Kung Pao Chicken Wontons made Square

 This Ramazan I decided to try my hand at making Wontons. I had bookmarked this recipe a long time back from this Desi blog that I follow titled "Hunger & Haw Hai". The recipe itself was totally my style since it featured one of my favourite Chinese dishes as the basis of the filling.

Unfortunately, all my dreams of my wontons looking similar to the stunning photographs of the original recipe failed. The wonton sheets that I had gotten from a local bakery were not the right size when I cut them into smaller pieces, and it took me about 2-3 minutes to just be able to make that twisty wonton effect for just 1 wonton and I was worried about the size being too small so the filling would leak out. Looking at the clock, and the amount of wrappers in front of me, I was about to lose hope thinking that I was going to spend my entire afternoon twisting wonton wrappers. BUT, then I did a little bit of wrapping and folding, and I turned the wontons into small little parcels. So from Wontons, this recipe shifted to Kung Pao Chicken Parcels. 

Taste-wise, the wontons were delicious with the minced chicken & peanuts filling providing a welcome change from the usual Samosa's & Spring Roll filling. Looks-wise, the real wontons definitely looked prettier with the spring roll knot in a way just completing the package. But the square little parcels that I made looked quite nice too, and I am sure if anyone didn't know they were originally wontons, they could just as easily be called Kung Pao Chicken Parcels! 

The point is that sometimes we have to adapt and change our recipe a little here and there if something goes wrong, but as long as the ingredients are delicious, the end result will also be just as good :)! Have included the recipe for both wontons and parcels, so you can make whatever you want depending on the wrappers you have!

Kung Pao Chicken Wontons/Parcels 
Adapted from Hunger & Haw Hai

(makes about 30-35 wontons/parcels)

Ingredients
8 ounces (1/4 kg) minced chicken
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 cup salted peanuts, chopped (can be pulsed in a food processor as well)
2 tablespoons spring onions, chopped
1/2 teaspoon ginger paste
1/2 teaspoon ginger, finely sliced
1 1/2 teaspoon garlic, minced
1 teaspoon dried chili flakes (adjust to taste)
1 egg
1 tablespoon water
30 square wonton wrappers (the only wonton wrappers I could find find were huge square ones which I then cut into wonton size)
3-4 spring onions, cut into thin strips and wilted in boiling water
Vegetable oil, enough to come 4 inches up the side of a large pot

Method:

-For the wonton filling, in a large bowl, combine the chicken, soy sauce, oyster sauce, sesame oil, sugar, salt, pepper, peanuts, spring onions, ginger, garlic, and dried chili flakes.

- In a separate bowl, whisk the egg and water together.
- Brush a wonton wrappers with the egg-wash and place a 1/2 tablespoon of filling into the center of the wrapper. Brush the edges with more egg-wash.
For Wontons:
- Lift all four corners of the wonton wrapper and make a pouch. Squeeze together around the top of the filling to form it to remove all the air, sealing it into the middle of the wrapper.
- Tie with a strip of wilted spring onion.
For Parcels
-  Put a piece of wilted spring onion in on top of the filling (had to subsitute since I couldn't tie the ribbon). After brushing the egg wash around the filling (I find that a silicon pastry brush is the best for this job), divide the wrapper into thirds bring the left and the right side of the wrapper in the middle over the filling. Brush a little more egg wash on the right and left side of the now rectangular wrapper. Bring both ends together in the middle, making sure that the package is all sealed. Voila, square little parcels ready! 

- Heat the oil and fry the wontons/parcels in batches, until golden and crisp from both sides, approximately 2-3 minutes.

- Drain on paper towels.

- Serve hot with Chilli Sauce.

Asian Themed Chicken Burger with Grilled Potatoes

This recipe came about after someone requested for a burger recipe - coincidently I was thawing chicken and deciding what to make for dinner and burgers seemed a great idea. I have never made burgers before so first I looked up a number of recipes online to understand the components, identified the flavors I wanted (something different from our typical kebab's and with a good spicy kick to it) and then combined it together. I am so glad my first attempt at making burgers was successful and the recipe turned out really delicious though of course, I will do some tweaking for next time :).

