Sichuan Boneless Chicken: Philips Airfryer Recipe

Chinese cuisine is hands-down the favorite in my family whenever we decide to eat out. I have tried to recreate some of our favorite recipes at home and I can say that no one was really disappointed.

The cuisine of Sichuan province in Southwestern China has become quite popular  in recent years. Here is a typical Sichuanese dish with a hard hitting sauce combining hot, sweet sour and salty flavors. The sauce also goes well with Turkey, pork or small meatballs. The best part - it is quick and easy to make.Don't we all just love that!!

Instead of deep frying the chicken in oil, I have used the Philips Airfyer to cook it (trying my best to save on calories in any possible way), but you like, you can go ahead and either stir fry or deep fry the chicken to cook it.

On one of my excursions to Costco, I was thrilled to find this great Nordic Ware 14" Asian wok. For $14.99 I think it was a deal. Even though it is non-stick it gives a nice sear to the noodles. I have also tried some fried rice and vegetables and they both got cooked with great consistency. 

You can serve the Sichuan Chicken with fried rice or Hakka noodles.

This recipe has also been published inThe Urban Spice.com.

Recipe adapted from "A Wok for all seasons" by Celebrity Chef Martin Yan

Serves 4

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 

Marinade

2 Tbsp soy sauce

1/2 tsp cornstarch

4 Tbsp beaten egg

1/2 tsp all purpose flour

salt and pepper to taste  

4 chicken breast halves, skinned, boned and cut into 1/4" strip

Sichuan spicy sauce

1 Tbsp. soy sauce

1 Tbsp shao Hsing wine or dry sherry

4 tsp rice vinegar 

1 tsp sesame oil

1 tsp hot pepper sauce

1/4 tsp sugar

To make the chicken:

3 Tbsp. vegetable oil

1 tsp minced garlic

1/2 tsp minced ginger

1 green onion (including the top leaves) thinly sliced 

6 whole dried red chilli peppers

1 tsp cornstarch mixed with 2 tsp water

Method
Combine marinade ingredients in a small bowl. Add the chicken and stir to coat.
Set aside for 30 minutes. 

Preheat Philips Airfryer to 360 F. Place the chicken in the airfryer basket and cook for 6 minutes. 

Raise the temperature to 390 F and cook for 4 more minutes till the chicken is brown and crispy. Remove chicken and keep aside

Combine the sauce ingredients in a small bowl. Whisk to mix and keep aside.

Add the remaining 1 Tbsp. oil, garlic, ginger, green onion and chilli peppers and cook stirring until fragrant for about 5 seconds.

Stir in the sauce and bring to a boil.

Add in the cornstarch and boil till the sauce starts to thicken slightly. 

Add in the Stir-fried chicken and stir to coat completely in the sauce.

Serve warm with noodles or fried rice. 

Crispy Lotus Stem with Honey Chilly

Of late, this show called 'World Kitchen' on NDTV Good Times has caught my fancy. It has a host of professional chefs taking us on a gastromic journey across the globe. Last week,  Executive chef Sahil Arora from Courtyard by Mariott, New Delhi showed how to make Crispy Lotus stem with honey chilli. Both my kids being extremely fond of chilly potatoes I quickly jotted down the recipe making a mental note to try it out the very next day itself. The dish was not only amazingly simple to make but it was outstanding in taste too. For all the health conscious people out there you will find a whole lot of health benefits from lotus stem as it is rich in calcium, iron and dietary fibre.

 Lotus stem is not new to Indian cooking but this is one variation that will definitely have you asking for more. This avatar of lotus stem was totally new to me - crispy and crunchy with the sweet and spicy flavors exploding in your mouth. Kids loved it asking for more. My son even declared it to be better than his favorite chilly potatoes calling these much more crunchier, which is quite a compliment for me. As it is seeing your kids relish a dish made by you (especially one that you don't have to slog over) completely makes your day!! 

