Fried rice

Fried rice is a dish of steamed rice stir-fried in a wok, often mixed with other ingredients, such as eggs, vegetables, and meat. It is sometimes served as the penultimate dish in Chinese banquets, just before dessert. As a homemade dish, fried rice is typically made with leftover ingredients (including vegetables, meat) from other dishes, leading to countless variations.

Many popular varieties of fried rice have their own specific list of ingredients. In Asia, the more famous varieties include Yangzhou and Fujian fried rice. Elsewhere, most restaurants catering to vegetarian or Muslim clientele have invented their own varieties of fried rice including egg fried rice, Indonesian spicy fried rice and the ubiquitous "special fried rice". Which will be discussed in another post?

Wh- what?

Fried rice is an important component of traditional cuisine Chinese, according to historical records already existed since 4000 BC. Fried rice and then spread to Southeast Asia brought by nomads Sino-resident foreigners settled there and created local typical fried rice which is based on the difference in the spices and how to fry.  Fried rice actually comes from several properties in culture Chinese, who does not like cold food tasting and also remove the remaining food a few days earlier. Hence, the cold rice and then fried to be served back at the table.

Fried rice is a common staple in American Chinese cuisine, especially in the form sold as fast food. The most common form of American Chinese fried rice consists of some mixture of eggs, scallions, and vegetables, with chopped meat added at the customer's discretion, and usually flavoured with soy sauce instead of table salt (more typical for Chinese-style fried rice). Fried rice made in American Chinese restaurants can vary in appearance, from a dark brown appearance often seen in East Coast establishments, to a light brown appearance often seen in Midwestern American Chinese restaurants. Fried rice is also seen in other American restaurants, even in cuisines with no native tradition of the dish. The dish is also a staple of Chinese restaurants in the United Kingdom, and is very popular in the West African nations of Nigeria, Ghana and Togo, both as restaurant and as street food.


Wh- how?

Vegetable Fried rice
Ingredients
Ginger chopped finely- 1/2 " piece
Basmati rice- 1 cup
Garlic -2 cloves
Spring onion chopped- 2 tbsp
Onion chopped- 1 small
Carrot,beans and cabbage finely chopped - 2 cups
Soya sauce-3/4 tbsp
Tomato ketchup-3/4 tbsp
Pepper powder-1/2 tsp(or to taste)
Oil
Salt to taste.

Method

Cook rice, heat oil in a pan adds chopped ginger and garlic and sauté till raw smell leaves. Now add the spring onion and chopped onion, sauté for few minutes. Add chopped vegetables and sauté till it is just done. Now add the soya sauce, tomato sauce, pepper powder and salt to taste, mix well. Add the cooked rice and mix carefully until combined. Cook for a few minutes and switch off the stove. Garnish with chopped spring onion and serve

Chicken Fried rice
Ingredients Needed:

Basmati Rice - 3 cups
Spring Onions - 1 bunch
Capsicum - 1 medium
Beans, Carrot and Cabbage - 2 cups
Salt to taste
Ajinomoto - 1/4 tsp
Soya Sauce - 2 tbsp
Cumin Seeds - 1 tsp
Oil - 2 tbsp
Pepper powder - 1 tbsp
For Chicken
Boneless Chicken - 250 gms
Ginger Garlic paste - 1/4 tsp
Salt to taste
Pepper powder - 1/4 tsp
Garam Masala / Green Chili Sauce / Red Chili powder - 1/2 tsp
Oil - 1 tsp

Method:

Clean and soak rice for 15 mins. Cook the rice in a non stick pan with 4 & 1/2 cups of water. Chop all vegetables finely. Onion bulbs can be chopped as circles. The stock is saved to be used for garnish at the final stage. Rest of the vegetables can be chopped finely. Heat a wok or Kadai. Wok works out best as you an flip the vegetables to come directly in touch with flame, which brings out the characteristic smoky effect. Add 2 tbsp of Oil, to this add cumin seeds. When it splutters, add chopped spring onions. Fry well, then add all the chopped vegetables. Sauté well with the flame high, tilt the kadai to a side and let the vegetables catch the flames. The moment the vegetable in oil gets burnt you can smell the charred or smoky smell. Tilt it back and keep sautéing till the vegetables are crisp and cooked. This dish requires the vegetables to be crisp and not over cooked. Then add Ajinomoto, salt and Soya sauce. Sauté well. Slowly add the cooked rice and mix well. Add the pepper powder and adjust the salt. Sprinkle the spring onion stocks over the rice.

