Mango Chicken

My husband had a bout of enthusiasm on going to the Indian store one day and brought a crate of mangoes home. After giving some away, I still had a bunch to deal with. Mind you, this was one problem I didn't mind dealing with in the least! After eating a good number of them out of hand, I thought about making something for dinner one day and decided on making a savory dish using mangoes.

The inspiration for creating this mango chicken was actually from a dish I had at a restaurant that served Thai and Malaysian food. The dish we ordered there had shrimp, but I substituted chicken as I didn't have any shrimp at home to make this with. Sweet mangoes marry with spicy green chillies, salty soy sauce, and crunchy bell peppers to produce a symphony of flavors in one's mouth. Add some hot rice to that and what more could you want??

I think that this would be even more delicious with shrimp. If you don't do meat, then by all means try it with tofu. I'm sure the results would be fabulous!!



Ingredients:

Boneless chicken breast - 1, diced into bite sized pieces
Red onion - 2 small, coarsely chopped
Red bell pepper - 1 medium, chopped into large dice
Green bell pepper - 1 medium, chopped into large dice
Mango (ripe) - 1 medium, chopped
Garlic - 3 cloves, grated
Ginger - 2 inch piece, grated
Green chillies - 6-8, or to taste, chopped
Soy sauce - to taste
Rice vinegar - 2 tsp or to taste
Cornstarch - 1 tsp
Scallions - 2 stalks, chopped for garnish

Method:

1. Marinate the chicken with soy sauce to taste, cornstarch, and half of the grated garlic and ginger for 15 - 30 minutes.

2. Heat oil in a pan. When hot, add the marinated chicken and fry on high heat for 1-2 minutes until the chicken becomes slightly golden, but is still not cooked through. Remove from the pan.

3. Now, add the bell peppers and onions to the same pan. Saute until the veggies start to become slightly tender yet crisp.

4. Add the green chillies along with the remaining ginger and garlic. Fry until the raw smell disappears, about 2-3 minutes.

5. At this point, the sauteed chicken gets added back to the pan along with soy sauce to taste, rice vinegar and 1/2 cup of water. Allow to simmer for 3-4 minutes for the flavors to infuse. If the sauce seems to thick to you, add some more water. Alternatively, if you want it thicker, add another 1/4 to 1/2 tsp of cornstarch dissolved in 2 tbsp of water and simmer for 2 minutes for it to thicken up.

6. Now, add in the chopped mangoes and stir for another 30 seconds or so. Turn off the heat. Garnish with scallions and serve with hot rice. Enjoy!!

We loved this dish and so I'm sending it off to Meeta for this month's monthly mingle with the theme of Mango Mania!!

Chinese Chilly Chicken

The idea to make this dish had popped up over the weekend when my husband and I were in the mood for something different to eat. I thought of making a Chinese style fried rice, but my husband was in the mood for chicken. I had some bell peppers and onions and made this concoction that wound up tasting pretty similar to dishes you get in Indian-Chinese restaurants. It's sort of like a moister version of chilly chicken.

I've used a chili-garlic sauce, for spice, that's a variant of sambal oelek just because I'm a garlic addict, but I'm recommending sambal oelek for the normal people out there! Sambal oelek is a chili sauce that is made with ground chillies. You could substitute with any chili sauce that you like (sriracha, Maggi sauces, etc.). It would all work! In the end, this dish was definitely a thumbs up!! :)


Ingredients:

Boneless chicken, cut into small pieces - 1 lb
Onion - 2 medium, cut into large chunks
Bell pepper - 1 large, cut into large chunks
Garlic - 4 cloves, crushed or chopped finely
Ginger - 1 1/2 inch piece, crushed or chopped finely
Soy sauce - to taste
Tomato ketchup - 3 tbsp
Sambal Oelek - 3 tbsp, or to taste
Green chillies - 3, chopped
Scallions (spring onions) - 1 small bunch, chopped for garnish (optional)

To marinate chicken:
Egg - 1, beaten (optional)
Soy sauce - to taste
Sambal Oelek - 1 tbsp
Ginger-garlic paste - 1 tsp (optional)
Cornstarch - 1 tsp

Method:

1. Marinate the chicken with the marinade ingredients for 30 minutes. Then, lightly fry the chicken pieces in a couple of spoons of oil until light brown. Remove from pan and keep aside.

2. To the hot pan, add the onions, bell peppers, green chillies and saute for 2 minutes.

3. Add the crushed (or chopped) ginger and garlic and saute until the veggies are crisp-tender and the garlic and ginger have softened a bit.

4. Now, reduce the heat to medium-low. Add the sauces, salt (if needed) and the cooked chicken pieces. Let simmer for 3-4 minutes and turn off. Sprinkle scallions over and serve hot.

Goes well with white rice or fried rice or even as an appetizer. Enjoy!

For more of a gravy consistency, add a teaspoon of cornstarch dissolved in half a cup of water to the pan and allow to cook for 2-3 minutes.



The little bit that's left is off to Bindiya of In Love With Food for her Chinese food event!



Btw, I've joined the foodie blog roll which is for people who have food blogs. For more info, click here or on the banner on the side of my blog!