Kitchen Corner-Try It

Mushroom Kung Pao Kung Pao chicken is one of my favorite takeout recipes, and this vegetarian version with mushrooms tastes just delicious. Mushroom Kung Pao is my best healthy weeknight dinner. I finally hit my stride! This homemade version is easy to put together and better than takeout. Kung Pao is a popular Chinese dish from the Szechuan region. It is irresistibly appetizing and is savory, salty, and spicy. I like cooking it for dinner. Lunches are sometimes leftovers. Mushroom Kung Pao is a much-loved dish at home, so I always make a big batch. The mushrooms can be stir-fried quickly or batter-fried in hot oil for a crisp texture. Mushroom Kung Pao is an impressive dish, great for meal prep, and perfect for entertaining. Black oyster mushrooms add an interesting savory, umami taste, and it is best fried or sautéed. They are soft, slightly chewy, with a meaty texture. It is a delicious alternative to meat or poultry. Oyster mushrooms are a good source of dietary fiber, protein, ...

  Easy Chicken Chow Mein Recipe  Chicken Chow Mein is simple and easy to make at home and is better than takeout. The chow mein noodles are savory, salty, and spicy, with loads of veggies, and are delicious! This recipe is similar to the Indian restaurant-style Chow Mein noodles, which are more towards the spicier side. You can use chilly sauce or experiment with the Sriracha sauce, depending on how spicy you want your noodles. Chow Mein is the best weeknight dinner, and the leftovers are great for lunches. It is irresistibly delicious and packed with flavor. Your family will love this every time you make it! In India, Chinese food especially, fried rice, and noodles are a thing.  It is popular street food. Roadside eateries and food trucks selling Indo-Chinese food are a common sight. Spicy Veg Chow Mein noodles go well with vegetable Manchurian, chilly chicken, Gobi Manchurian, etc. You could even make a filling meal with this recipe by adding a protein of your choice. ...

Zucchini and Mushroom Chicken Today's recipe is a copycat Panda Express style zucchini and mushroom chicken. It tastes almost like your favorite take out meal. Now, my friends, I am not claiming this is the exact spot on a recipe, but it tastes delicious and is your ticket to a tasty weekend meal in a jiffy. Your family will love this every time you make. My long time favorite had been Panda express Beijing beef, but sometimes I find it too sweet. This one is my recent favorite, simple and unassuming, with a balanced taste and a subtle peppery heat. The sauce is a light ginger-flavored sauce and it tastes delicious with steamed rice- delightfully crispy and delicious chicken bites with sauteed zucchini and mushrooms. The added benefit is that it has loads of veggies too. What you add to it is totally up to you. Here it is zucchini and mushrooms. Mushrooms add a depth of flavor and zucchini is crisp and tender. It is irresistibly appetizing. You'd be surprised at how simp...

Crispy Salt and Pepper Squid  Salt and pepper squid is easy to make, perfectly tender and crispy fried squid. Do you like fried squid? I am addicted to crispy salted fried foods and make them once in a while, especially during weekends. Fried calamari or squid is a popular restaurant appetizer. Salt and pepper squid is a deep-fried crunchy aromatic squid. This might look simple, and yes it is! Batter fried squid sprinkled with salt and pepper, aromatic Chinese five spices and tossed with fried garlic and ginger. That's it! it really doesn't get any easier than that! This simple and flavorful fried squid is an addictive snack/ appetizer and is a pure joy to indulge with. Squid is a popular seafood. You can now find it everywhere as a fast food or street food or maybe in a more formal sit-down restaurant menu. Back home in Kerala, my mom cooks squid in so many different ways. For me cooking squid was intimidating, to begin with. Overcooking tends to make the meat tough...

Baby Scallop Ginger Stir Fry Scallops Stir fry is tasty and it cooks fast. It is a star when it comes to quick fix meals. This is the first time I cooked scallops and I am already in love with this sea food delicacy. The recipe is adapted from here .  It has a mild sweet flavor with a soft buttery texture. Scallops can be pan roasted and the flavor is enhanced with ginger,soy sauce and  oyster sauce, along with the crunch of walnuts. Try this you will surely love it. Ingredients Scallops- 1/2 lb Onion- 1 medium spring onions- 1/3 cup Walnuts- 1/3 cup Chopped ginger- 2 inch thick Oyster sauce- 1 tsp Soy sauce- 1 1/2 tbs Sugar- 1/3 tsp Dried red chilly flakes- 1/2 tsp(optional) Vegetable oil- 1 tbs salt and pepper to taste Toast walnuts in a large skillet over medium flame. Toast for 2-3 minutes and set aside. Wash and pat dry the scallops and add a pinch of salt and pepper and mix. Heat oil in the pan, saute chopped ginger for a few seconds and ...