Pressure cook the chicken, along with salt to taste, turmeric powder and Ginger Garlic paste. Once it is done, remove the bones and keep the boneless chicken pieces aside. We normally don't add water for pressure cooking as chicken will let out water.  Heat a pan with oil, add chili paste/ red chili powder, whichever you are going to use. Sauté in the chicken pieces, sprinkle pepper powder and garam masala if you are going to use that. Once it is dry, add the chicken pieces to the rice.

Chilly Cauliflower or Chilly Gopi

Chilly Gopi is an Indian Chinese cuisine. Indian Chinese cuisine is the adaptation of Chinese seasoning and cooking techniques to Indian tastes. The Indian Chinese cuisine is said to have been developed by the small Chinese community that has lived in Kolkata (formerly Calcutta) for over a century. Today, the Chinese food has become an integral part of the Indian culinary scene. It is also enjoyed by Indian and Chinese communities in Malaysia, Singapore and North America.

Wh-what? The cuisine is believed to have originated from the Chinese of Calcutta and Chinese food is still popular there. At present, the Chinese population in Calcutta stands at approximately 2,000. Most of these people are of Hakka origin; however, the dishes of modern Indian Chinese cuisine, such as Chicken Manchurian, bear little resemblance to traditional Chinese cuisine.

People of Chinese origin mostly live in India's only Chinatown located around Tereti Bazar and Bowbazar area which has since been relocated to Tangra, Calcutta. Most of these immigrants were Hakka. Chinatown in India still boasts a number of Chinese restaurants specializing in Hakka cuisine and Indian Chinese variants.

Foods tend to be flavoured with spices such as cumin, coriander seeds, and turmeric, which with a few regional exceptions, such as Hunan and Xinjiang, are traditionally not associated with much of Chinese cuisine. Hot chilli, ginger, garlic and yogurt are also frequently used in dishes. This makes Indian Chinese food similar in taste to many ethnic dishes in Southeast Asian countries such as Singapore and Malaysia, which have strong Chinese and Indian cultural influences.

Non-staple dishes are by default served with generous helpings of gravy, although they can also be ordered "dry" or "without gravy". Culinary styles often seen in Indian Chinese fare include chilli (implying hot and batter-fried), Manchurian (implying a sweet and salty brown sauce), and Szechwan (implying a spicy red sauce). These correspond only loosely, if at all, with authentic Chinese food preparation.

Wh-how? Cauliflower can be easily prepared by following this recipe:  

ingredient 

- 1 Onions 

- 3 Green Chillies 

- 2-3 cut into two lengthwise)Chilli sauce Gram Flour 

Directions : 

1) Mix together gram flour, little chilly powder, salt, a pinch of asafoetida and make a thick batter.

2) Dip the florets into it and deep fry in oil. Keep the aside.

3) Heat a little oil in a frying pan.

4) Add onions and green chillies and saute, till the onions turn into light golden brown.

5) Add chilli sauce and saute for 2 mins.

6) Add the fried florets and mix well.:- Chilli Gobi is ready. :- Serve Chilli Gobi hot.

Hamburger

A hamburger (also called a hamburger sandwich, burger or hamburg) is a sandwich consisting of one or more cooked patties of ground meat (beef, pork, turkey, chicken, etc.) usually placed inside a sliced hamburger bun. Hamburgers are often served with lettuce, bacon, tomato, onion, pickles, cheese and condiments such as mustard, mayonnaise, ketchup and relish.

The term "burger" can also be applied to the meat patty on its own, especially in the UK where the term "patty" is rarely used. The term may be prefixed with the type of meat as in "turkey burger".

The term hamburger originally derives from Hamburg, Germany's second largest city, from which many people emigrated to the United States. In High German, Burg means fortified settlement or fortified refuge and is a widespread component of place names. Hamburger can be a descriptive noun in German, referring to someone or an adjective describing something from Hamburg. 

