Asian Recipes | RecipeTin Eats

Spicy Wontons in Chilli Sauce – Din Tai Fung!

Nagi — Fri, 15 Sep 2023 06:00:00 +0000

All Din Tai Fung fans know how good their Spicy Wontons are. Here’s my copycat! Wontons served in a spicy, savoury, homemade chilli sauce. Easy. Fast. OBSESSED.

Serve with fried rice and Ginger Bok Choy to create your own little restaurant experience.

Din Tai Fung’s famous Spicy Wontons!

Ahhh, wontons. I love those bite size dumplings with irresistible slippery flappy bits. I love them in soup form. One of my ultimate 10 minutes convenience meals.

But my favourite way is with a spicy chilli oil sauce. Specifically, the Din Tai Fung version, a global dumpling chain that declares itself makers of the best dumplings in the world (and many people agree!)

The Din Tai Fung chilli sauce for wontons is less oily, less vinegary and slightly less spicy than standard Chinese dumpling houses. Because of this, they are generous with the amount of sauce so you can eat each slippery, plump, juicy wonton with a spoonful of the sauce without blowing your head off with a chilli explosion.

Any other Din Tai Fung devotees reading this who can vouch for how good they are?? I LOVE ‘EM!

The spicy chilli sauce

The key, unsurprisingly, to the awesomeness that is the Din Tai Fung Spicy Wontons is their secret chilli sauce. Team RecipeTin is mighty proud that we cracked the code!

While easy recipes will use just chilli oil and maybe some chilli paste or chilli crisp, the reason Din Tai Fung’s sauce is so tasty it because it’s flavoured with garlic, spices and sauces. It’s also got a lovely savouriness to it, with more flavour than what you can get from just using salt or soy sauce.

I won’t say ours is a dead ringer but it’s very, very close. Actually, Team RecipeTin prefers ours to Din Tai Fung’s because it’s got fresher flavours, it’s less oily, and it’s not as sweet. Intentionally!

What you need to make the chilli sauce

Chinese chicken stock powder – The secret ingredient! It’s the tastier salt. It’s got a cleaner, less artificial flavour than Western chickens stock powders. In fact, when I run out of liquid chicken stock/broth, I use Chinese stock powder mixed with water, over western chicken stock powders.
I use Knorr brand, yellow can with a green lid. Get it at any Asian grocery store here in Australia, it’s so common, and good value, a little bit goes far. Substitute with any regular chicken stock powder, or crumbled bouillon cube.

Chinese chicken stock powder. I prefer this over Western brands – cleaner, less artificial flavour.

Chilli oil – Any Chinese brand red chilli oil (check the label). Chili oils vary in spiciness between Asian countries, so best to stick with Chinese as in my experience, they are relatively consistent in spiciness between brands.
Alternatives – Chilli crisp will also work here but obviously adds lots more crispy “bits” into the sauce and less oil! For a non spicy option, substitute some or all with sesame oil (toasted, the brown oil, not yellow un-toasted). Obviously no longer spicy, but a lovely sesame-forward flavour!
Sichuan pepper – Whiteish pepper powder that has a “cold” spiciness to it, used in famous dishes like Kung Pao chicken. I use pre-ground for convenience here because it’s a small amount, just 1/4 teaspoon. Kudos to anyone who makes their own: toast, grind, sift, measure!
Chinese Five Spice Powder – Blend of (you guessed it!) five spices that is sold at regular grocery stores, in the dried spices aisle.
Chilli flakes (red pepper flakes) – Takes the sauce to “pretty spicy” range but very enjoyable for people who love spicy Asian food. Omit, or stir in at the end bit by bit, for less spicy.
Soy sauce – Use either light or all purpose soy sauce. But not dark soy sauce – flavour is too strong and the colour is too intense! More on which soy sauce to use when here.
Garlic – Fresh (don’t talk to me about jarred!), finely minced with a knife or use a garlic crusher.
Rice vinegar – For a touch of tang, to balance out the other flavours. Substitute with any clear vinegar, or Chinese black vinegar.
Sugar – Just a small touch to mimic the flavour of the Din Tai Fung chilli sauce. Though ours is less sweet than theirs, I actually find the Din Tai Fung one a little too sweet.

The wontons

You can use any wontons you want, homemade or store bought! Though there’s a hierarchy, unsurpsingly. Homemade wontons trumps Asian store frozen wontons trump regular grocery store wontons.

There is no shame in buying wontons. Frozen are pretty good these days! The classic is pork and prawns/shrimp (this is the filling in my wontons recipe). But feel free to use any type of wonton.

Homemade wontons – I always have a stash in the freezer!

How to make Din Tai Fung’s Spicy Wontons

Ready to see how easy it is to make? Here we go!

Sauce flavourings – Put the spices and garlic into a metal or heat-proof bowl (garlic, red chilli flakes, Sichuan pepper, five spice powder, sugar and stock powder).
Heat oils – Heat the chilli oil and vegetable oil in a small pan until hot.
Sizzle! Pour the hot oil over the garlic etc. Enjoy the sizzle! But don’t worry, it’s not scary, it doesn’t spit. Then give it a quick mix.
Mix in soy and liquids – Next, whisk in the soy sauce, vinegar and a little hot water which we use to dilute the otherwise very intense flavoured sauce. Too intense to slop up spoonfuls with the wontons!
And that’s it! Just set aside until ready to use. It’s fine if it cools down, the heat from the wontons will reheat it.

