So what do you do when part of the family wants to have biryani and another feels like chinese? I just sorted that out with a fusion. A week after Ramadan, plus 4 odd additional Shawwal fasts I'm craving for a punch on my tastebuds. Something "chatpata" as we call it in India. But the rest of the clan votes Biryani owing to genetics.
And... I stir up this dish from scratch trying to fix "the Chinese" in a biryani mould. Only that this time at the end when I lift the lid up, a cloud of chinese "dum" caresses my face. Result?..every bite hits the right tone of spicy, crunchy and umami. Whom am I fooling? Fried rice gets a makeover after an India tour. :)
The moment of truth arrives, when presented at the table it was recieved with pleasure. Happy family, happy me. So go ahead and give this twist a try. If you happen to have left over rice then it would take about 20-30 mins tops to assemble, maybe less! This dish just comes down to three main elements:
1. Chinese chicken in sauce.
2. Plain boiled basmati race.
3. Stir fried veggies.
These are the veggies I had, you can use whatever combination as per your liking and availability.
Stir fry and ready!
Assemble it in a deep pot by spreading the Chinese chicken in sauce at the bottom, spread half of the boiled rice over it(spare the remaining half for another layer), sprinkle chopped spring onion greens generously over the rice, spread all of the stir fried veggies evenly and top it up with the last layer of boiled rice with chopped spring onions on top. There you go a dish which is nothing but Biryani like layers of chinese elements. Cover and heat on low flame for about 10mins and Voila!
Ingredients
- For the Chinese Chicken
- Boneless chicken cut into strips- 500 gms
- Soya sauce- 2tsp
- Red chilly powder- 1 tbsp
- All purpose flour- 1/2 cup
- Corn flour- 1/4 cup
- Ginger garlic paste- 1tbsp
- Black Pepper- 1 tsp
- Salt to taste
- Oil for deep frying.
- For Sauce
- Onion- 1 medium chopped
- Garlic cloves- 7 chopped
- Spring onion greens chopped- 1/4 cup
- Thai sweet chilly sauce- 3/4 cup (I used Kimball brand)
- Oil- 2-3 tbsp
- Vinegar- 1 tbsp
- Oyester sauce- 1 tbsp
- Soya sauce- 1tsp
- Pepper- 1 tsp
- Water -1/2 cup
- Corn flour- 1 tbsp
- Rice
- Basmati rice- 1 1/2 cup
- salt to taste
- Oil- 1tbsp
- Sesame oil- 1 tsp(optional) for a nutty taste
- Oil- 1 tbsp
- Stir fried Veggies
- Onion- 1 diced
- Chopped spring onion whites- 1/4 cup
- Carrot- 1 Julienned
- French beans- hand full- sliced
- Capsicum- 1 Juliened
- Cabbage- Julliened 1/2 cup
- Black pepper- to taste
- Oyester sauce- 1 tbsp
- Red chilly flakes to taste(optional)
- Spring onion greens to sprinkle.
Directions
- Chinese Chicken in sauce
- 1In a bowl add all the ingredients mentioned under "Chinese chicken". Mix well and allow to marinate for about 10 mins.
- 2Heat oil and deep fry the chicken strips until crisp. Keep aside. Try to hide it before it gets over at this stage. :)
- 3In a wok, heat some oil at high, add chopped onions and half of the chopped garlic (save the rest for stir fried veggies), Saute until fragrant about 2-3 mins. We don't want it to color. Add pepper, soya sauce, oyester sauce and vineger. Stir well
- 4Now toss in the crispy fried chicken strips, and coat well into the sauce.
- 5Add the Thai sweet chilly sauce, stir. Mix 1/2 cup water with 1 tbsp cornflour, and add it to the chicken sauce and allow it to cook for about 5 mins which will make it more saucy. Turn off the heat and sprinkle with spring onion greens and keep aside.
- 6In another pot boil the rice with salt and oil, till cooked. Drain water, fluff it with a fork and keep it aside.
- Stir Fried Veggies
- 1In a wok, Add a dash of sesame oil and a tbsp of regular oil( I used olive oil) and heat on high. Now add the diced onion, chopped garlic and chopped spring onions, Stir fry it for a min.
- 2Now add pepper, red chilly flakes and oyester sauce. Throw in the carrots, french beans and capsicum, keep stirring and tossing the wok for a min. We want the veggies to stay crunchy and not over cooked. Once nicely coated with sauce, turn off the heat and add the cabbage and toss it over one last time
- Assemble
- 1Now that all the elements are ready, its time to assemble and bring out a nice "chinese Dum"
- 2In a deep pot, spread the Chinese chicken in sauce at the bottom. Layer it by spreading half of the cooked rice, sprinkle some spring onion greens. Now toss in the entire stir fried veggies evenly. And spread out the final layer of the remaining rice on top. Pour in a splash of olive oil on top layer followed by some spring onion greens. Layering is done! Close the lid and slow heat for about 10 mins or until a nice chinese dum surfaces. Yumminess ready!! Serve along with green chilly vinegar to pass.
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Yasmeen Basheer Manna