The filling/condiments of the burgers are just as important as the patty so I decided to do a make your own burger kind of setup - made some garlic mushrooms, cut up tomatoes & cucumbers and put all the condiments on the table. For condiments & even to add flavor to the patty, I have to recommend Chatkhaar sauces - its a gourmet line of sauces introduced by Naurus. Have tried the Piri Piri sauce & the Honey Mustard sauce and they are absolutely delicious - a complete different flavor from the usual sauces available in the market.

Asian Themed Chicken Burger
Side: Grilled Potatoes (Recipe given below) or Baked Potatoes 

Ingredients for Burger Patty 

• 1/2 kg chicken mince (or 1/2 kg boneless chicken which can be put in a food processer to make mincemeat)
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1 tsp ginger, finely sliced and chopped
• 1/2 cup cilantro, finely chopped
• 1 medium onion, very finely minced (or can be chopped up in a food processer)
• Lemon Juice - about 2 tbsp (juice from one big lemon or 2 small lemons)
• 1 green chilli - finely sliced
• 1/2 tsp red chilli flakes
• 1 tsp red chilli powder
• 2 tbsp Chatkhaar Portuguese Piri Piri Sauce (other similar chilli sauce can be used)
• 1 tbsp Nando's Wild Herb Sauce 
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

• 

  Garlic Mushrooms

  

  Chicken Burger Patties 

  
  

Ingredients (Others - Condiments & Filling) 

Note: This is as per personal preference along with what is available in the pantry

• Lettuce 
• 2 Tomatoes - sliced thinly
• 1 Cucumber - sliced thinly
• Garlic Mushrooms - Heat 1 tablespoon - add 1 tsp of garlic cloves or garlic paste. Add 1 can of  mushrooms (sliced thinly) along with 1 tsp of salt and 1 tsp of red chilli flakes - saute for a few minutes till they are cooked (needs to be slightly brown on both sides)
• Cheese Slices
• Mayo/Chilli Sauce/Ketchup/Mustard/Butter to spread on the bun - as per your preference 
• Toasted Burger Buns (my personal preference is to toast them in a skillet rather than a toaster)

Method:

1. In a medium bowl, gently combine (with a fork, spatula or gently with your hands) the minced chicken along with the other ingredients for the burger patty. Make sure that you mix it properly so that everything is combined properly. Once the mixture is formed, I like to keep it in the fridge for about 30 minutes so that it becomes easier to handle. 
2. Form the mixture into about 4-5 big patties or 8-9 small patties. As you can see from the pictures, I made about 8-9, the reason being that I had Dawn burger buns which hold well with big patties so it was better to make smaller patties. But obviously, it depends on personal preference. Heat a grill pan over medium heat. Rub just a little bit of oil on both sides of the burger patty, and then cook them on the grill pan. Grill the burgers for about 3 minutes (smaller patties will take around 3 minutes but bigger patties will take about 5-6 minutes) on each side, making sure that they are nicely marked from the grill and firm to the touch.    
3. Once the patties are cooked, you can start assembling the burgers. The best method of doing that is to put all the fillings and the condiments on a table along with the patties and the burger buns. That way, it becomes a 'make your own burger' style meal where everyone can just add condiments and fillings as per their specification. 
4. On the sides with the burger, I had served grilled potatoes with salt & chilli flakes.

Note: You could also make the patties in a normal skillet, however, a grill pan is better.

Tip: Don’t press down on the patties or you will squeeze out and loose the flavorful juices. 

Recipe for Grilled Potatoes

1 kg potatoes (preferably small ones) - skins removed; cut in half 

Heat about 1 tbsp oil in a grill pan (medium-high heat) - add about half the potatoes cut side down and then add salt, black pepper and red chilli flakes (as per personal preference). Be careful as the heat will make the spices irritate your eyes. Let the potatoes cook for a few minutes cut side down till they become crisp and then turn them for a few minutes on each side till they become crisp. Once the first batch is done, then fry the second batch. Serve hot.