So, for all those who haven't as yet had a taste of this wonderful vegetable, this is one great way to start on it.

 Ingredients

Lotus stem - 200 gms  –sliced diagonally into wafer thin slices 

Whole dry red chili - 3 to 4
Honey - 2 tsp
Tomato ketchup - 2 tsp
Soy sauce - 1/2 tsp
Vinegar - 1 tsp
Chili paste - 1/2 tsp
Roasted sesame seeds - 1 tbsp
Spring onions -  2 tbsp
Cornflour - 2 tsp
Salt to taste
Oil for frying

Method
Soak the sliced lotus stem in a bowl of water for about half an hour. This will help to get rid of the mud.
Scrub it clean and wash thoroughly under running water.
In a bowl place the drained lotus stem and sprinkle with 2 tsp cornflour.
Mix it in thoroughly to coat it nicely.
Heat oil in a pan and fry the lotus stem till it is light golden brown and crispy.
Drain in a bowl lined with paper to drain the excess oil

Next take 2 tsp oil in a pan. 
Break and add 2 whole red chillies and fry them for a couple of seconds.
Add 1 tsp minced garlic and saute till lightly browned.
On a low flame, add 1/2 tsp chilli paste, (I didn't have chilli paste available so I just added in a tsp of Hot and Sweet Maggi tomato sauce) and 2 tsp honey and 2 tsp tomato ketchup. 
Stir and cook the sauce for a few minutes. 
Add the soya sauce, vinegar and the salt and mix.
Add in the fried lotus stem and toss on high flame till they are nicely coated with the sauce.
Garnish with diced spring onions and toasted sesame seeds.
Serve immediately.

To make the chilli paste at home - oven roast a handful of red chillies. Crush them coarsely in a grinder. Mix the ground chilies with 2 tbsp of garlic and fry them in 4 tbsp oil till golden brown (oil helps in preserving the paste). Add a sprinkle of soy sauce,1/2 tsp sugar and salt and mix thoroughly. This paste can be kept in the refrigerator for a 3-4 weeks.

Stir Fried Lamb in Black Bean Sauce

As a family we all love Chinese food and because of the unanimous liking for this cuisine I love to try my hand at making it. I find cooking Chinese food very quick and easy to make . To save time, I usually plan in advance and prep my veggies a day ahead making the cooking process go much faster.

This is the first time I made lamb - I don't know why I haven't tried making lamb before - maybe because I have always found handling chicken much easier. The dish came out really great.  It was not only quick and easy to make but  full of flavors. The lamb was absolutely soft and succulent. I have tried the same recipe with chicken too, but I personally felt the lamb tasted way better. Also using the lamb stock to make the sauce made a world of a difference. Earlier I always wondered why my sauces tasted so bland, it was because I always used water to make the sauce. Using the stock really helps to enhance the flavor of the dish. 

Ingredients
500 gms boneless lamb, cut into strips.

2 Tbsp soy sauce

3 Tbsp black bean sauce

1 Tbsp vinegar

4 tsp garlic, minced

200 ml lamb stock

1 tsp cornflour

1 capsicum, cut into cubes

1 onion, cut into cubes

4 cloves garlic, minced

salt to taste

Method

Mix together the lamb, soy sauce,black bean sauce,vinegar, 2 tsp garlic and salt in a large bowl. 

Cover with a cling film and place in the fridge for 2 hours to marinate.

Heat I tsp of oil in a wok or a frying pan over high heat.

Add the 2 tsp garlic and stir fry for 1o seconds.

Add half the lamb and stir fry for 3-4 minutes. Transfer to a plate. Similarly fry the remaining lamb.

Pour in the lamb stock and bring to a boil.

In a separate pan, individually stir fry the onions, capsicum and mushrooms.

Stir into the lamb. 

Combine the cornflour and water in a bowl. Add to the lamb mixture and cook, uncovered, stirring occasionally, for 2-3 minutes or until sauce thickens slightly.

Serve hot with steamed rice or noodles.