The term "burger", a back-formation, is associated with many different types of sandwiches similar to a (ground meat) hamburger, using different meats, such as a buffalo burger, venison, kangaroo, turkey, elk, lamb, salmon burger or veggie burger.

Wh- what?  The term hamburger originally derives from Hamburg, Germany's second largest city, from which many people emigrated to the United States. In High German, Burg means fortified settlement or fortified refuge and is a widespread component of place names. Hamburger can be a descriptive noun in German, referring to someone from Hamburg.

The term "burger", a back-formation, is associated with many different types of sandwiches similar to a (ground meat) hamburger, using different meats, such as a buffalo burger, venison, kangaroo, turkey, elk, lamb, salmon burger or veggie burger.

Wh-how? Simple and humble, put these things ready with u... 

 1 lb. (453g) 85% lean ground beef/chuck

 6 burger buns

 1 egg yolk

 ½ small red or white onion 

 Ketchup 

 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce 

 1 tbsp mustard 

 1 tbsp white pepper

 1 garlic clove 

 Handful fresh herbs, chopped roughly

 Salt and pepper 

 2 thinly sliced tomatoes 

 6 slices of cheese 

 Lettuce leaves 

 Mayonnaise on the table

And..., do it as some genius said: 

1 Start with good meat. Get a butcher to grind chuck beef for you with a 15% fat content. (More fat and it will just drip off the meat and cause fire flare-ups; less and the burgers will be dry.) If possible, buy the meat the day you’re going to cook it.

Ask the butcher to grind the meat twice, once in the coarse plate of the grinder and then through the fine plate.

2 Place the ground beef in a bowl.

3 Roughly chop the onion and garlic. Put them in a bowl and mix them together until combined.

Add any of the ingredients you're wanting to be a part of the burger – the Worcestershire sauce, ketchup, mustard, and the chopped herbs.

4 Add the egg yolk. Season with salt and pepper and mix everything together.

5 Mix it all together. It is easier to start mixing with a spoon; then use your clean hands to thoroughly combine the ingredients.

6 Create the burgers. Handle the meat as little as possible, so you don’t squeeze out the juices.

Shape the mixture into 6 equal-sized balls using your hands.

Press the balls down to make flat burger shapes about ½ inch (1.27cm) thick. Make a small indentation in the center of the burger with your thumb. This prevents the center from swelling, leading to uneven cooking.

7 Arrange the burgers on a plate. Cover them with plastic wrap or wax paper. Chill for 30 minutes to a few hours to make the burgers firmer and easier to cook. Burger meat is best cooked cold.

8 Choose your cooking method. The homemade burgers can be cooked with a broiler or grill, fried in the skillet or frying pan, or barbecued. They can also be baked. The method used depends on what you have available and what you prefer by way of taste and texture. Whichever method you choose, after taking the patties out of the fridge, spritz them with a little cooking oil or brush them with some melted butter before cooking.

Broiler/grill: Preheat the broiler (upper level grill) to medium heat. Line a broiler pan with foil, for easier cleanup after cooking. Place the burgers in the broiler pan. Broil them for 6-7 minutes on each side or until thoroughly cooked.

Frying pan or skillet: Add oil or butter to the pan and fry the burgers well. Be sure to use low heat and a long cook to properly cook the burgers the whole way through.

Place on the barbecue grill. Cook as usual for hamburgers on the barbecue.

Bake: Place in the oven on 350ºF/180ºC for 15 to 30 minutes, depending on thickness. You may like to flip them over half way, testing doneness regularly.

9 While the burgers are cooking, prepare the toppings:

Wash the lettuce and tomatoes.

Halve the burger buns, then thinly slice the tomatoes.

Place the ketchup and mayonnaise on the table for diners to make their own choice.

10 Serve. Once the burgers are cooked to each diner's liking, serve the burgers. Place inside the bun with the toppings and deliver to the table.

Alternatively, place the burger on a plate with other food such as rice, chips, mashed potato, salad, etc.

