Tofu/Chicken Lettuce Wraps

'Lettuce Wraps' is one of my favorite things to order at PF Changs. Now that I have recreated this dish at home, I don't see a point in going to that restaurant any more. I guess it a good and a bad thing to recreate an iconic restaurant dish?

I have made the same recipe with both Chicken and Tofu and both versions are delicious. 

The secret ingredient are the Water Chestnuts. These add a lovely flavor and crunch to the dish and the Peanut Sauce is a must to amp-up the flavor profile.

Butter Lettuce is preferred here, since it is naturally shaped like a cup and makes for a pretty presentation. However, any kind of a lettuce can be used here. Romain, Butter Leaf or the Iceberg Lettuce. Iceberg is a little tricky to separate into cups, but it's doable. 

I have even made these with Cabbage leaves on days when I ran out of Lettuce at home. Since cabbage is a little fibrous and hard to eat when it's raw, it's a good idea to lightly steam or blanche it to make it soft and pliable.

Ingredients:
Lettuce (Butter leaf/Iceberg/Romaine)  - 1 head

Ground Chicken or Crumbled Firm Tofu - 1 lb
Oil - 1 Tbsp
Water Chestnuts - 1/2 Cup
Roasted chopped Peanuts - A small handful
Onion - 1 Small
Garlic cloves - 3 to 4
Soy Sauce - 1 tbsp
Hoisin Sauce - 1/4 Cup
Garic Chili Sauce - 1 Tbsp
Rice Vinegar - 1 Tbsp
Sugar - 1 Tsp
Black Pepper - 1 Tsp
Salt (only if needed after checking for seasoning)
Green Onions - 1 Stalk

Peanut Sauce:
Peanut Butter - 2 Tbsp
Black Pepper - 2 Tsp
Red Chili Flakes - 1 pinch
Soy Sauce - 2 Tsp
Rice Vinegar - 2 Tsp
Red Chili Powder - 1 Tsp
Hot Water - a little to dilute the Peanut Butter
Honey - 1 Tsp
Whisk all the ingredients for the Peanut Sauce and pour into a serving bowl. Set Aside.

Finely chop the onion and garlic and water chestnuts.
In a wide bottom pan, heat the oil, add the onions and garlic and sauté for 2 minutes.
Add the ground chicken or the Tofu and Sautee till cooked through.
Add the Water Chestnuts and the Peanuts. Mix in all the sauces and the dry powders from Soy Sauce to the Black Pepper. Mix well and cook till it starts to get crispy at the bottom.
Top with Chopped Green Onions.



Split the lettuce into the shape of cups and serve with the hot Chicken/Tofu mixture with the Peanut Sauce.

It's best to make the wraps as and when you eat. Take 2 Tbsp of the mix onto the lettuce, drizzle with the Peanut Sauce and enjoy!

Tofu, Carrot & Cucumber Sushi

I already have a recipe for Sushi on my blog and this is just a slight variation. I used Baked Sweet Chili Tofu along with some fresh vegetables such as Carrots, Cucumber and Avocado. 

The vegetables to use are a combination of crunchy & fresh, such as cucumber, carrots and the creamy& fatty such as an avocado or a mango.

Here's a link to the Recipe:

Sushi Recipe

Asian Baked Spicy Wings and Potatoes

I am drooling here, just thinking about the flavor of these wings. They were delicious and this is a great Asian sauce for the coating. Its Sticky, Sweet and Spicy and Finger Licking Gooooood.

I always have a standard set of Asian Condiments in my kitchen and you can made a million dishes with variations of these ingredients. Ok not a million, but a lot of them.

Ingredients:
Marinade:
Dark Soy Sauce - 1 Tbsp
Rice Vinegar - 1 Tbsp
Hoisin Sauce - 2 Tbsp
Chili Garlic Sauce - 1 Tbsp
Honey - 1 Tbsp
Salt and Pepper - a pinch each
Sriracha Sauce - 1 Tbsp
Sesame Seeds - 1 Tsp

Salt and Pepper to Season the Chicken
Corn Starch -  2 Tbsp
Chicken Wings - 1lb
Potatoes - 2

Wash and clean the chicken Wings and Cut the Potatoes into Wedges.

