Indo-Chinese Chicken Stir fry

Did you know that India has its own version of Chinese cuisine? It also has a page on wikipedia. You can visit it here.

What I gather is that authentic Chinese fare evolved and was adapted to suit Indian tastes better and it permeated through the nation via the East. We use the similar techniques that are used there and some flavours are definitely borrowed, but the dish isn't authentically Chinoise. But who's complaining?!? I'm definitely not! You'll see what I'm talking about when you make this yum Chicken stir fry. Its healthy and nutritious. 

As kids we used to love this. A wonderful variant for us kids from the regular everyday curries that mom usually made in the kitchen. What I am making is inspired from perennially favourite Chili Chicken that's been tickling the taste buds of Indians since decades and it also includes a bunch of veggies. Not only that, it gets ready in no time. Oh n the smoky, nutty aroma along with the heat of the spices and the textures....so delicious! Let's get to it then, shall we?!

Only piece of advice, be as precise with your vegetable cutting as you can be. Food after all needs to be aesthetically pleasing as well, isn't it? Especially when the presentation involves the vegetables being presented as a whole and not curried or in a paste form. I'm not asking you to be as pedantic as you would if you were making Japanese, but just pay a little more attention to you knife skills. 

Serves: 4

Time: 10 mins + prep

Complexity: **

You'll need

1 med Bok choy/ lettuce/ cabbage head

1 Red bell pepper

1 yellow bell pepper

1 cup string beans

1 cup julienned carrots

2" pc of ginger, julienne

5-6 cloves garlic, sliced or minced

2 med red onions, finely sliced

4-5 scallions/ spring onions, chopped, greens separate

6 boneless chicken thighs

2 tbsp flour

1 egg

freshly ground black pepper

salt to taste

1 tbsp red chili flakes

3 tbsp dark soy, divided

3 tbsp sesame oil

2 tbsp sesame seeds

Pinch of love

Method

Cut the boneless chicken into roughly 1" pieces. We first need to marinate this. For the marinade, Place chicken pieces in a bowl, add 2 tbsp soy, pepper, flour and egg to this. Add just about 1 tsp of salt to this because soy is already salty. Toss and mix this to coat the chicken thoroughly. Place aside. 

Now have all the vegetables cut and ready. I took almost 30 mins to cut the veggies and I still wasn't very precise with the chopping, but they all looked uniform to me. Don't cut the lettuce or cabbage leaves. They are for serving purposes. 

Heat the wok on a medium high flame and add the sesame oil to it. Let the oil smoke just a bit and add the ginger and garlic to this. Reduce the flame because we don't want the garlic to burn. If it does, everything will taste bitter. 

In about 15 secs, add the marinating chicken in the wok. Give it a toss for a minute. Only the outsides will be browned by this time. Don't worry. Add the red chili flakes. 

Add the red onions, beans and carrots because they take the longest to cook. I didn't add the beans till later and mine were a little under-cooked. Add the spring onions now. Toss

Add Bell peppers and toss. All this should take about 5 minutes. Have the flame on high while you're adding and tossing the vegetables. Add the rest of your soy and season with salt and pepper. Check the chicken. Take a piece and slice it down the middle. It should be all cooked by now. 

I had plain sesame seeds on hand so I dry roasted them to release their nutty aroma. Add those to the chicken and toss again. I just loved acting all chefily and holding the wok in my hands to flip and toss the veggies without tongs. Was so much fun! Your chicken is done. If you want, you can add some schezwan seasoning to this. But it tastes great even without it! 

Now place the leaves of the cabbage or lettuce on your serving plate and spoon some chicken on it. Garnish with a some greens from the scallions. It also makes for a great appetizer or a pretty party food. Sprinkle your pinch of love and Indulge!:))