Italian Pizza

Pizza is an oven-baked, flat, round bread typically topped with a tomato sauce, cheese and various toppings. The modern pizza was invented in Naples, Italy, and the dish has since become popular in many parts of the world. An establishment that makes and sells pizzas is called a "pizzeria". Many varieties of pizza exist worldwide, along with several dish variants based upon pizza. 

Pizza is cooked in various types of ovens, and a diverse variety of ingredients and toppings are utilized. In 2009, upon Italy's request, Neapolitan pizza was safeguarded in the European Union as a Traditional Speciality Guaranteed dish.

Wh- what?  The word "pizza" was first documented in 997 AD in Gaeta and successively in different parts of Central and South Italy, the history of the dish itself is not very clear or well documented. The precursor of pizza was probably the focaccia, a flat bread known to the Romans as "panis focacius", to which toppings were then added.

The term 'pizza' first appeared "in a Latin text from the southern Italian town of Gaeta in 997 AD, which claims that a tenant of certain property is to give the bishop of Gaeta 'duodecim pizze' ['twelve pizzas'] every Christmas Day, and another twelve every Easter Sunday".

Foods similar to pizza have been prepared since the neolithic age. Records of people adding other ingredients to bread to make it more flavorful can be found throughout ancient history.

The innovation that led to flat bread pizza was the use of tomato as a topping. For some time after the tomato was brought to Europe from the Americas in the 16th century, it was believed by many Europeans to be poisonous (as are some other fruits of the nightshade family). However, by the late 18th century, it was common for the poor of the area around Naples to add tomato to their yeast-based flat bread, and so the pizza began. The dish gained in popularity, and soon pizza became a tourist attraction as visitors to Naples ventured into the poorer areas of the city to try the local specialty.

Wh- How?  

Import these:

600 mL of warm water

7 cups (1kg) flour, type “00″*

2.25 teaspoons (25 grams) yeast

6 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil

1.5 tablespoons salt

2 teaspoons sugar

and...

1. Sprinkle the yeast into a medium bowl with the warm water. We don’t mean hot, and we don’t mean cold… we mean warm! That’s the kind the yeast likes best. Stir until the yeast dissolves.

2. Place almost all of the flour on the table in the shape of a volcano. 

3. Pour the yeast-and-warm-water mix, along with the other ingredients, into the “crater” of the volcano.

4. Knead everything together for 10 to 15 minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic, keeping your surface floured.

5. Grease up a bowl with some olive oil and put the dough inside. Turn the dough around so the top is slightly oiled.

6. Cover the bowl and put the dough aside to let it rest for at least four or five hours.

7 (optional for those who want their pizza really authentic). Make a cross on top of the dough with a knife. An old Italian tradition, this is seen as a way of “blessing the bread.”

8. Preheat the oven to about 400°F, or about 200°C.

9. Dump the dough out of the bowl and back onto the floured surface. Punch it down, getting rid of any bubbles. (Note: Now’s the time to enlist a kid with more energy than they know what to do with!).

10. Divide the dough in half and let it rest for a few minutes.

11. Roll each section into a 12-inch disc. Now’s your chance to decide how thick you want your pizza to be! Do you want it pizza alta (Neapolitan-style) or pizza bassa (Roman-style)? Just remember, your crust will puff up a little bit as it’s baked!

12.  Transfer the dough onto an oiled pizza pan or baking sheet.

13. Add tomato sauce, if you want a pizza rossa (red pizza). Lots of pizzas in Italy are actually pizza bianca, without tomato sauce, so don’t feel like you have to! Brush the edges of the crust with a little bit of olive oil.

14. Bake each pizza for about 10 minutes, then add mozzarella cheese (sliced or grated) on top, as well as any other ingredients.

15. Let the pizzas bake until the crust is browned and the cheese is melted. By lifting up the pizza to peek underneath, you can make sure the bottom has browned, too.

16. Remove your pizzas from the oven and, for a real Italian touch, garnish with a few basil leaves. 

Chinese Chow Mein Noodles

Chow mein - the classic Chinese comfort dish. Chow mein is a Chinese term for a dish of stir-fried noodles, of which there are many varieties. The pronunciation chow mein comes from the Taishan dialect of Chinese, spoken by immigrants from Taishan to America. In Taishanese, it is pronounced chāu-mèing. The lightly pronounced Taishanese, resembling the end of a Portuguese nasal vowel, was taken to be by English speakers.