Cook your homemade or store-bought wontons in boiling water. You will know when they’re done because they will rise to the surface (they sink to the bottom when raw). Freshly made non-frozen wontons will cook in 4 minutes and frozen ones will cook in 6 to 8 minutes. Don’t thaw, just plonk them in frozen!
Sauce them! Use a slotted spoon to transfer the cooked wontons directly from the water into a serving bowl. Then pour over the chilli sauce, sprinkle with a little green onion (if you want) and EAT!
(PS If you’re brave, add an extra drizzle of chilli oil. I like to be brave. )

Scooping up a good spoonful of the sauce with every wonton is essential here. In fact, as mentioned earlier, the sauce is intentionally designed as such. Just shovel the whole spoonful in and eat in one mouthful!

This really is very similar to the Din Tai Fung spicy wontons. Though, as noted above, less sweet and less oily. Both good things!

Big shout out to my brother and our Chef JB for doing the legwork to crack the code! You’d be surprised how many iterations it took before we were all in agreement it was as good / better than Din Tai Fung’s. It’s not a hard recipe to make, but getting the ratios just right and figuring out the flavourings was a challenge. The Chinese stock powder was the final piece of the jigsaw puzzle.

Spicy Asian Food Lovers, rejoice! – Nagi x

Watch how to make it

Spicy Wontons – Din Tai Fung!

Recipe video above. Everybody knows Din Tai Fung* has the best Spicy Wontons. Here's my copy-cat! Very specific mix of spices, it's less spicy, less vinegary and more savoury than typical Chinese dumpling houses, designed so you can slop up every bit of that tasty sauce with the wontons without blowing your head off! So, so, very good!

* Global dumpling restaurant chain that declares itself the world's best dumplings. Many Sydney-siders would not disagree.

Course Mains, Starter

Cuisine Chinese

Keyword spicy wontons, wontons in chili oil

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 5

Total Time 15

Servings wontons

Calories 72cal

Author Nagi

Ingredients

Wontons:

10 – 12 wontons , preferably homemade else store bought. Frozen: DO NOT THAW (Note 1)
1 tbsp green onion , sliced then roughly chopped, for garnish
Extra chilli oil , for drizzling (Note 5)

Chilli oil sauce for wontons:

2 garlic cloves , very finely minced
1 tsp caster / superfine sugar (sub regular sugar)
1/2 tsp red chilli flakes (red pepper flakes), OPTIONAL, for spicy food lovers (Note 2)
1/4 tsp sichuan pepper powder (Note 3)
1/4 tsp Chinese five spice powder (Note 4)
1/2 tsp Chinese chicken stock powder , or regular western stock powder (Note 5)
2 tbsp Chinese chilli oil (⚠️ Note 5), adj for spiciness (sub with sesame oil)
1 tbsp vegetable oil (sub canola, peanut or other natural oil)
2 1/2 tsp light soy sauce , or all-purpose soy (Note 6)
1 tsp rice vinegar (sub other clean vinegar)
2 1/2 tbsp hot water (just tap is fine)

Instructions

Chilli oil sauce for wontons:

Mix spices – Put the garlic, sugar, chilli flakes, sichuan pepper, five spices and stock powder in a medium mixing bowl.
Heat oil – Heat the chilli oil and vegetable oil in a small frying pan over medium heat until hot. Pour over garlic mixture. Enjoy the sizzle! (Don't worry, it doesn't spit)
Add sauces: – Whisk in soy sauce, rice vinegar and hot water. The oil will remain a little separated on top. Set aside while you make wontons.

Serving:

Cook wontons – Bring a large saucepan of water to the boil. Add wontons and cook until they float: 4 minutes for freshly made, 6 to 8 minutes from frozen.
Assemble – Transfer to serving dish using a slotted spoon. Pour over sauce, add an extra drizzle of chilli oil (if you dare!), sprinkle with green onion. Serve immediately!

Notes

SPICE note: Pretty spicy, not blow-your-head-off. To make this kid-friendly, omit the chilli flakes and sub the chilli oil with sesame oil.

1. Homemade wontons trump Asian store frozen wontons, trump regular grocery store wontons. If I don’t have homemade wontons in the freezer, it makes me insecure so I’ll do an emergency run to the Asian store.

Classic wonton filling is pork and prawns/shrimp (this is the filling in my wontons recipe). But feel free to use any type of wonton!

2. Chilli flakes – Takes the sauce to “pretty spicy” range but very enjoyable for people who love spicy Asian food. Omit, or stir in at the end bit by bit, for less spicy.

3. Sichuan pepper – Whitish pepper powder that has a “cold” spiciness to it, used in famous dishes like Kung Pan chicken. I use pre-ground for convenience here because it’s a small amount. Kudos to anyone who makes their own: toast, grind, sift, measure.

4. Chinese Five Spice Powder – blend of (you guessed it!) five spices that is sold at regular grocery stores, in the dried spices aisle.

5. Chinese chicken stock powder (photo in post) – Slightly cleaner, less artificial flavour than Western chickens stock powders. I use Knorr brand, yellow can with a green lid. Read in post for more info, I am a fan! It’s my go-to sub for liquid stock.

