Sweet and Sour vegetables with pears
Last night a bunch of my old classmates dropped in for the evening. To mark the occasion, I decided to try something new. This recipe was the outcome. It's based on the sweet & sour recipe that my parents used to make while we were young, but I've used different spices.
Ingredients:
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 4 tsp chinese 5 spice
- sweet red chilli sauce to taste (I used thai)
- hot chilli sauce to taste (I used maggi hot & sweet tomato chilli sauce)
- 2 tsp white vinegar
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup Straw mushrooms
- 1/4 cup baby corn
- 1/4 cup bamboo shoots
- 1/4 cup baby carrots
- 1/4 cup brocolli florets
- 1/4 cup cauliflower florets
- 1/4 cup tofu cubes
- 1/4 cup sliced pears (either canned or fresh but stewed to soften them)
Method:
- Preheat a large skillet on high
- Add the 2 tbsp oil and heat for 1 minute
- Reduce heat to medium
- Add the chinese five spice and fry it for 1 minute
- Increase heat to high, add the tofu and stir fry until well coated with the oil and spice
- Add in carrots, brocolli and cauliflower and stir fry until tender but not soft
- Add in the mushrooms, baby corn and bamboo shoots and stir fry until all vegetables are coated
- Add in the pears and mix well
- Sprinkle vinegar and lemon juice into the skillet and mix it up
- Add sweet red chilli sauce - 3tbsp is the base line, increase or decrease depending on desired sweetness level
- Add hot chilli sauce - 3tbsp is the base line, increase or decrease depending on desired heat level
- Stir fry for an additional one or two minutes
- Reduce heat to medium for 1 minute, then cover skillet and reduce heat to low for another two minutes
Serve with of rice noodles or steamed rice.
Variations:
For a non-vegetarian option, add in shrimp, thinly sliced chicken or cubes of pork. If using shrimp, add it in after the pears, if using shrimp or pork, either pre-cook the meat and add it in after the pears, or add it in before the tofu and fry thoroughly for about 5 minutes.
Alternately, coat the shrimp, chicken or pork in a corn flour based batter and deep fry it before adding to the mix.
Labels: baby corn, bamboo shoots, mushrooms, sweet and sour, vegetarian
I've tried this recipe a few times now, and I think I'm getting better at it. I've also made some of my own tweaks to suit my taste. It's probably not Chicken Marsala any more, so purists might not like me using the name, but hey, they don't have to eat it if they don't like.
Here's what I did:
Ingredients (serves 1):
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 chicken breast - skinless and boneless
- 1 cup of sliced mushrooms
- 1 clove of garlic finely chopped
- ¼ cup sweet Marsala wine
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ cup chicken stock
- 1 tbsp all purpose flour
- ¼ cup pitted prunes (just for effect)
- 1 sprig of parseley
You can also add one small onion chopped up, which can be mixed with the garlic and mushrooms. Depends on your taste. I didn't use one because my onion sprouted.
I also made some couscous to have the chicken with, but you can use rice or mashed potatoes as well. Follow the instructions on the packet to make enough for one person.
Method:
- Start by heating the oil in a slightly deep non-stick pan on medium high.
- Fry the chicken breast for about 2 minutes on each side until it's lightly brown on both sides. While this is happening, heat up the chicken stock and wine to slightly above room temperature. 20 seconds in the microwave is generally enough.
- Move the chicken to one side of the pan, and add the mushrooms and garlic (and onion if you have one) to the other side.
- Fry the mushrooms until tender, but not too long that it turns brown. Stir often.
- Add the wine, and bring to a boil. While this is happening, mix the salt and all purpose flour into the chicken stock. Mix it well into a paste.
- Add the chicken stock mixture and bring to a boil again.
- Add prunes, and reduce heat to low.
- Cover and cook for 12-15 minutes until chicken is fully cooked (see that there are no pink portions inside)
Also cook your rice or couscous alongside the chicken so that it's ready at around the same time.
Serve chicken on top of couscous, add sauce, mushrooms and prunes over it allowing it to drip off to the side. Garnish with parsley.
Enjoy.
Let me know how it works out for you.
Labels: chicken, marsala, mushrooms, prunes, quick, wine
Pizza Eggs
This was probably my first attempt at cooking. As a child, I loved eating fried eggs for breakfast, and sometimes for dinner too. I also loved pizza, and wondered if I could make a pizza on a fried egg rather than a bread base. Thus was born, the Pizza Egg.
Ingredients:
- 1 or 2 eggs
- 1 or 2 tomatoes diced
- Cocktail sausages, chopped into thin slices
- Salami, cut into strips
- Sliced cheese, cut into strips
- Salt
- Tomato Ketchup
- 1 tbsp cooking oil (your choice of oil)
Some people may want to skip the oil and use a non-stick pan, but I don't really reccommend that. It just doesn't taste the same, and you won't get an egg spitting without oil.
Keep all your ingredients ready before you start cooking. Things move really fast once you start. You may want to pre-fry the salami and sausages if you prefer.
Method:
1. Heat the oil in a frying pan, then turn the flame to low
2. Break the eggs and slide them onto the pan in quick succession
3. Add the diced tomatoes, sliced salami and sausages onto the surface of the eggs while they're still liquid.
4. Allow to fry for a till the egg sets and holds onto the meat and tomatoes.
5. Add ketchup.
6. Add cheese strips over the top, and allow to melt.
7. Turn off the flame, add salt to taste and serve.
Variations:
If you'd rather not have the yolk in a liquid state, you can do one of two things. Either flip the egg for a bit after everything has set. This can be tough since the tomatoes will start to leak. Alternately, break the yolk while adding ingredients.
If you have kids at home, try this variation on eggs. They might just love it.
Labels: breakfast, eggs, fried eggs, pizza, pizza egg
