Garlicky chicken…

Out of all the international cuisines, Chinese is something that is really close to both Dineshs’ heart and mine. Whether it is due to the proximity of China to our place, the familiarity of Chinese cuisine or the fact that I’ve found it really very readily available; mention Chinese food, and we are usually ready for it. When I run out of ides for a meal, Dinesh always happens to mention ‘Chinese noodles’, a bit too predictably:)

Growing up, there were quite a few good Chinese restaurants around, run by some of those Chinese who had settled in our parts. Some of their dishes are the best I’ve ever tasted.

Dinesh is not a very great fan of eating out. And if on the rare occasions he does, it happens to be Chinese food. Every time he took me out on a date, we had Chinese food at one of the Chinese restaurants in Guwahati. The first time we ate out after marriage, we had Chinese food. Wherever we have lived, we’ve always checked out the local Chinese outlet. There was never any excuse about having the kids in tow. So, whether it is home cooked or has been rustled up by chefs, Chinese food does make us happy indeed. And needless to say, the kids too have grown to love it. Talk about induced magnetism

So, how can I mention so much about something which we really like, without a recipe… well, last weekend, we had a lunch of vegetable fried rice with some garlic chicken. The recipe for the garlic chicken is as follows-

What’s needed-

5-6 chicken breasts, cut into bite sized pieces
1 egg- white
4 green onions, thinly sliced
1 tsp finely chopped ginger
6 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1 tblsp cornflour
2 tblsp of cooking oil
1 tsp sesame oil

For the sauce-

1 and 1/2 tblsp of sugar
1 and 1/2 tblsp of cornflour
2 tbsp  vinegar
1 glass of water
4-5 tblsp soy sauce
a pinch of chilli powder

How to-

1. In a bowl, lightly beat the egg white.
2. Mix in the tblsp of cornflour.
3. Coat the chicken with the cornflour mixture and marinate for 30 minutes.
4. Combine the sauce ingredients , mix well and set aside.
5. Heat the oil in a pan.
6. Add the chicken and fry till the flesh is not pink anymore. Remove the chicken with a slotted spoon and keep aside.
7. In the same oil, add the onions, ginger and garlic and stir fry for 1/2 a minute, or till the ginger-garlic leaves it’s fragrance but is not brown.
8. Return the chicken to the pan.
9. Re stir the sauce ingredients and add to the pan.
10. Cook, stirring constantly, till the mixture is hot and bubbly and the sauce thickens slightly.
11. Turn of heat and add the sesame oil.

Now what? Serve hot with rice or noodles. We had our’s with some fried rice.

And needless to say, we really enjoyed it… licked our plates clean:) Have a great weekend!