Season the Chicken with the Corn Starch, very little Salt and Pepper.

Season the Potatoes with very little Salt and Red Chili powder.

Mix all the ingredients for the marinade. 

Pre-heat over to 425F. In a baking pan, line with foil and place the potatoes on the foil.
If you have a grilling rack, place this on the pan and place the chicken wings and place in the oven. If you don't have the rack, you can place these in the pan next to the potatoes.

The rack is the best for chicken, since the juices from the chicken would drip on the potatoes and make them really yummy.

Bake for 10 min, remove the chicken and brush with the marinade. Move the potatoes around.
Place back into the oven and bake for 5 more min.. Brush again, turn and bake on the other side for 5 more min. Remove and top with some sesame seeds and green onions.

Serve with Ranch Sauce and some Carrots and Celery.

Cauliflower Wings - 3 Ways

We love chicken wings and I love to make them at home. But I also wanted to try an alternative to chicken wings that was vegetarian. Cauliflower is a perfect substitute and people who hate cauliflower must have never tasted the amazing Cauliflower 65 or the delicious Indo-Chinese dishes such as Cauliflower Manchurian or Chili Gobi. 

Since the Cauliflower is not as meaty, the best thing to do is coat it in a thin batter to bring that firm texture to the vegetable.

I used 3 different Sauces:

Buffalo Sauce

BBQ Sauce

Asian Sweet and Spicy Chili Sauce

You can fry the Cauliflower or bake them. I baked them, since I am not big on frying stuff. Left to me, I would bake every single thing. I think it's obvious looking at the number of baked recipes on my blog.

Ingredients:

Cauliflower - 2 small

Batter:

All Purpose Flower - 1/4 Cup

Corn Flour - 1/4 Cup

Rice Flower - 1/2 Cup

Salt - To Taste

Pepper Powder - 1 tsp

Mix all the ingredients for the batter with water. It shouldn't be too thin. Wash and cut the Cauliflower into florets. Heat the over to 400F and line a baking sheet with foil or parchment paper.

Dip the florets into the batter and place on a single layer on the baking sheet.

Bake for about 15 to 20 min until slightly firm and crisp.

Meanwhile, have 3 bowls for the sauces. Remove the florets from the oven, dip into the sauce until well coated and place them back onto the baking sheet. Place it back in the oven and bake for an additional 10 min or so, until the wings are cooked through and the sauces are well coated and start to dry up.

Remove and serve with a ranch dip.

Sauces:

BBQ Sauce: 

Phil's BBQ Sauce

I used store bought BBQ sauce. Phil's Devil's spit. Fair warning, this is an extremely spicy BBQ sauce, but they have milder varieties as well.

Buffalo Sauce:

Frank's Red Hot

I used 4 tbsp of Frank's Red hot, mixed with 1 tbsp melted butter.

Asian Sauce:

Hoisin Sauce - 2 tbsp

Chili Garlic Sauce - 1 tbsp

Honey - 1 tbsp

Soy Sauce - 1 tsp

Ginger Garlic paste - 1 tsp

Sesame Seeds - 1 tbsp

Mix all the ingredients, taste and adjust seasoning.

Mi Goreng: IndoMie with Broccoli

Have any of you tried the IndoMie brand's Mi Goreng noodles? It's a fancier and much tastier version of our own Maggi noodles. This has got to be the tastiest instant noodle out there. 

You boil the noodles separately and mix the sauces that come with it. There is a spice mix, a chili oil and a sauce that comes in the pack. If you can get your hands on these noodles, do try them.

Serve with blanched Broccoli or any other vegetable and top with a fried egg for a complete meal.