6. Chilli oil – Stick to a Chinese brand to be safe (unless you have one you know) as chili oils vary in spiciness between Asian countries. In my experience, Chinese chilli oils are relatively consistent in spiciness. Chilli crisp will also work here but obviously adds lots more crispy “bits” into the sauce and less oil!

LESS SPICY OPTION: sub some or all with sesame oil (toasted, the brown oil, not yellow un-toasted). Obviously no longer spicy, but a lovely sesame-forward flavour!

7. Soy sauce – Use either light or all purpose soy sauce. But not dark soy sauce – flavour is too strong and the colour is too intense! More on which soy sauce to use when here.

8. Leftovers – Like all dumplings, wontons are best served freshly made but will last 3 days in the fridge. Microwave reheating is best, so they stay nice and juicy.

Nutrition per wonton, assuming 12 wontons and all the sauce is consumed.

Nutrition

Life of Dozer

Daily situation.

The post Spicy Wontons in Chilli Sauce – Din Tai Fung! appeared first on RecipeTin Eats.

Bok Choy in Ginger Sauce

Nagi — Wed, 13 Sep 2023 06:00:00 +0000

My favourite way to cook bok choy is with a lovely shiny, ginger sauce. Great way to load up on leafy Asian greens quickly and easily! On the table in 5 minutes, serve over fluffy rice or over noodles in soup.

My favourite bok choy recipe

I’ve shared many stir fries using bok choy but I’ve never done one where it takes centre stage. Which is a bit of an omission on my part because today’s recipe is one that I use rather frequently in my day-to-day life. It’s just a really tasty, quick way to cook up a big load of leafy Asian greens. It’s a staple vegetable dish on the menu of everyday Chinese restaurants.

Saucy is the key! That ginger sauce will make any vegetable scoff-able. The Chinese are very clever cooks!

What you need to make Bok Choy in Ginger Sauce

Here’s what you need to make this bok choy recipe.

Bok Choy (or other Asian greens!)

I’m using baby bok choy for today’s recipe but you can use almost all leafy Asian greens such as pak choy and choy sum.

Size – I like to use small(ish) bok choy if I can find it, usually labelled “baby bok choy”, because it is more tender and sweet. I classify them “baby” up to around 17cm/7″ long. The other side benefit is that you can cook the leaves whole without separating the stem from the leafy part which looks nice.

Much longer than this and you end up in a spaghetti-type situation (I see hot ginger sauce being slapped around your mouth!) unless you cut the leafy part from the stem.

Other Asian greens

The cooking method in this recipe works great for pretty much any Asian greens. You just need to tweak the steaming time to suit the one you’re using. Here are some other common Asian greens that are ideal to use for this recipe – pak choy (full size and baby!) and choy sum.

And here’s how to cut each of these types of Asian greens for this recipe. For the longer ones, just cut into pieces as long or short as you want. For smaller ones, keep the leaves whole!

Gai lan, also known as Chinese broccoli, will also work but because the stem is a little firmer (like ordinary broccoli texture), it will take a little longer to steam-cook. Though, if Gai Lan is what you have, my favourite way to cook it is with Oyster Sauce, yum cha style – stacked and doused with sauce! Recipe here.

Sauce

The sauce is a classic Chinese stir fry sauce that is nice and shiny. It’s fairly light in colour compared to other stir fry sauces which is common at Chinese restaurants. It suits vegetable dishes – we don’t want to weigh down leafy greens with overly salty, intensely flavoured sauces.

But, let me be clear, this sauce is definitely not bland!! It’s an excellent, tasty rice-soaking sauce!

Oyster sauce – A very common Asian sauce found in the Asian aisle of grocery stores that is used liberally in Chinese, Thai and other Asian cooking. Sweet and savoury packed into one magical bottle, it’s key to this otherwise simple sauce not being bland and boring. Substitute with vegetarian oyster sauce (fairly commonly found these days) or hoisin sauce (you’ll get a hint of Chinese five spice flavour which is lovely too!)
Chinese cooking wine (“Shaoxing wine”) is an essential ingredient for making truly “restaurant standard” Asian sauces, adds depth of flavour. More information on it here. Substitute with Mirin, cooking sake or dry sherry. Non alcoholic substitutes – swap both the cooking wine AND water with low sodium chicken broth/stock.
Sesame oil (toasted) – Use toasted sesame oil which is brown and has more flavour than untoasted (which is yellow). Default sesame oil sold in Australia is toasted, untoasted is harder to find.
Soy sauce – Use either light or all purpose soy sauce. But not dark soy sauce – flavour is too strong and the colour is too intense! More on which soy sauce to use when here.
Cornflour / cornstarch – Thickens the stir fry sauce and also makes it shiny! Flour, on the other hand, doesn’t make sauces shiny. Food trivia for the day!
White pepper is the pepper of choice in most Chinese stir fry sauces as it keeps the sauce free of (unsightly!😂) black pepper speckles. But I promise switching a pinch of white pepper for black pepper will not ruin your dish!!

How to cook Bok Choy

Bok choy cooks so quickly it can be pan roasted, steamed or boiled. But my favourite way is to combine both pan-roasting and steaming. You get the lovely sautéed gingery oil coating the bok choy before steaming it in just 45 seconds in the pan. The sauce is poured in at the end and literally takes 30 seconds to thicken!

