THE BEST GINGER CHICKEN

We eat out a lot and one of my favourite cuisines to try is Thai.If you ask me what's so Thai about this Ginger Chicken,kindly wait until you listen to the whole story. So, on Saturday night we found ourselves driving to our most favourite Thai restaurant in town and I found myself ordering the same old thing we order every. single. time.I don't like certain things to change and that order I place there,never changes!I may add a few things more, but, their Thai fried rice remains on the order.

We brought back the leftovers and Jobin had it for a snack two days back. There must have been only a few tablespoons worth of fried rice and even I took a bite from it. Only after having that did I realise that I shouldn't have had it because it was late in the night and too late to go out to have some more. Ian was fast asleep by then! I watched Jobin relish every grain of it and like always,I wondered how they manage to flavor each grain of rice,so well!

I went to bed having a fried rice on my mind. I even told him that we would be having fried rice with some chicken tomorrow. He was happy to hear that bit of good news before dozing off and I was happy that I have decided on something to cook for tomorrow!

Now that fried rice was fixed,what about the chicken? I scanned through my navy blue diary for recipes and other handwritten notebooks I have. Nothing felt worth trying at that point. So,during my daily conversation with Amma,I told her I was planning on something like a Ginger Chicken. That's when she mentioned about the Ginger Chicken in Bhanu's book. Bhanu Ravindran's cookbook has been a life saver in my family for years now. My Mamma bought the first copy which became the most wanted cookbook in our family that she bought many more. Everybody in my family or my extended family who loves to cook has this book with them. When Mamma passed away, Mammai,Appan's sister handed over Mamma's copy to me telling me that it should be with me since I am the one who loves to cook. That copy is a treasure of mine.

THE BEST GINGER CHICKEN
Serves 4

Ingredients:
1 pound / 454 grams boneless skinless chicken breast / thighs cut into 2 inch cubes
2 teaspoons soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoon lime juice
a pinch of red food colour

50 grams ginger
4 cloves garlic
150 grams onion

3-4 tablespoons tomato ketchup (or as you like)
1 teaspoon cayenne
1/2 tablespoon white vinegar
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
a pinch of red food colour

Oil
Cilantro

Method: In a small bowl, marinate the chicken pieces with soy sauce, salt and lime juice for 2 hours,covered in the refrigerator.Grind together ginger,garlic and onion to a smooth paste.

Heat about 1/2 cup of oil in a large saute pan and fry the chicken pieces until they are cooked and turn brown here and there.Drain them from oil and set aside.Into the same oil(add more if needed),add the ground paste and saute for 8-10 minutes or until the raw smell vanishes. If there were any pieces of chicken bits stuck to the pan, mix it along with the paste as it adds a whole new level of flavour.
Add the remaining ingredients to it and mix well.Add the fried chicken pieces,1/2 cup of water and simmer till the gravy thickens up and coats the pieces. Garnish with finely chopped cilantro and serve with rice or noodles of your choice!

This is the best ginger chicken I have ever tasted! All the ginger chicken I've tasted so far in my life hardly has a flavour of ginger but a big touch of cornstarch in the sauce and that turns into a semi-solid jiggly mass when cooled.I hate to eat such kind of food.
The ground paste in this recipe proves to be the best base and the sauce clings to the chicken pieces so well. You should try this if you like Ginger Chicken or atleast just to see what's it all about.

I am usually done with cooking by the time Jobin is back from work for two reasons. 1) I want to the kitchen and the house in general to look neat when he walks in because I hate to walk into a dirty, messy house and kitchen. 2) We get to spend more time together and I won't be standing by the stove stirring and trying to do dishes at the same time.
All 3 of us enjoyed our dinner last night and I was very very pleased when Ian voluntarily brought me back my linens,plates etc., after I finished photographing this dish. I usually occupy his play area for it and maybe he wanted to get my stuff out of his area :-)
  

HONEY CHILI POTATOES

I am back with another recipe using honey! This time it's paired along with a favourite ingredient of mine, Potatoes! I can eat anything made with potatoes,any time of the day! It's such a versatile ingredient and is an instant favourite with most people. I tasted this dish 11 years ago at Mainland China,Bangalore. One of my closest friends,Vasu, is a vegetarian and she had ordered this as her appetizer. The entire plate vanished in no time and it was just the two of us!

A few months later, I spotted this recipe in a book Mamma gave me.I noted it down in my navy blue diary. You should see the condition of that diary now. It's falling apart but at the same time, it's filled with delicious recipes too! So, I have kept it safe. Have you ever come across people who steal other's hand written cookbooks? I have and it's not a good experience at all! The number of years and effort you put into writing that book is just too precious! So,wherever I am now, all my books are kept safe! If someone wants a recipe and asks for it, I will be more than happy to share it with them.It's better to be safe than sorry!

The original recipe calls for blanching sliced potatoes and then frying it. Instead,you can use frozen fries and skip a step. I am giving you the recipe from the book but feel free to substitute it. It will yield the same result. There's some joy in skipping steps in a recipe,isn't it? Especially if they give the same results!
This is a delicious appetizer and tastes best when eaten immediately. Fried potatoes retain some crunch when served alone but, when they are tossed in a slightly sticky sauce, they get soft faster.So,if you are planning to take this appetizer with you,to someplace, it will taste just the same but they will be a bit soft.

There are a few things that you need to be careful about while making this recipe. We are adding the sauces directly to the oil,which means,it can get burnt very very easily . Once burnt, no amount of modifying can rescue it. It will taste bad.So, reduce the heat to low before you add the sauces. It's applicable for all recipes containing sauces &  powders. This recipe calls for chili paste and since I didn't have it on hand, I substituted it with red chili powder / cayenne. Feel free to increase or decrease the amount to suit to your tastes. Try to have the fried potatoes ready on hand before you make the sauce, so that way you can toss it immediately. The sauce will thicken a bit as it sits and might not coat the potatoes as much as it would,when hot.

HONEY CHILI POTATOES
Serves 2-3

Ingredients:
250 grams potato (or frozen fries)
50 grams cornstarch
Salt & pepper
Oil for deep frying
2 tablespoon oil
3 dried red chilies
2 tablespoon tomato ketchup
1 tablespoon green onions
1 tablespoon ginger garlic paste
1 1/2 teaspoon cayenne
1 teaspoon honey
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
Salt to taste

Method:
IF you are using store bought frozen fries,fry as mentioned behind the packet and toss them in the sauce.
IF you are making the fries at home,wash,peel & cut the potatoes into fingers. Blanch them in boiling water for 2 minutes and let it drain completely. Once cool, toss it with cornflour,salt and pepper.Shake off the excess flour & deep fry in hot oil (350F) until golden brown in colour.

For the sauce: Heat oil in a large saute pan and add the ginger garlic paste. After 30 seconds, add the dry red chilies and mix well. Decrease the heat and add the remaining ingredients and stir it well.Add the fried potatoes and toss well to coat. Serve right away garnished with green onions, cilantro and white sesame seeds.

Ian loved it! Just like his Appa & Amma,he loves potatoes in any form. He took his share and sat on our rocking chair to eat them peacefully. Every now and then he would ask us to get him water because it is a bit hot for him.These days he calls Jobin,'Jobi'. So it was very funny to see him call out to 'Jobi',for water!  I hope you try this sometime,it really is a quick one to pull together and tastes fabulous!Next time, I will use the readymade fries. We usually don't stock fries in our freezer. So, it's going to need some planning next time on!