Mango Agar Agar Pudding Mango Agar Agar Pudding is an easy chilling summer dessert. Do you like mangoes? Whenever it is mango season I crave for something sweet with mangoes. I love any dessert with mangoes and this pudding was in my wish list for long. Agar agar gives this dessert a beautiful texture. The flavor of mango,  cardamom  and rose essence take this dessert to the next level.Made this easy pudding for Easter dinner. Try this you will surely love it. Ingredients Mango puree- 2 1/2 cup Agar Agar- 15 grams Condensed milk- 1/2 cup Sugar-3-4 tbs Cardamon powder- 1/2tsp Rose essence- a few drops (or you can use vanilla essence) Cut agar agar into strips and soak in one cup of water. Set aside for 10 minutes. Make a fine puree of mangoes and mix with condensed milk, sugar, cardamon powder and rose essence and set aside. In a sauce add soaked agar agar and one cup of water. Cook in low flame till the agar agar melts down completely and the consiste...

Yeung Chau Fried Rice Yeung Chau Fried rice is popular menu in Chinese restaurants. Yeung Chau is a province in China known for its superior fried rice dishes.  It is colorful and flavorful with with tender crispy vegetables, prawns and meat. Barbequed pork is one of the key ingredient n this fried rice. I used grilled salmon fish instead. So this is a seafood Yeung chau fried rice. Oyster sauce, curry powder or Chinese five spice  is used instead of soya sauce. Give this recipe a try, you will surely love it. Recipe source: Leeann Chin and Katie Chin, Everyday Chinese Cooking . Ingredients White rice/ basmathi rice- cooked- 2 cup Egg-1 Chopped onion- 1/2 cup Garlic- 2 cloves Vegetable oil- 2 tbs Peas- 1/2 cup Carrots- 1/2 cup chopped Green beans chopped- 1/3 cup Grilled Prawns- 3/4 cup Grilled salmon- 3/4 cup shredded (or barbecued pork or chicken)  Oyster sauce- 1 tbs Pepper and salt to taste Heat oil in a pan. Stir fry ...

Sweet and Sour Meatballs Delicious and tempting Asian style sweet and sour meat balls can be served as a appetizer or over steamed rice.This is my take to the classic Chinese dish. Try this recipe, you will surely love it. Ingredients For the meat ball Ground meat- 1 pound (I used ground turkey) Pepper and salt to taste Panko bread crumbs- 1/2 cup Egg- 1 Ginger paste- 1tsp Chopped cilantro- 2 tsp For the sauce Onion cubed- 1/2 cup Bell pepper- chopped- 1 medium Chopped garlic- 3 pods Soya sauce- 2 tbs Dark soya sauce- 1/2 tsp Sweet chilly and garlic sauce- 2 tsp Rice vinegar- 1 tsp Black Strap molasses- 1 tbs (or one tbs brown sugar)  Tomato paste- 3 tbs Pepper powder- 1/2 tsp Honey -2 tbs Chicken stock- 1/3 cup (or pineapple juice) Corn starch- 1 tsp Oil to fry In a bowl mix together the ground meat,egg , bread crumbs, salt and pepper, chopped cilantro and ginger paste. Mix all this together and  shape into small balls. Heat 1 1/2 c...

Chinese Almond Cookies Chinese Almond Cookies is rich, crisp tender and  buttery cookies. I first came across this recipe in Sherry Yard's Secrets of Baking . It was also part of the baking partners challenge. I could not try it then, but had saved the recipe. Since it is Christmas I decided to bake these cookies. The flavor of this cookie comes from Almond paste and almond extract. Almond paste is available in supermarkets. Amaretto, Italian liquor made of bitter almonds and apricots can also be used instead of almond extract. You can also add ½ cup of sliced toasted almonds to give the cookie more texture. Recipe Source: The Secrets of Baking-Simple Techniques for Sophisticated Desserts, Sherry Yard Ingredients All Purpose Flour- 2 1/2 cups Baking powder- 1 1/2 tsp Butter- cold unsalted- 6 oz./ 1 1/2 stick Sugar- 3/4 cup + 1 tbs for rolling Almond paste- 1/2 cup Orange zest- 1 tbs Almond extract- 1/2 tsp Egg- 1 large Egg white-1 Almonds- 1/3 for garnish De...

Lemon chicken This is a great chicken recipe infused with Asian flavors and was very similar to the Chinese restaurant style lemon chicken.It is citrus flavored,sweet, tart and crispy chicken .The chicken is first cut into small pieces, dipped in batter and deep fried. The sauce is made separately and drizzled over the chicken.This is perfect with jasmine rice. Ingredients 1)Chicken boneless- 1 1/2 lb Soya sauce- 3 tsp Salt a pinch For the batter 2)For the Batter Egg- 2 Corn starch-2 tbs 3) For the sauce Water - 3/4 cup ( or you can use chicken broth) Sugar- 3-4 tsp Salt- 1/2 tsp Lemon juice- 1 lemon Lemon zest- 1 tsp Corn starch- 1 tsp Yellow color- one drop( optional) Sesame seeds roasted - 1 tsp Chopped spring onions - a few Clean and cut chicken  into small pieces and marinate with soya sauce and pinch of salt and keep aside for ten minutes. Mix the ingredients under two and make a batter. Heat oil in a pan. Dip the marinated chicken in the b...