These potatoes can also be made in a skillet or baked in a oven, but just make sure they are cooked on each side properly so that they become crisp.

Sesame Noodle Salad with Shredded Chicken

Hadn't been cooking or baking for a while and started reading my recipe books in order to look for some inspiration. I have this book titled "The New Best Recipe" from the editors of Cook's Illustrated and I personally love how detailed their recipes are. Their recipe format starts off with first telling how great something actually is, but how it has lost its originality and 'taste' due to various factors and then the entire method on how they keep experimenting with different tips and techniques to come up with the "best" recipe. I am not sure about whether they are 'best' but the recipes are pretty fool proof and turn out pretty good.

So while going through the book, this recipe literally said 'pick me' and the idea of a cold noodle salad in the hot & humid Karachi weather sounded like a pretty good idea - also, it wasn't technically a salad and it was easily enough for 3 people at dinner with plenty of leftovers for lunch the next day.

Also, please make sure you serve the dish cold. For some reason, I felt my brothers might not like the idea of something cold for dinner, so I served it warm and well, the flavors just didn't meld properly - kept it in the fridge for a bit and it tasted fantastic. 

 Sesame Noodle Salad with Shredded Chicken
Recipe: The New Best Recipe: From the editors of Cook's Illustrated
Serves 4 people as a main course

1/4 cup sesame seeds
1/4 cup chunky peanut butter
2 medium garlic cloves, minced or pressed through a garlic press (about 2 tsp)
1 tbsp minced fresh ginger
5 tbsp soya sauce (would decrease the quantity of soya sauce to 3-4 tbsp because it ended up giving a really strong flavor to the sauce - had to add a bit of sugar & vinegar to adjust the final sauce)
2 tbsp vinegar
1 tsp hot pepper sauce
2 tbsp light brown sugar
Hot water
1 tbsp salt
1 pound Chinese egg noodles
2 tbsp toasted sesame oil
4 boneless chicken breast (The recipe suggests broiling the chicken - I found that too long, so I just cooked it in a frying pan for a few minutes with a bit of salt, pepper & garlic till its cooked through and tender)
4 scallions, sliced thin
1 medium carrot, peeled and grated on the large holes of a box grater (about 2/3 cup)


1. Toast the sesame seeds in a medium skillet over medium heat, stirring frequently, until golden and fragrant, about 10 minutes. Reserve 1 tablespoon sesame seeds in a small bowl. In a blender or food processor, puree the remaining 3 tablespoons sesame seeds, peanut butter, garlic, ginger, soy sauce, vinegar, hot sauce, and sugar until smooth, about 30 seconds. With the machine running, add hot water 1 tablespoon at a time until the sauce has the consistency of heavy cream, about 5 tablespoons; set the mixture aside (it can be left in the blender jar or food processor workbowl).
2. Bring 6 quarts water to a boil in a stockpot over high heat. Meanwhile, adjust an oven rack to 6 inches from the broiler element; heat the broiler. Spray the broiler pan top with vegetable cooking spray; place the chicken breasts on top and broil the chicken until lightly browned, 4 to 8 minutes. Using tongs, flip the chicken over and continue to broil until the thickest part is no longer pink when cut into and registers about 160 degrees on an instant-read thermometer, 6 to 8 minutes. Transfer to a cutting board and let rest 5 minutes. Using 2 forks, shred the chicken into bite-size pieces and set aside.
I didn't go through the long procedure of broiling the chicken. Just put some salt & pepper on the chicken and left it to rest for a few minutes. Then heated a bit of oil in a frying pan, sauted 1 tsp of garlic paste, added the chicken and let it cook for a bit till the water dried and the chicken was cooked through and tender.
Add the salt and noodles to the boiling water; boil the noodles until tender, about 4 minutes for fresh and 10 minutes for dried. Drain, then rinse with cold running tap water until cool to the touch; drain again. In a large bowl, toss the noodles with the sesame oil until evenly coated. Add the shredded chicken, scallions, carrot, and sauce; toss to combine.
Would suggest adding only half the sauce in the beginning, then tasting and adding more as required. Adding all of it together makes adjusting the taste later on very difficult.  
Divide among individual bowls, sprinkle each bowl with a portion of reserved sesame seeds, and serve.
Serves 4 to 6