Sauce – Mix the cornflour/cornstarch with everything except the water until lump free, then mix in the water. Why? Because it’s easier to dissolve cornflour in less liquid. If there’s too much liquid, you end up with pesky cornflour lumps.
Sauté ginger in the oil for a minute to soften and also to flavour the oil. The ginger won’t cook much further once everything else is added.
TIP: Start the ginger in a cold pan to extend the oil-infusion time!

Toss bok choy in the pan for about 15 seconds to coat it in the gingery oil. I recommend using 2 spatulas, one a rubber spatula so you can scoop up the little bits of ginger.
Water – Then pour over 1/4 cup of water. This will create the steam to cook the bok choy.

45 second steam – Place the lid on then steam for just 45 seconds until the stem is partially cooked. Bok choy cooks really, really quickly! And we still have the sauce to go so we don’t want it to be fully soft at this stage.
Doneness – The stem should still have a soft crunch to it, but not be crisp like when raw. If it’s soft all the way through, it turns into mush. Not pleasant!
Sauce – Give the sauce a quick stir to mix in any cornflour settled on the bottom. Then pour it over the bok choy and toss for just 30 seconds or until it changes from murky to a clear glossy sauce that thickens slightly and coats the bok choy.
Thickness adjustment – If the sauce evaporates too quickly and gets too thick, just add a splash of water to loosen it up! This can happen if there’s too much heat in the pan or if your vegetables are a bit past their prime so don’t release much water when steaming.
And that’s it! How quick was that? Just transfer the bok choy and every drop of that delicious sauce onto a serving plate then serve!

Serving

The obvious role for this plate of tasty vegetable goodness is as a side dish. But I exaggerate not when I say that I’ll happily have this as a meal, just by itself. Proof above. Look at that ginger-sauce-rice-soaking situation!!! Try telling me that’s not meal worthy! – Nagi x

Watch how to make it

Bok Choy in Ginger Sauce

Recipe video above. My favourite way to cook bok choy is with a lovely shiny, ginger sauce. Great way to load up on leafy Asian greens quickly and easily! Be careful not to overcook the bok choy, it cooks really fast. Pan-steam for just 45 seconds, then it finishes cooking in 30 seconds with the sauce.

Recipe also works great with other Asian Greens like pak choy, choy sum (see Note 1). Make this ginger version one day then garlic the next! Serve as a side, with fluffy rice or over noodles in soup.

Course Side Dish

Cuisine Asian, Chinese

Keyword asian greens recipe, bok choy recipe, how to cook bok choy

Prep Time 3

Cook Time 3

Total Time 6

Servings – 5 as a side

Calories 81cal

Author Nagi

Ingredients

6 small bok choys , up to ~17cm/7″ long, or other Asian greens (Note 1 + photos in post)
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1/4 cup ginger , finely julienned (or 1 tbsp garlic)
1/4 cup water

Sauce (Note 5 for Charlie shortcut!):

3 tsp cornflour/cornstarch
1 1/2 tsp light soy sauce , or all-purpose soy (Note 2)
1 tsp oyster sauce (sub vegetarian oyster sauce)
2 tsp Chinese cooking wine (Note 3)
1 tsp sesame oil , toasted
1/4 cup water
1/4 tsp cooking salt
Pinch white pepper

Instructions

Cutting – Trim the base of the bok choy then separate all the leaves. Leave the delicate baby bok choy in the centre intact, it's precious! Cut giant stems in half lengthwise so they are all roughly the same size. Rinse in colander, shake off excess water (don't need to dry fully).
Sauce – Stir Sauce ingredients except water in a jug until cornflour is dissolved. (Easier to make lump free with less liquid). Then stir in water.
Gingery oil – Put the ginger and oil in a large non-stick pan. Turn onto medium heat. Once the ginger starts sizzling, sauté for 1 minute until it turns light golden and is a bit floppy. Add bok choy then use 2 spatulas to toss the ginger for around 15 seconds to coat.
Steam – Turn heat up to medium, pour water over. Cover with lid and steam for just 45 seconds.
Sauce – Remove lid (bok choy will still be a bit underdone), pour in sauce, toss for 30 seconds until sauce changes from murky to clear, and thickens. Bok choy should be just floppy but still soft crunch, not mushy. If your sauce gets too thick (Note 4), add a tiny splash of water and mix.
Serve – Pour the bok choy and all the sauce onto a serving plate, then eat!

Notes

1. Bok Choy & other asian greens – can use other leafy Asian greens, such as pak choy, choy sum, baby and full size. For short ones, like the pictured baby bok choy, just trim the base and separate the leaves (keep stem and leafy part attached). For long ones, cut into 7.5cm/3″ (ish) lengths (see photos in post). If the stems are really thick, cut in half. Toss the stems in first to give them a head start, then add the leafy part just at the end before adding water to steam.

Recipe will work with gai lan (Chinese broccoli) too, just get the stem going first (it’s thicker so will take longer to cook) and steam it for a little longer (around 2 minutes in total).

2. Soy sauce – Use either light or all purpose soy sauce. But not dark soy sauce – flavour is too strong and the colour is too intense! More on which soy sauce to use when here.

3. Chinese cooking wine (“Shaoxing wine”) is an essential ingredient for making truly “restaurant standard” Asian sauces, adds depth of flavour. More info on it here. Substitute with Mirin, cooking sake or dry sherry. Non alcoholic sub – sub both the cooking wine AND water with low sodium chicken broth/stock.

