

• 1 packet Hakka Noodles
• 1 cup finely shredded Cabbage
• 1 cup finely sliced Onions
• 1 cup finely sliced Bell Peppers
• 1 bunch chopped Green Onions
• 1/3 cup Schezwan sauce
• 3 Tbsp Tomato Ketchup
• Salt as per taste
• Black Pepper as per taste
• Oil for frying

Instructions:

• Heat some oil in a pan for frying
• Boil the noodles in about 4 cups of water with about 1 tsp oil. The oil prevents the noodles from sticking together.
• Drain the water from the noodles, and pour some cold water on it. Again, I usually do this to prevent them from sticking.
• Fry the noodles and place it on the absorbent paper. 

• Now take a big bowl, add the cabbage, onion, bell peppers.
• Add the schezwan sauce and tomato ketchup and mix well
• Then add the noodles, salt and pepper. 
• Garnish with Green Onions and serve

Vegetable Manchurian

               Last month we tried Hakka Noodles, a Chinese dish cooked Indian style. Today we have vegetable Manchurian, another Indo-Chinese fusion recipe, which goes great as a side dish along with Hakka Noodles, or an entree with rice. The core of the dish are the vegetable Manchurian balls and can be served with gravy, semi-gravy or dry.

Here is the semi-dry Vegetable Manchurian recipe. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 2 cups finely grated Cabbage
• 1/2 cup finely grated Cauliflower
• 1 cup finely grated Carrot
• 2 finely chopped Green Onions
• 3-4 tbsp Garlic Paste
• 2 tbsp Green Chilli-Ginger Paste
• 1/4 cup Refined flour (Maida)
• 4 tsp dark Soy Sauce
• 3 tbsp Corn Flour/ Corn Starch
• 2 cup Vegetable Stock
• 1 tsp Black Pepper Powder
• 1/2 tsp Sugar 
• 1 tbsp Vinegar
• Oil
• Salt to taste

Instructions:

• Mix cabbage, carrot, cauliflower, refined flour, 2 tbsp soy sauce and salt in a mixing bowl
• Add half of the garlic paste and chilli-ginger paste to the mixture and mix well to form a dough
• Now, shape the mixture in small lime size balls.
• Heat sufficient oil in a kadai or a pan
• Roll the Manchurian balls in corn flour and deep fry them till they turn golden and crisp
• Drain on the absorbent paper and keep them aside.
• Dissolve 2 tbsp corn flour in little water and keep aside
• Now heat 2 tbsp oil in a non-stick pan. Add the remaining garlic paste and chilli-ginger paste to it.
• Add 1 tbsp soy sauce and saute it.
• Now add the vegetable stock and let it simmer for 2-3 minutes
• Then add the corn flour mixture, black pepper, vinegar, sugar and mix well.
• Now add the Manchurian balls and half of the green onions and mix them
• Transfer to a serving dish and garnished with remaining green onions
• Serve hot with Hakka Noodles or Fried Rice as per your choice.

Tips:

• We can use water instead of vegetable stock 
• Make sure the vegetable mixture dough is not too soft

Hakka Noodles

             Chinese cuisine is very famous in India, and is probably the most ubiquitous international cuisine in India. But the Chinese food available in most restaurants in India is almost indistinguishable from authentic Chinese cuisine. Chinese cuisine in India was made famous by the Chinatown in Kolkata who adapted their Chinese recipes to cater to local tastes, which then became more Indian and more un-Chinese as they spread across India.

Hakka Noodles is a famous Chinese dish often served in restaurants in India. Here is my take on this dish. Hope you like it.

Ingredients:

• 1 packet Hakka Noodles
• 1 cup finely shredded Cabbage
• 1 cup finely sliced Onions
• 1 cup finely sliced Bell Peppers
• 2-4 finely chopped Green Chillies ( Can be adjusted as per the desired spiciness)
• 1 tsp Vinegar
• 2 tsp Soya Sauce
• Salt as per taste
• Black Pepper as per taste
• Oil

Instructions:

• Boil the noodles in about 4 cups of water with about 1 tsp oil. The oil prevents the noodles from sticking together.
• Drain the water from the noodles, and pour some cold water on it. Again, I usually do this to prevent them from sticking.
• Now, take a wok or a pan and heat some oil on a high flame.

• Add the green chillies and onions and saute them for 2 minutes
• Then add the bell peppers and the cabbage and saute them for another 2-3 minutes
• Add the salt and pepper to it and mix it well

• Then, add the boiled noodles, soya sauce and mix well
• Let it cook for 2-3 more minutes, and take it off the heat 

• Then add the vinegar and spring onions for garnish
• Serve hot with some chinese gravy with Manchurian or Paneer Chili

Tips:

• We can use colored bell peppers as well
• The more vegetables it has, the more healthy it becomes

American Chopsuey

        
        American Chopsuey is a delightful preparation of crispy noodles served with vegetables and a sweet and tangy sauce. I have had this dish only in India and have loved it over the years, never in America actually. It is served as a Chinese dish in India, with the name America, but the recipe is entirely Indian, except maybe for the noodles. I wonder where did it get this funky name from.

Anyways, here is a quick recipe for the same:

Ingredients:

• 1 packet Hakka Noodles
• 1 Onion Sliced
• 1 bunch of Green Onions Chopped
• 1 Bell Pepper Sliced (Can use colored bell peppers as well)
• 1 small bowl of Cabbage Chopped
• 2 Tomatoes Sliced
• Tomato Ketchup
• Hot Sauce
• Salt
• Black Pepper
• 1 tbsp corn flour
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 1/2 tbsp vinegar
• Oil

Recipe:

• Boil the noodles.
• Take some noodles, say 15%, and deep fry them making some crispy noodles on the side.
• Heat some oil in a pan and fry the cumin seeds until they begin to crackle.
• Add onions to it. Saute them till the onions turn pink. Add little salt. 
• Now add bell peppers. Continue to saute until the peppers are soft.
• Now add the cabbage and green onions to it.
• Once the cabbage is cooked, add the tomatoes.
• Add about 2-3 glasses of water and mix it well and continue cooking it for 5-10 mins
• Now add the ketchup, black pepper and salt
• Add hot sauce according to the desired spiciness 
• Now mix the corn flour in cold water and add it to the pan
• Mix it well and let it simmer for 5 mins on slow-medium heat
• Once the sauce thickens, add the lemon juice and vinegar
• Take it off the heat.
• Garnish it with spring onions and fried noodles and serve hot.

Hope you enjoy this my version of the American Chopsuey.