Ginsoy: Desi-fied Chinese at its best

Have been hearing a lot about Ginsoy ever since it opened but have not been able to go there; just a few weeks I finally managed to make a plan to go there but unfortunately wasn't able to get a table :(. However, the considerable wait time along with the number of people patiently waiting only made me want to find out what the big deal is, so I thought of just ordering it at home. It was a bit difficult to order since we were just 3 people and we wanted to order at least 2-3 things; also, even though Ginsoy is both single & full serving, the single serving is quite expensive (average 400/serving) & the difference between the single and full serving is about Rs.200 which isn't really a major difference. I finally decided to order the following, and this time we wanted to order something different from the typical Manchurian & Schewzan & Chopsuey. 

1. Tom Kam Gai Soup - Single
2. Tom Kam Goong Soup - Single
3. Crispy Beijing Chicken - Single 
4. Hot & Spicy Chicken - Single 

The food came within about 30-40 minutes and it was piping hot and I just loved the Chinese take-out style boxes that it came in; made me wish they had fortune cookies as well, that would have just added to the authentic take-out style food .. 

Absolutely loved the food; it was definitely Desi-fied in terms of the spice level, but still had that authentic Chinese/Thai taste; the Thai soup had lots of lemon grass, galangal and enough of a spice kick to totally clear up my sore throat; for me, an authentic Thai soup is one which is spicy but yet has that balance of flavors which makes you forget about the spiciness; and oh yes, they also gave complimentary fish crackers along with the typical condiments;

The Crispy Beijing Chicken- Loved the texture; very addictive and similar to having pop-corn; stayed crispy when warmed up the next day, and it actually tastes pretty great cold as well. The only issue with ordering this is that its a pretty dry dish so for people who like gravy, they would need to order something else.

Hot & Spicy Chicken -Woahhh, this was so spicy and I would have loved just a bit more gravy so that I can mix it with the rice properly, but this was really good; it was more masala-ish (in terms of texture) but didn't have that ketchupy cornflour taste that makes all Chinese entrees taste similar.

The order came out to be 450/head which is actually a lot but we had leftovers for the next day. I think I would prefer going to Ginsoy rather than ordering; if I do order, I'll make sure there are sufficient people and probably order something other than the typical Manchurian & Chicken Chilli; for that, I'd much rather be ordering from Golden Dragon which has brilliant deals for 3-5 people; but overall its a good addition to the restaurant scene in Karachi. 

I did have one major issue with the order taking, as I had specifically made sure both soups were with chicken and should not have any seafood due to my brother having allergies, however, the Tom Kam Goong soup had prawns; this obviously resulted in me getting pretty upset because I am so careful about it; called them up, lodged a complaint on the phone and online; in response they sent a replacement soup with chicken and also got a message from their customer service department that this matter will be looked into. So really appreciated that. 

Ginger Wrapped Chicken with Rice

The final dish - with spring onions garnished on top

So the next item that I made on Sunday was Ginger Wrapped Chicken with Rice; sounds interesting, no? The first time I had heard this dish was about like 6 years back in university and I was at a friend's place for a project or a get-together and she mentioned that she made this dish; now this friend of mine (who might just be surprised that I remember this conversation till date) makes really awesome food and back when I was just discovering my interest in food, I used to love having food at her place because it was so delicious and innovative. So that dish just remained in the back of my mind and while browsing online, I came across this recipe and I was just like oh, this must be that same recipe.

Tried it and it was just delicious; the recipe serves enough for like 8 people, so I halved it and with the chowmein that I had made with it, there was so much food leftover that it was enough for lunch and dinner the next day. I loved how like the Singaporean Rice this was one meal in itself. It had that oriental Chinese touch but there was no need to make rice and gravy separately because it all mixed together in this beautiful fusion of flavors.