4. Sauce relies on some water coming out of the bok choy as it steams. If your bok choy is old and shrivelled, not enough water will come out. Easy fix – just add a tiny splash of water!

5. Charlie option – To make this using Charlie (my all-purpose stir fry sauce), mix 2 tablespoons of Charlie with 1/4 cup water. Then use as the Sauce!

6. Leftovers will keep for 2 days but the vegetables do tend to get watery/floppy.

Nutrition per serving, assuming 5 servings.

Nutrition

Life of Dozer

Before…..

….and after he realised what it was:

The post Bok Choy in Ginger Sauce appeared first on RecipeTin Eats.

Garlic Noodles

Nagi — Wed, 06 Sep 2023 06:00:00 +0000

These extraordinarily delicious, yet simple Garlic Noodles are a fusion Asian dish made famous by Thanh Long restaurant in San Francisco, via Kenji Lopez-Alt. Top with a fried egg and vegetables for a quick meal. Also makes an excellent Asian side dish for “anything”!

Garlic noodles

This is yet another example of an excellent fusion Asian dish that brings together Asian and Western ingredients to create something incredibly tasty. Big garlic flavours – with a secret ingredient: parmesan. Yes, you read that right! Parmesan. Mixed with Asian sauces (oyster, fish sauce and Maggi seasoning or soy sauce) and a stack of garlic, it adds a punch of savoury flavour when it melts into the sauce. And it goes amazingly well with the Asian flavours!

Ingredients in Garlic Noodles

Here’s what you need to make Garlic Noodles. There are lots of noodle options but my favourite are ramen / noodles cakes, as pictured below.

Noodles – As mentioned above, this recipe can be made with any noodles, dried or fresh (from fridge). It’s pictured below made with hokkien noodles. It can even be made with spaghetti – there’s plenty of recipes that use pasta!! But my favourite are ramen / noodles cakes, like those pictured above. The wrinkly nature of those noodles just makes the sauce cling better.
As for spaghetti – it works and tastes fine, but pasta doesn’t have the same chew that noodles do. I’d still plough ahead if I only had pasta though!
Garlic – Lots. We need 2 whole tablespoons of finely minced garlic. The garlic flavour is unmissable in this!
Fish sauce – The savoury sauce that’s got more layers of flavour than soy sauce. Though, if you don’t have it, soy sauce can be substituted. Use light or all-purpose soy sauce, not dark soy sauce (too strong). More on different soy sauce types here.
Maggi Seasoning is a savoury Asian sauce, I think of it like soy sauce + an Asian Worcestershire sauce. Find it in the Asian aisle of large grocery stores (Coles, Woolies) or Asian stores. It’s used for noodles, stir fries and it’s also the secret ingredient in Banh Mi Sauce.
Substitute with soy sauce (light or all-purpose, not dark soy). Though note if you substitute both the fish sauce and Maggie Seasoning you will start losing flavour in this dish.

Maggi Seasoning – think of it like soy sauce, but with more flavour!

Parmesan – The “secret ingredient” that adds a punch of savoury flavour and saltiness! There is subtle parmesan flavour in the dish, it’s not the dominant flavour.
Be sure to finely shred the parmesan using a microplane or similar so it melts seamlessly into the sauce. If you use store bought pre-grated (sandy type or fine batons) it won’t melt as well. But if that’s all you’ve got, I’d still make this!
Butter, not oil. Tastier!
Green onion for freshness.

These garlic noodles made with hokkien noodles. Delish!

How to make Garlic Noodles

In the video, you’ll see me boil the noodles then make the sauce using the same saucepan. It works fine because the sauce barely takes a minute to make. But sometimes, I’ll get the sauce going while the noodles are boiling then toss it together in a pan. Do what works for you.

Reserve noodles water – Cook the noodles per packet directions. Just before draining, scoop out a mugful of the cooking water (this is to make the sauce later). Take at least 1/2 cup or more – you need 1/4 cup for the recipe plus extra just in case.
Drain the noodles then leave in the colander while you make the sauce (it’s barely a minute).

Sauté garlic – In the same saucepan, melt the butter then sauté the garlic for 30 seconds or until it smells ridiculously good.
Sauce – Add the fish sauce, Maggi seasoning, Oyster sauce and 1/4 cup reserved noodle cooking water. Stir to combine the sauce ingredients, there’s no need to simmer or cook it.
The noodle cooking water is what makes the sauce – the starch in the water helps thicken the sauce so it clings to the noodles.
Noodles & parmesan – Add the noodles and parmesan then toss for 30 seconds or until the sauce is coating the noodles rather than pooling at the bottom of the saucepan. The parmesan will melt seamlessly into the sauce. The noodles should be slick and loose. If it gets sticky and thick (because the heat is too high / tossed for longer than needed), just add a splash of noodle cooking water to loosen it up!
Toss through green onion then serve immediately!

To serve

Make a quick meal out of these garlic noodles by adding a fried egg or slices of boiled egg, plus a side of greens. Pictured at the top is broccolini which I boiled with the noodles then tossed with Asian Sesame Dressing (which you always have in the fridge, right!).