 These egg and wheat flour noodles are used to make chow mein, in which the cooked noodles are formed into a pancake and fried on both sides.  Substitutes:  Hong Kong noodles OR Chinese egg noodles OR Chinese wheat noodles

Wh- what?  The oldest historical mention of noodles is the third century A.D. in China. The earliest Chinese noodles, though, don't appear as strands of dough -- they were shaped into little bits, formed from bread dough, and thrown into a wok of boiling water. That kind of noodle, called mian pian, is still eaten in China. This was one of the most interesting pieces of research -- that noodles in China actually began with its tradition of bread, something that is still widely eaten across northern China. 

Chinese noodles have a long and well-established history.  It was recorded as early as in Eastern Han Dynasty, which was over 1,900 years ago, that noodles were originally called "cakes", with "water boiled cake" being the ancestor of Chinese noodles.  According to Liuxi's "Shi Ming" ("Meaning of Names"), "cake" was a generic name of any food made out of the combination of water and flour, including water boiled flour strips or flour blocks. Another early mention of noodles has been traced to the Jerusalem Talmud, dating back to the fifth century A.D., and was called itrium -- and several centuries later, a string-like pasta called itrium made of semolina and dried before cooking is described by Syrian physicians.

Wh- how? 

Ingredients
2 teaspoons soy sauce (I use low sodium)
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1 tablespoon sesame oil
2 boneless skinless chicken thighs, cut into very thin slices
12 ounces chow mein noodles (the soft kind found fresh, not the hard crunchy ones)
2 tablespoons cooking oil
1 small napa cabbage, sliced into 1 inch strips
2 baby bok choy, sliced into 1 inch strips
5 ounces water chestnuts, sliced
2 garlic cloves, chopped
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons oyster sauce
2 green onions, chopped

Directions:
1 Marinate the chicken: Combine the 2 teaspoons soy sauce, rice vinegar, and sesame oil in a small bowl. Add the sliced chicken, and toss to completely coat. Set aside while you cook the noodles.
2 Cook the chow mein noodles according to package directions, drain well, and set aside.
3 Heat half of the oil (1 tablespoon) in a very large skillet or wok. When is is very hot, but not smoking, add the chicken mixture, and stir fry until the chicken is cooked through. Remove the chicken to a plate, set aside and keep warm.
4 Add the rest of the oil to the skillet, then add the cabbage, bok choy, water chestnuts and garlic; stir fry for a couple of minutes until the vegetables begin to wilt. Add the noodles, and continue to cook until the noodles are hot, and

well combined with the vegetables.
5 Add the soy sauce and oyster sauce, toss to combine. Add the chicken, toss to combine.
6 Transfer the chow mein to a serving platter, and top with the chopped green onions. Serve immediately.

Biltong

Biltong is a variety of cured meat that originated in South Africa. Various types of meat are used to produce it, ranging from beef and game meats to fillets of ostrich from commercial farms. It is typically made from raw fillets of meat cut into strips following the grain of the muscle, or flat pieces sliced across the grain. It is similar to beef jerky in that they are both spiced, dried meats. The typical ingredients, taste and production processes differ, the main difference being that biltong is usually thicker (from cuts up to 1" (25 mm) thick), while jerky is rarely more than 1/8" (3 mm) thick. Also, biltong does not have a sweet taste.

Wh- what? 

The settlers (Dutch, German, French) who arrived in southern Africa in the early 17th century brought recipes for curing and drying meat from Europe. 

Preparation involved applying vinegar and rubbing the strips of meat with a mixture of salts (saltpetre) and spices including pepper, coriander and cloves. The need for preservation in the new colony was pressing. Building up herds of livestock took a long time but with indigenous game in abundance, traditional methods were available to preserve large masses of meat such as found in the eland in a hot climate. Iceboxes and fridges had not been invented yet. Biltong as it is today evolved from the dried meat carried by the wagon-travelling Voortrekkers, who needed stocks of durable food as they migrated from the Cape Colony north and north-eastward (away from British rule) into the interior of Southern Africa during the Great Trek. The meat was preserved and hung to be dried for a fortnight after which it would be ready for packing in cloth bags.