Mixing it all together

Ginger Wrapped Chicken with Rice (Serves 8) 
Adapted from Shireen Anwer 

The recipe serves eight people easily, so I halved it since I was making for less people 
Ingredients

Boneless chicken (cut into strips)    ½ kg

Rice boiled ½ kg

Spring onion       1 handful

Carrots thinly sliced         1

Capsicum thinly sliced    1

Green chilies sliced 3-4

Stocks 3 cups
I just used 1 chicken cube dissolved in about 1.5 cups of water, however, I would recommend adding the stock carefully, because I added all of it together and it got too watery, and then I needed to boil the water off

Water   ¼ cup

White pepper ½ tsp heaped

Corn flour 2 tbsp

Ginger sliced 2 tbsp

Soya sauce 3 tbsp

Chili sauce 3 tbsp

Ketchup 4 tbsp

Chili oil 6 tbsp
To make chilli oil, take 1 cup of oil and heat till it smokes; let it cool to room temperature then add 2 tbsp of red pepper flakes and 1 tbsp of red chilli powder; let it infuse for 4-6 hours and then strain it through a fine muslin cloth.

Unveiling the Surprise Filling Inside

Method

Dissolve 2 tbsp corn flour in ¼ cup water. Heat 4 tbsp chili oil, add 2 tbsp sliced ginger, ½ kg chicken strips and salt to taste, sauté for few minutes. Now add 1 thinly sliced carrots, 1 thinly sliced capsicum, 3-4 sliced green chilies. Add 3 cups stocks, ½ tsp heaped white pepper, 3 tbsp soya sauce, 3 tbsp chili sauce and 4 tbsp ketchup. Thicken with corn flour paste but gradually add the corn flour so that it doesn't get too thicky. The consistency should be saucy instead of very thick or too watery. Add spring onion right at the end so its maintains its color. As an alternative, I garnished the dish with spring onion because I forgot to add it earlier and I think that gives a beautiful look too. 

Take a big piece of foil and layer it in a dish. Put half of boiled rice, then spread chicken mixture, top with remaining rice. Put 2 tbsp chili oil on top, wrap and bake in a medium oven for 20 minutes.Unwrap at the table and mix it all up. Garnish with spring onions.

As an alternative this can also be made in a big pot, and layered similar to the way biryani is in case someone does not have an oven at home. 

Singaporean Rice

I have no idea why this dish is titled as Singaporean rice, or what the origins of this dish are. I really doubt that this truly reflects cuisine from Singapore, however, all I know is that I remember having it at a wedding a couple of years back in Karachi and it was all the rage back then. From then onwards, there have been lots of variations of this recipe with different variations of cooking the rice, the chicken and the noodles. This latest version is a recipe from Shireen Anwer and remains my favorite version both in terms of taste as well as in the relative ease of making the dish. For people who have not had the dish, this might seem like a very strange combination, but trust me, it's actually very delicious. 

Singaporean Rice (Adapted from Shireen Anwar) 

I have added comments in purple where I have deviated from the original recipe

Ingredients for Rice Layer

Rice                                          1/2 kg

White and black cumin seeds     1/2 tsp each

Peas (lightly boil them)              1/2 cup

Star aniseed (Badiyan ka Phool)  2

Oil                                            1/4 cup

Comments: I prefer the rice without the peas and the Aniseed/badiyan kay phool because otherwise it tastes Desi and similar to matar pulao; however, this is upto personal preference; I think other vegetables can also be added and the rice can even be made Chinese style

Ingredients for Chicken Layer

Boneless chicken                      1/2 kg

Carrots                                     1

Capsicums                                2

Tomato and onion                     1 each

Cabbage (sliced)                       1 cup

Ginger (chopped)                      1 tbsp

Spaghetti (boiled)                      1 cup

Comments: 

My family loves noodles, so I use a minimum of 200 grams egg noodles at least; For a different flavor, the spaghetti can even be fried and then added on the rice at the last moment just like chopsuey which gives it more crunch

The original recipe includes vegetables in the quantity given above, however, I always like to add more vegetables; in this version of Singaporean Rice, I had leftover boiled broccoli which I forgot to add in the vegetable mixture so I used it as a garnish in the end

