Kung Pao Chicken with Chow Mein

 I love Chinese food. Whilst there are plenty of Chinese restaurants here in Korea, they are all distinctly different to the brand of food we get in the west. Every now and then I like to cook a western style Chinese meal at home and last night I made two of my favourites - Kung Pao Chicken and Chicken Chow Mein.

 Kung Pao Chicken is a dish originating from Sichuan Province - a place notorious for its spicy food. Whilst my knowledge of the region was limited to having had an old university friend from Chengdu, I have since read Fuchsia Dunlop's excellent "Land of Plenty" in which the British born author teaches not only how to cook Sichuan food but also about the history and culture of the province. The Kung Pao recipe here is very spicy but tastes better than anything I've had back home.

 As for chow mein I like to make my own noodles, ideally you would use a pasta machine but if not you can just cut your dough in to thin, noodle sized strips. Feel free to throw in whatever vegetables you have, anything goes! The sauce given below really makes these noodles especially delicious.

Kung Pao Chicken
(Adapted from a recipe in Fuchsia Dunlop's "Land of Plenty")
Serves 2 as a main or 4 as part of a selection of dishes

Ingredients

2 boneless chicken breasts
3 cloves of garlic, finely sliced
1 inch piece of ginger, finely sliced
5 scallions, white parts only, sliced
10 red chilis, dried (add more or less depending on how spicy you'd like it)
1t sichuan pepper, whole (known as Chinese pepper in Korea and is available at the large supermarket chains)
2/3 cup cashew nuts

Marinade:
1/2t salt
2t light soy sauce
1t shaoxing rice wine or medium-dry sherry
2t cornstarch
1T water

Sauce:
3t sugar
1t cornstarch
1t dark soy sauce
1t light soy sauce
1T chinkiang or black chinese vinegar*
1t sesame oil
1T chicken stock

Method

Cut the chicken in to small cubes. Mix all the marinade ingredients together, add the chicken, and leave for 30 minutes.

Mix all the sauce ingredients together and set aside for later.

Add 2T of oil to the wok and when hot add the chilis and sichuan pepper. Stir fry briefly until fragrant, taking care not to burn.

Add the chicken followed by the ginger, garlic and scallions. Stir constantly.

Once the chicken is cooked add the sauce and cashew nuts and cook until the sauce has become thick and shiny. Serve immediately.

Chicken Chow Mein
Serves 2 as a main, 4 as a side

Ingredients

300g egg noodles (For homemade use 300g flour and 3 large eggs)
2 chicken breasts cut in to small cubes
Vegetables of your choice
1t garlic, thinly sliced
1t ginger, thinly sliced
4 scallions, white parts only, sliced

Marinade:
1/2t honey
1/2t sesame oil
1T soy sauce
1T oyster sauce
1T rice wine
1t cornflour

Sauce:
1/2t sesame oil
1T soy sauce
1T oyster sauce
1T rice wine
1t cornflour
50ml chicken stock
1/2t white pepper


Method

Mix together all marinade ingredients and add the chicken.

Meanwhile if you are making your own pasta, combine the flour and eggs in a bowl and then mix and knead until you get a dough like consistency.

Wrap in clingfilm and leave for thirty minutes.

Using a pasta machine, roll out to the desired thickness and then cut in to noodles.

Leave noodles to dry. When ready to cook, boil them in salted for water for 2 minutes before adding to the wok.

Mix the sauce ingredients together and set aside next to your stove.

Heat 2T oil in a wok and then add the chicken with its marinade. Stir until the chicken pieces have separated.

Add the garlic, ginger, scallions and vegetables. Stir fry until everything is almost cooked through.

Add the noodles and sauce. Stir fry for a further 2 minutes.

Serve immediately.

*Chinkiang is available at http://www.goldriver.cn

Ghanaian Peanut Soup

 I saw this peanut soup for the first time when watching an episode of BBC's "The Restaurant." A Ghanaian couple had set up a restaurant with this being the biggest hit on their West African menu.

