Crispy, crunchy Chinese cuisine
By Harkiran Sodhi

IN early times the Chinese cooked their food over heated bricks, or buried in hot ashes and coal. Each community had a large oven made of heated bricks and rocks which anyone could use. With the passage of time as man progressed they used twigs, dried branches and anything that they could possibly use as fuel to cook. Methods were devised whereby cooking required the smallest fire which is why the Chinese tend to cut their vegetables and meat so fine that they cook faster. They also learned to adapt their cooking methods so that food retained its nutrition even after cooking — which is why they steam and stir fry most of their food. The Chinese special being featured will give you a set of recipes each time.

These will comprise of different types of food — some will be entirely vegetarian while others will be mixed. There will be a balanced menu with some soups, starters, main courses as well as desserts all put together for your convenience. Most of the recipes selected will not only be easy to cook, and taste great but will also be different to what is commonly eaten or served.

Crispy stir fried vegetables

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons oil

2 spring onions, sliced fine

1 small-medium sized piece of ginger, sliced

2 cloves garlic, sliced

2 chillies, seeded and chopped

60 gm button mushrooms

125 gm carrots

125 gm snow peas (if these are available otherwise eliminate)

125 gm French beans

60 gm bean sprouts

60 gm cauliflower florets

4 tablespoons soy sauce

1 teaspoon sesame seed oil

Method:

Heat the oil in a wok or a large kadai. Add in the spring onions, ginger and garlic and stir-fry for a few seconds. Add the chillies and all the vegetables that have been sliced finely. Mix all the ingredients well and cook while stirring for about 2 minutes. Add in the soy sauce and cook for another minute or two stirring it well. As you are about to put the vegetables into the serving bowl add in the sesame seed oil and serve immediately.

Tip: Snow peas are not essential but they certainly add to the look as well as the flavour of the food. In case you are unable to get any snow peas you can either substitute them with another vegetable that you like or simply omit them from the recipe.

The sesame seed oil though is recommended as it enhances the flavour of the food, giving it a special touch.

Baked Stuffed Tomatoes

Ingredients

1 tablespoon oil

1 large sized onion finely chopped

8 large sized tomatoes

60 gm mushrooms chopped

60 gm tofu or bean curd

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 tablespoon cornflour (mix this with two tablespoons of water)

Method:

Heat the oil in a wok or a kadai add in the chopped onions and cook till they are golden brown in colour. Add in the diced mushrooms and cook for 2-3 minutes and then stir in the tofu or bean curd and soy sauce and mix it well for a couple of seconds.

Cut the tomatoes into half and scoop out the inside pulp and mix this into the ingredients in the wok. (You can discard the tomato seeds if you don’t like them before you put the pulp into the pan.) Mix the ingredients well and add in the cornflour which has been mixed with a little water. Stir the mixture well and let it cook for about a minute. Keep the mixture aside and let it cool a little then spoon the mixture into the tomato halves. Arrange these on a baking dish and cook in a moderate preheated oven at 180° C or 350° F for 15-20 minutes till the tomatoes are tender. Serve hot.

Tip: Bean curd or tofu is paneer made from ground soya beans rather than the conventional milk. It looks and tastes similar to the paneer made from milk except that it is lighter in density and does not tend to become leathery when overcooked. Tofu also remains fresh for a longer period than its counterpart made from milk.