Salt                                          1 tsp

Crushed black pepper                1 tsp

Red chilies                                1 tsp

Soya sauce                               2 tbsp

Red chili sauce                          2 tbsp

Ketchup                                    4 tbsp

Corn flour                                 1 tbsp

Oil                                            1/4 cup

Ingredients for Sauce

Mayonnaise                              1/2 cup

Salt                                          pinch

Crushed red chilies                    1/2 tsp

Sugar                                       1 tsp

Vinegar                                     2 tbsp

Ketchup                                    4 tbsp

Ingredients for Garnish

Green chilies (sliced and fried)   8

Garlic (sliced and fried)         4 tbsp

Method: 

For Rice

Soak rice for 15 minutes.

Heat oil. Put cumin seed, Ani star, salt, peas and rice with 2 cups of water.

Cover with lid and cook till rice done.

For Sauce

Put all sauce ingredients in a bowl; mix well and keep aside.

For Chicken

Heat oil in a pot and lightly fry ginger in it. Add chicken pieces and stir fry. Add salt, red chilies, black pepper, ketchup, chili and soya sauces. Fry for a while and add all vegetables. Do not over-cook vegetables. Add 1 cup water and when it comes to a boil, add corn flour mixed in 2 tbsp of water. When it becomes thick, turn off the flame. Add noodles in the vegetables and mix them all up. Add sauce in the above  mixture and mix it all up.

Topping

In another frying pan fry garlic cloves till golden and then green chili slices. Crush the garlic cloves in your hand.

To Serve

Take big serving dish; First spread rice; then spread the layer of spaghetti with vegetables and sauce; then garnish with fried garlic and green chilies.  

However, I like to serve this in a Pyrex baking dish, because I always put it in the oven and bake it for 10-15 minutes so it becomes warm and the flavors have a chance to meld together.

Hot Garlic Fried Rice

This is one of my favorite ways of using up leftover rice especially when I am in the mood for something oriental and delicious to eat, but am not in the mood to do like an elaborate meal. I usually add whatever ingredients I have at home, but during the times when I plan out a proper Chinese or Thai menu then I prepare the recipe from scratch. The addition of the garlic and the red chilli flakes makes it a good alternative to the regular chinese fried rice. 

Hot Garlic Fried Rice

Ingredients

Rice - 2 cups

Garlic paste 1 tbsp.

Finely chopped garlic 1 tbsp.

Red Chilli Flakes – 1 tsp (Can be added more according to taste)

Onion, round thin slices - 1 cup

Carrot, finely chopped - 1/4 cup

Capsicum, finely chopped - 1/4 cup

Spring onion – 1/8 cup (for garnish)

Soya sauce- 3 tbsp

Chili Garlic sauce - 1 tbsp

Vinegar – 1 tbsp

Oil - 3 tbsp; Or use sesame oil – 2 tbsp which gives off a beautiful fragrance

Salt - To taste

Method

1.Pick, wash and soak rice for 10 minutes.

2. Boil water, add rice and a little salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, till rice is tender.

3. Drain. Add cold water. Drain again.

4.Keep in an open pot and use only after completely cooled. Using one day old rice is a better method because fresh rice is usually more sticky and it is also a good way of using up leftover rice.

5. Heat the oil in a non-stick pan with high edges. Add the garlic paste, chopped garlic and red chili flakes. Fry lightly.

6. Add the onion, carrot, capsicum, and salt. Stir fry over a high flame for 3 minutes.

7. Add the rice, Soya sauce and chili garlic sauce. Stir fry over a high flame for 3 minutes.

8. Garnish with spring onion

Variation: The recipe above is the way the recipe should be followed; however, I have adapted this recipe based on convenience; 

I start off with whisking 2-3 eggs with salt and red chilli and then making like a scrambled omelette which I then keep aside. Then I follow the above recipe but I always use sesame oil and leftover rice, adding whatever ingredients are at home which are mostly onions and K&N chicken chunks. I add one chicken cube with the soya sauce to give it some added taste and then add the omelette when the rice is hot enough.