Otherwise, this is literally the perfect side dish that will go with “any” Asian mains that needs a starchy side. I see…..Sticky Chinese Wings, Chinese BBQ Pork, Chinese BBQ Chicken, Vietnamese Lemongrass Pork Steaks, Golden Turmeric Fish or Asian Glazed Barramundi! I’m sure you’re visualising many other options. Tell me what you see! – Nagi x

Watch how to make it

Garlic Noodles

Recipe video above. Quick & easy, this is a fusion Asian dish made famous by Thanh Long restaurant in San Francisco, via Kenji Lopez-Alt. Big garlic flavours and Asian sauces are combined with parmesan which gives it an extra savoury punch. Makes these noodles lip smackingly good!

Add a fried egg and broccolini cooked with the noodles for a quick meal. Or serve as a side with any Asian meal!

Course Noodles, Side, Side Dish

Cuisine asian fusioin, Asian-esque

Keyword garlic noodles

Prep Time 5

Cook Time 6

Servings

Calories 450cal

Author Nagi

Ingredients

Noodles:

140g/ 5oz dried ramen or noodle cakes (2 cakes) – Note 1 for other options

Sauce:

30g / 2 tbsp unsalted butter
2 tbsp (6 cloves) garlic, finely minced (yep, a lot!)
2 tsp oyster sauce (sub vegetarian oyster sauce)
2 tsp fish sauce (sub soy sauce – Note 2)
1 1/2 tsp Maggi seasoning (sub soy sauce – Note 3)
1/4 cup noodle cooking water , more if needed (Note 4)
1/4 cup (tightly packed) finely grated parmesan (freshly grated, Note 5)
1/4 cup green onion , thinly sliced (~1 stem)

Cups – Metric

Instructions

Noodles – Cook the noodles in a large saucepan per packet directions. Scoop out ~1/2 cup cooking water. Strain noodles and set aside.
Sauce – Melt butter in the same saucepan over medium heat. Add garlic and cook, stirring until soft. Add oyster sauce, fish sauce, Maggi seasoning and 1/4 cup cooking water. Stir to combine.
Toss – Add cooked noodles, parmesan and green onion. Toss until the noodles are all coated, and the sauce is not pooled in the bottom of the saucepan. Add more cooking water 1 tbsp at the time, if needed to loosen the noodles.
Serve immediately!
Serving suggestion: fried egg and broccolini cooked with the noodles*, tossed with Asian Sesame Dressing you always have in your fridge.
* Broccolini takes about 3 minutes, so put it into the water before/after/with the noodles depending on the noodle cooking time.

Notes

Recipe adapted from Kenji Lopez-Alt from his cookbook The Wok.

1. Noodles – I like this best with ramen noodles / noodle cakes ie wrinkly, because the garlic bits and sauce clings better. Fresh egg noodles (ie from fridge section, yellow) are a close second – thick or thin (like hokkien, lo mein), use 220g/8oz – or dried egg noodles (amount per recipe).

Angel hair pasta or spaghetti can also be used (amount per recipe) but I prefer noodles as pasta doesn’t have the same “chew” as noodles. If I only had pasta, I’d still make this! Rice noodles also works but texture is different.

2. Fish sauce will give the best savoury flavour here (doesn’t taste fishy!) but can be substituted with soy sauce (light or all-purpose, not dark soy).

3. Maggi Seasoning is a savoury Asian sauce, I think of it like soy sauce + an Asian Worcestershire sauce. Find it in the Asian aisle of large grocery stores (Coles, Woolies) or Asian stores. Staple sauce in South East Asia! Sub with soy sauce (light or all-purpose, not dark soy).

4. Cooking water – This is what creates the sauce that coats the noodles. The starch in the water helps thicken the sauce.

5. Freshly grated parmesan required for smooth melt that disappears into the noodles. Store bought sandy or finely shredded grated won’t melt as perfectly but if that’s all you’ve got, do it!

6. Leftovers will keep for 3 days in the fridge, loosen with a touch of water.

Nutrition per serving, assuming 2 servings.

Nutrition

More quick noodle recipes to try!

Buy a big bag of noodle cakes so you can make these with the leftover noodles:

Quick Asian Beef Ramen Noodles

12 Minute Thai Chicken Peanut Noodles (mince)

Chilli Crisp Noodles

Teriyaki Salmon Noodles

Mie Goreng (Mee Goreng – Indonesian noodles)

Asian Mushroom Ramen Noodles

Chicken Vegetable Ramen Noodles

Noodles

Life of Dozer

I returned yesterday from a long overdue but unfortunately very short trip to Tokyo for family reasons. Dozer was, as always, sent to the golden retriever boarder’s place for his own holiday. She sends me daily updates. Here he is at the beach, looking far too happy despite being separated from me. I’m sure he’s weeping on the inside. 😂

The post Garlic Noodles appeared first on RecipeTin Eats.

Vietnamese Caramel Ginger Chicken

Nagi — Mon, 28 Aug 2023 06:00:00 +0000

Vietnamese Caramel Ginger Chicken – juicy chicken bites glazed in a Vietnamese caramel sauce with a good dose of ginger. 5 ingredients. 12 minute braise. Serve over jasmine rice with Asian Slaw for a dinner everybody will gobble up!

Vietnamese Caramel Ginger Chicken

When you see today’s recipe, you’re going to doubt me. How can a recipe with so few ingredients that’s so fast to make be as good as I promise??