Vegetable Momos

Ingredients:
Filling:
Chopped cabbage- 2 cups
Carrot - 1
Red pepper - 1/2
Green onions - 2
Ginger - 1 inch
Garlic cloves: 2
Salt - to taste
Black pepper - a pinch
Soy sauce - 1 tbsp
Hot sauce - 1 tsp
Oil - 1 tbp

Wrapper:
All Purpose Flour - 1 Cup
Salt - a big pinch
Oil - 2 tbsp

In a pan, bring a cup of water to boil.
Add the veggies and close the lid.
Let them cook till the raw smell disappears, but still remain crunchy.

In a pan, heat the oil and add grated ginger and garlic.
Add the black pepper powder and the sauces and the vegetables and check for seasoning.
Add more salt if needed.
Saute for a couple minutes and turn off the flame.

 Knead the flour with salt, oil and water until it's soft. Make small round 1 inch balls and flatten into thin disks. Add the filling and keep pinching the ends until the entire momo is closed. (Refer to picture for shape). Make all the momos.
Heat the steamer or a pressure cooker with water and add the momos in a single layer. Steam for about 13 minutes.

Remove and serve hot with Garlic Chili sauce.

Singapore street noodles

This is an adaptation of the dish from Lao Schezwan, a really popular Chinese restaurant from China town, Chicago. It's one of my favorite dishes to order there. I don't know how the real street noodles in Singapore taste like, but this is a pretty good dish, none the less.

Rice noodles - 1 packet (10 oz)

Chicken/shrimp/tofu - 1/2 lb

Red pepper - 1

Jalapeno - 1

Onion - 1

Garlic - 2 cloves

Ginger - 1 inch

Oil - 1 tbsp

Salt - to taste

Red chili powder - 1 tsp

Turmeric - 1 tsp

Curry powder - 1 tbsp

Soak the rice noodles in water for 15 to 20 min (or according to instructions on the pack). Drain and reserve.

Slice thinly, the onions, jalapenos, ginger, garlic and red pepper. I used chicken here. Cut the chicken into bite sized pieces. Heat the oil in a pan or a wok, and add the chicken, ginger and garlic. When the chicken is cooked, add the vegetables and cook till they are tender. Add the salt, and the turmeric, chili and curry powders. Stir well and add the noodles. Mix well, garnish with lemon and serve.

Schezwan hakka noodles

I make my Chinese noodles with whole wheat pasta. Agreed that its healthier, and I feel good about making this, as I use a ton of veggies and the whole wheat pasta has lots of good stuff in it. I got these schezwan egg noodles from the Asian store, and the difference is the taste and texture is unbelievable. I guess mixing Chinese and Italian cuisines is not the smartest thing to do :) Sometimes authentic works a lot better.

Noodles - 200 gms
Onion - 1
Carrots - 2
Cabbage - 1/2 head
Capsicum - 1 small
Tomatoes- 2
Green chilis - 3
Ginger - 1/2 inch piece
Garlic cloves - 3
Eggs - 2 to 3
Black pepper - 1 tsp
Salt - to taste
Soy sauce - 1 1/2 tbsp
Rice wine vinegar - 1 1/2 tbsp
Peanut butter - 1 tbsp
Red chili sauce - 1 tsp
Oil - 1 tbsp
Spring onion - 2

Cook the noodles in boiling water for 8 to 12 min, depending on the instructions on the pack. Drain and wash with cold water and set aside. (It's an absolute no to wash cooked pasta, but noodles can be washed to prevent them from clumping up)
Slice all the veggies into thin strips.
In a wok or a pan, add the oil, ginger, garlic green chilis and fry this aromatic. Add the onions and fry till a bit wilted. Add the capsicum, carrots, cabbage and fry till soft, yet crisp.
In a bowl, mix salt, black pepper, soy sauce, vinegar, peanut butter, chili sauce and mix well.
Add the noodles to the pan, mix well and add the sauce.
Mix until combined. In the center of the pan, move the noodles to the side, making a well. Break the eggs in the middle, add salt and pepper. Scramble and mix with the noodles.
Garnish with spring onion and serve.
I am adding a picture of noodles made another time, to show how to add the eggs to the pan.