Wh- How? Ideally the meat is marinated in a vinegar solution (grape vinegar is traditional but balsamic and cider also works very well) for a few hours, this being finally poured off before the meat is flavoured.

The spice mix traditionally consists equal amounts of: rock salt, whole coriander slightly roasted and roughly ground, black pepper and brown sugar. This mix is then ground roughly together, sprinkled liberally over the meat and rubbed in. Saltpetre is optional and can be added as an extra preservative (necessary only for wet biltong that is not going to be frozen).

The meat should then be left for a further few hours (or refrigerated overnight) and any excess liquid poured off before the meat is hung in the dryer.

Barbecue Chicken

Barbecue chicken consists of chicken parts or entire chickens that are barbecued, grilled or smoked. There are many global and regional preparation techniques and cooking styles. Barbecue chicken is often seasoned or coated in a spice rub, barbecue sauce, or both. Marinades are also used to tenderise the meat and add flavour. 

Rotisserie chicken has gained prominence and popularity in U.S. grocery markets. Barbecued chicken is one of the world's most popular barbecue dishes. Preparation Various techniques exist for cutting poultry for barbecuing, including skewering, butterflying, halving  quartering and using individual pieces. Many diverse cooking and flavouring techniques exist for this dish.

First barbecue There's a lot of misconception when it comes to "barbecue." The problem is the word itself. It's used as a synonym for grilling, refers to the grill itself, or to the meat being grilled; it also has a sauce named after it; and sometimes it's just the word for the party itself held outdoors in somebody's backyard. What, actually, is "barbecue"? American purists see things a little differently. 

To them, "barbecue" is a wonderful Southern tradition of slow-cooking with indirect heat and woodsmoke to transform cuts of meat, often inexpensive ones, into succulent, unbelievably delicious results. That's true barbecue.Anything else on a grill cooked hot and fast rather than low and slow is called grilling.

My first barbecue 

Prep: 5 minutes

Cook: 1 hour, 45 minutes

Yield: Serves 4-6.

Note that chicken thighs and legs will hold up better to long, slow heat than will breasts which can more easily dry out. If you barbecue breasts, keep them on the coolest part of the grill. This recipe assumes fairly large chicken pieces (like the main pieces from a 4 to 5 pound whole chicken). If you are working with smaller chicken pieces, they may require a shorter cooking time. If you are cooking wings, they too may be done before the other larger pieces. A note about the skin. Even if you do not plan on eating the chicken skin, it's best to barbecue it with it on. The skin will protect the chicken pieces from drying out.

INGREDIENTS

4 pounds of your favorite chicken parts (legs, thighs, wings, breasts), skin-on

Salt

Vegetable oil

1 cup barbecue sauce, store-bought or homemade

METHOD

1 Coat the chicken pieces with vegetable oil and sprinkle salt over them on all sides. Prepare your grill for high, direct heat. If you are using charcoal or wood, make sure there is a cool side to the grill where there are fewer coals.

2 Lay the chicken pieces skin side down on the hottest side of the grill in order to sear the skin side well. Grill for 5-10 minutes, depending on how hot the grill is (you do not want the chicken to burn). Once you have a good sear on one side, move the chicken pieces to the cooler side of the grill, or, if you are using a gas grill, lower the heat to medium low. Cover the grill and cook undisturbed for 20-30 minutes.

3 Turn the chicken pieces over and baste them with with your favorite barbecue sauce. Cover the grill again and allow to cook for another 30 minutes. Repeat, turning the chicken pieces over, basting them with sauce, covering, and cooking for another 30 minutes.

4 By now the chicken should be cooked through. You can check with a meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the chicken piece. Look for 165°F for breasts and 170°F for thighs. Or insert the tip of a knife into the middle of the thickest piece, the juices should run clear. If the chicken isn't done, turn the pieces over and continue to cook at a low temperature. If you want can finish with a sear on the hot side of the grill. To do this, put the pieces, skin side down, on the hot side of the grill. Allow them to sear and blacken slightly for a minute or two.

5 Paint with more barbecue sauce and serve.