Answer: Because the Vietnamese have been making this for centuries!

The caramelisation cooking method used in today’s recipe is a traditional Vietnamese technique. Proteins such as chicken, pork, egg and sometimes vegetables are braised in a simple mixture of sugar and water (or coconut juice), seasoned with fish sauce and flavoured with aromatics such as ginger, garlic and chilli.

At first the mixture looks thoroughly unimpressive – watery and foamy. Like this:

But just give it a mere 12 minutes, and this is what it looks like:

I know, right?? Incredible. We should know better than to doubt the Vietnamese!

And here’s a nice close up for you, including the inside – proof of juiciness:

Vietnamese caramel this-and-that

Vietnamese caramel sauce is not new to these parts! Long time astute readers may recognise this as similar to a sticky Vietnamese Coconut Caramel Chicken that I shared many years ago. That is made with whole bone-in chicken thighs and takes around an hour to make. Also, other members of the Vietnamese Caramel Family – fan favourite Vietnamese Caramelised Pork Bowls (quick) and slow-cooked Vietnamese Caramel Pork (juicy bites!)

Today’s recipe might be my favourite, for it’s speed and the lovely pops of ginger flavour.

Vietnamese Caramelised Pork Bowls

Vietnamese Coconut Caramel Chicken

Vietnamese Caramel Pork

Caramelised Vietnamese Shredded Beef

What you need for Vietnamese Caramel Ginger Chicken

Here’s all you need to make today’s miracle dish:

Boneless chicken thighs – Thighs work best because they will stay juicier for the required simmer time for the sauce to reduce down into a glaze. But if you want to make this with chicken breast, I’ve popped directions in the recipe notes – best to take it out of the pan partway so it doesn’t overcook.
Brown sugar – This is what makes the caramel glaze! Brown rather than white sugar, for extra caramely flavour.
Fish sauce – The “secret ingredient” that gives the sauce more depth of flavour than just using salt or soy sauce. You can substitute with soy sauce, but the glaze won’t have quite the same flavour.
Ginger – We use quite a lot, for lovely gingery flavour! 1/3 cup finely julienned.
Garlic could be substituted.
Chilli (optional) – For a faint background hum of warmth. I use Birds Eye but Thai chilli or other chilli of choice would be fine. This dish is not spicy by any means, the spiciness of a single chilli is reduced through the cooking process and overpowered by the sweetness.
Eschalots (optional) –Also known as French onions, and called “shallots” in the US. They look like baby onions, but are finer and sweeter than regular onions so they disappear into the glaze better.
Not to be confused with what some people in Australia call “shallots” ie the long green onions. Substitute with finely sliced red or regular onions, or skip it. It’s not so common in traditional Vietnamese caramel dishes but it does add extra flavour (I tried with and without).

How to make Vietnamese Caramel Ginger Chicken

Very easy, low maintenance and quick! No marinating required, and just a 12 minute braise.

Toss the chicken in the fish sauce and chilli (if using). Then just set aside while you prepare and measure out the other ingredients. Marinating isn’t required – plenty of flavour infusion into the chicken happens during the braise. But you could leave it overnight, if you wanted to.
Use a large non-stick pan else the liquid will take ages to reduce. Mine is 30cm/12″. If yours is smaller or the liquid is taking way too long to reduce down into a glaze, remove chicken with slotted spoon and reduce the liquid by itself (it will be fast).
Caramel – Put the oil and sugar in a pan over medium heat and stir.
Melt – As the pan heats up, the sugar will melt and form a caramel. As soon as it has melted, take the pan off the stove before adding the chicken. ⚠️ This is a precaution step – because the caramel does sizzle a bit when you add the chicken. If your stove runs very hot or you’re a little…..err…. overly enthusiastic when tossing the chicken in, I’d hate for caramel bits to splash on you. By taking it off the stove, we don’t need to worry.
Chicken -Slide the chicken in carefully (don’t throw it in!), eschalots and ginger. Toss briefly to coat, then return to the stove. The caramel may harden but that’s ok, it will re-melt on the stove.

Cook – Stir the chicken until it changes from pink to white but the inside will still be raw. Add water then let it come up to the simmer.
Braise 10 to 12 minutes – Simmer for 10 to 12 minutes until the sauce reduces down into a brown glaze that coats the chicken. This is what it looks like at the start – not very appetising! It’s very low maintenance – just stir every couple of minutes.
Midway – Here it is halfway through. You can see the chicken is starting to be stained by the sauce colour. What you can’t see is all the lovely flavour being absorbed by the chicken!
Glaze! Then after 10 to 12 minutes, this is what it looks like. The liquid will have reduced right down and transformed into brown stick glaze that coats the chicken. At this stage, you will want to stir quite regularly to ensure the sauce doesn’t catch and burn on the base of the pot. Just reduce the heat it you’re concerned.
And that’s it! It’s ready to eat!

What to serve with Vietnamese Caramel Ginger Chicken

Serve over jasmine rice or other plain rice of choice (or cauliflower rice if you’re going the low-carb thing). It’s not a sauce stir fry but you definitely won’t miss the sauce because the glaze is more intense flavoured than a typical saucy stir fry. So you can eat it with plain rice because every rice grain the chicken touches will be graced with the tasty Vietnamese caramel sauce!

