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FUSION FOOD…Noodles with Stir-fried veggies & Chicken

“Ask not what you can do for your country. Ask what’s for lunch.”
Orson Welles

IMG 9535 FUSION FOOD…Noodles with Stir-fried veggies & chicken

This is my attempt to recreate some really delicious Pan Asian food we had the other day. I ended up with a ‘confusion‘ of sorts; not quite authentic, even by my own meagre standards…but delicious nevertheless. We loved it, so did our young lad. Sadly my daughter didn’t enjoy it too much. But for me as a mother, even 50% is passing with flying colours!! With both the kids developing strangely similar tastes one day, and then being poles apart the next, uncertainty at the dinner table is part of the game! I heave a sigh of relief the day they concur, and do a little jig!!!!

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Served on a bed of noodles…….

When I read blog posts about the farmer’s markets in the US etc, I know exactly what the feeling is. In North India, at this time of the year, the local bazaars are overflowing with fresh produce. Every little corner stall will offer coloured bell peppers, bok choy, sweetcorn,mushrooms, broccoli etc at ridiculous prices! Such is the temptation, that each time I step out, I’m lugging this cartload home. Then again, its time to convert it into a hearty meal! I love it!!!

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Now how tempting are these? They colour my world….

I turned the blogosphere inside out in my search for a sambal chili sauce. The listed ingredients made me see stars. I eventually picked up a dipping sauce & merrily added my own bits & pieces. The resultant sauce was a bit on the sweeter side,despite all the chili flakes & garlic I threw in; the culprit was a dash of honey! Anyway, Pepy, who has a very authentic Indonesian food blog enlightened me, and will help me through the next time I venture in this direction. Until then, do enjoy this fusion that I cooked up!!

collage1 All chopped up & ready to go, lemme get down to the nitty-gritty..

Ingredients:

Rice noodles for 4

Chicken – 2-3 breasts/ chopped into bite sized pieces
Mushrooms – 200gms
Broccoli – 3 small heads, steamed to crisp
Bell peppers -1 each red, green & yellow
Spring onions – 5-6 with stalks
Garlic – loads of it / chopped fine
Bok Choy – 2-3
Cashew nuts – a handful / dry roasted
Thai Dipping Sauce (or if you have some, Sambal Chili sauce)

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Method:

  • Crush some garlic + red chili flakes + honey in a pestle (just a dash of honey). Reserve half.
  • Make a marinade with the other half adding oil + salt + a tbsp of dipping sauce/Sambal chili sauce.
  • Marinade the chicken in this for about half an hour.
  • Chop up the veggies as you would like them to be.
  • Begin to prepare the noodles . Once cooked, I pan fried them in garlic and chili flakes & a dash of dipping sauce again (eye-balled it)! Next time it will be Sambal chili for sure.
  • Heat the oil in a wok. Put in chopped garlic + chili flakes + reserved half of garlic-chili mix (or Sambal chili sauce).
  • Toss in the chicken pieces, fry them well for 2- minutes, followed by mushrooms. Stir fry on high till all the water evaporates.
  • Toss in the peppers + broccoli + spring onions (stalks chopped up too) and bok choy. Add salt; adjust seasonings. Stir fry for 2-3 minutes till bok choy is wilted.
  • Serve over a bed of hot noodles, topped with cashews!
  • Note: Omit the chicken altogether & you have a wonderful vegetarian option.

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PILE IT UP HIGH!!!

IMG 9542It’s so strange that every time a blog event is announced I tend to meander subconsciously towards the topic. These cashews reminded me of Jai & Bee‘s Jugalbandi event CLICK:NUTS…but have already sent in my entry, so this is just a reflection on the power of blogaddiction! I haven’t noticed so many nuts before!!

P.S. Zlamushka, this one’s savoury too!!

About me: I am a freelance food writer, recipe developer and photographer. Food is my passion - baking, cooking, developing recipes, making recipes healthier, using fresh seasonal produce and local products, keeping a check on my carbon footprint and being a responsible foodie! I enjoy food styling, food photography, recipe development and product reviews. I express this through my food photographs which I style and the recipes I blog. My strength lies in 'Doing Food From Scratch'; it must taste as good as it looks, and be healthy too. Baking in India, often my biggest challenge is the non-availability of baking ingredients, and this has now become a platform to get creative on. I enjoy cooking immensely as well.

2 Comments

  • zlamushka

    I see what you mean. One spicy recipe at a time… Well, noodles are always my favorite. I guess it is the feeling of them sliding down the throat I love. … am excited to see more !

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