Whilst this westernised version is no doubt a far cry from that which is eaten in Accra, the tomatoes, cayene pepper and peanut butter combine to create a delicious, substantial soup which with the addition of some chicken can even be made in to a main course.

The great thing about this recipe is that it is quick to make and you can adjust it to your taste. You can change the amount of tomato, pepper and peanut butter used as well as finish the soup with some fresh herbs such as basil or cilantro. Some roasted red peppers work well too. Just be careful when adding the peanut butter - it is easy to add too much and create a soup which is more like a paste than a liquid.

 This soup has been a hit with everyone who has tried it, especially my wife who requested it for her birthday dinner this year.

Ghanaian Peanut Soup
(Adapted from a recipe at http://www.allrecipes.com)
Serves 4 as a main or 6 as a starter

Ingredients

1T olive oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
6 cloves garlic, minced
400g canned tomatoes, with juice, chopped
1L vegetable stock
1/2t black pepper
1t cayenne pepper (or any other hot pepper powder)
1/4 cup brown rice, uncooked
1/3 cup peanut butter

Method

Heat the oil in a large saucepan.
Cook onions until soft and lightly browned, adding garlic just before the onion has finished browning.
Stir in all other ingredients except the peanut butter and simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes.
Stir in peanut butter until well blended, and serve.

Onion Bhajis

 Onion bhajis are one of my all time favorite foods yet I've never been able to get them quite right.  Done well they are crisp, spicy and full of flavour but done badly they are greasy and disgusting.
I've tried lots of different recipes and techniques and last night finally managed to achieve a result I was happy with. These bhajis are tasty and have a slight kick to them.

Onion Bhajis
(adapted from Pat Chapman's "The New Curry Bible")
Makes 8-10 bhajis

Ingredients

225g onion, chopped
Oil for deep-frying

85g gram flour*
1 egg
60ml plain yoghurt
1T lemon juice
1t salt
2t garam masala*
2t fenugreek leaves*
1T chilli powder

Method

Mix together all ingredients in a bowl except for onion and oil.

Once well blended add the onions, mix well and the leave for 20 minutes.

Heat the oil in a deep fryer or wok to 190C/ 375F.

Scoop out enough mixture for one bhaji and add to the fryer. Repeat until all the mixture is in the fryer.

Deep fry for about 10 minutes, turning once. Serve immediately.

* Gram flour (besan), Garam Masala and Fenugreek leaves are all available at http://www.asia-mart.co.kr

Zucchini Mini-Pizzas

Zucchini Mini-Pizzas ready for their second round of baking
(photo taken by Bethany Carlson)

 We had 15 or so people come over for our daughter's first birthday and were looking for a simple dish that would be popular with everybody and suitable for vegetarians. With Zucchinis (courgettes) being cheap and plentiful right now we decided to make mini-pizzas using the vegetable as the main ingredient in the dough - the result was a delicious soft base made even better by the addition of parmesan cheese and fresh basil.

 The pizzas are easy to make, preparing the zucchini is perhaps the most time consuming part but is definitely well worth it.

Zucchini Mini-Pizzas
Makes enough dough for 24 pizzas.

Ingredients

7 cups grated zuccini (you will need 6-7 zucchinis)
3/4 cup bread flour
6 egg whites
1 1/2 cups parmesan cheese* (grated)
Chopped fresh basil* (to taste) 

Method

Lightly salt the zucchini in a bowl, leave for 20 minutes and then drain as much liquid as you can.

Mix in all other ingredients. The mixture will be much wetter than a normal pizza dough, don't worry about that.

Grease a baking pan and spoon on the dough mixture. Use about a tablespoon for each mini-pizza.

Bake at 350F / 175C for 15 minutes.

Remove from the oven and add the toppings of your choice. (We used mozzarella and cherry tomatoes before finishing with fresh basil after baking.)

Bake at 350F / 175C until cheese is melted and golden (about 10 mins).

* Parmesan cheese is available at http://www.52cheese.co.kr/ and http://www.nicedeli.com.
* Fresh basil is available at http://www.asia-mart.co.kr