For a lovely fresh side salad, I’d suggest a crunchy fresh Asian Slaw. Else, my ever-trusty Smashed Cucumbers (perfect juicy freshness to contrast with this sticky goodness) or Asian Sesame Dressing which you can use for “anything” – leafy greens, steamed broccoli or carrots.

Enjoy! – Nagi x

Recipe credit: Adapted from Eat Like a Viet cookbook by Jenny Lam, after eating this at PhatLon, her Vietnamese restaurant in Perth! I dialled down the saltiness (fish sauce) and added eschalots because I think they make it even tastier.

Watch how to make it

Vietnamese Caramel Ginger Chicken

Recipe video above. Vietnamese caramel sauce is a popular sweet/savoury used in Vietnamese dishes. Here, it's used for bite size chicken pieces that get coated in the glaze with a generous dose of ginger. It's quick, easy, something different and outrageously good!

** NOTE: Sadly seeing reader feedback that the liquid isn't reducing and chicken isn't caramelising. Please ensure to use a LARGE PAN and be brave, simmer RAPIDLY! Else the liquid will take ages to reduce. See Note 4.**

Course Main

Cuisine Vietnamese

Keyword easy vietnamese recipe, ginger chicken, vietnamese caramel chicken, vietnamese chicken

Prep Time 7

Cook Time 15

Servings

Calories 370cal

Author Nagi

Ingredients

1 kg / 2 lb skinless chicken thigh fillets , cut into large 5cm/2″ pieces (Note 1)
3 tbsp fish sauce
1 bird’s eye chilli or Thai chilli , deseeded, finely minced (optional) – Note 2
3 tbsp vegetable oil
1/4 cup brown sugar , tightly packed
1/3 cup ginger , finely julienned (about 5 cm/2″ thick piece)
2 eschallots , halved then finely sliced (sub half red onion) (Note 3)
1/2 cup boiling water

Garnishes & serving:

Fresh coriander/cilantro or green onion slices (recommended)
Red chilli , finely sliced (optional)
Jasmine rice , white rice or other plain rice of choice

Cups – Metric

Instructions

Toss chicken with fish sauce and chilli, then set aside while you prepare the other ingredients. You could marinate even overnight but it's not necessary.
Pan size – Use a large non-stick pan (mine is 30cm/12", must be large). Else, be prepared to remove chicken at end to speed up sauce reduction. See Note 4!
Caramel – Mix oil and sugar in the cold pan, then turn onto medium high heat. As soon as the sugar is melted, remove the pan from the stove then carefully add the chicken (⚠️ it will sizzle so don't throw it in!) . Add ginger and shallots, toss briefly. The caramel may harden, that's ok, it will re-melt.
Cook outside of chicken – Then put the pan back on the stove and stir just until the chicken changes from pink to white all over, but not browned, and definitely not cooked through.
Simmer 10 min – Add water, stir, bring to a simmer. Simmer very rapidly, still on medium high (or even high!), for 10 to 12 minutes, until the liquid reduces right down to a glaze. It might take longer if your pan is smaller or your stove is weaker, that's ok. Stir every now and then while watery, then once it's reduced down to a glaze, toss regularly to get nice colour on the chicken. The further you take it, the better the colour!
Serve with jasmine rice or other plain rice garnished with extra slices of chilli and fresh coriander if desired. Smashed cucumbers or Asian Slaw would be a terrific side!

Notes

Recipe adapted from Eat Like a Viet cookbook by Jenny Lam, after eating this at PhatLon, her Vietnamese restaurant in Perth.

1. Chicken – I cut most into 4, some into 3. You want them quite large so they don’t dry out during the required simmer time.

Breast – not recommended, it will dry out by the time the sauce reduces. However, if you want to use breast, I’d probably use the whole breast (2), split in half (to make 4 thin steaks), start the cook in the caramel, take them out, let the sauce reduce to a glaze then coat. Bit risky to get timing right without overcooking.

2. Chilli – optional, adds the tiniest background hint of heat (longer you cook fresh chilli, less spicy it is, also the sweet dominates here).

3. Eschalots –Also known as French onions, and called “shallots” in the US. Look like baby onions, but have purple-skinned flesh, are finer and sweeter, so they disappear into the glaze better than regular onions. Not to be confused with what some people in Australia call “shallots” ie the long green onions.

Sub with finely sliced red or regular onions.

4. PAN / sauce reduction / caramelisation – You need a large pan (30cm/12″+) so the chicken isn’t crowded else the liquid takes AGES to reduce. Also, be brave and simmer super rapidly so the liquid reduces faster, and once it’s reduced down to a sticky glaze, stir the chicken in the oil left in the pan to get the nice caramelisation on it.

If you’re pan is too small, remove chicken after 12 minutes using slotted spoon and reduce liquid down to glaze (fast, without chicken). then toss chicken back in.

5. Leftovers will keep for 3 days in the fridge. Freezing – haven’t tried but I see no reason why it wouldn’t freeze perfectly well!

Nutrition per serving, chicken only (no rice).

Nutrition

Life of Dozer

Dozer’s way of sulking about being on a strict gastro-intestinal dog food diet for the next 7 days – spitting his food out on the ground. Seriously. What a brat! (Mind you, his natural greediness means he ends up hoovering the floor clean. But still. The attitude!)

The post Vietnamese Caramel Ginger Chicken appeared first on RecipeTin Eats.