Unified by food

It is that time of the year when families come together to bid adieu to the ongoing year and welcome the next with joy, grace and excitement.

Amidst such a great occasion, Chef Qu Xue Wen, Chef De Cuisine at TCK by The Kitchen, introduces a new concept to the Indians. “HotPot is both a visual and metaphoric symbol of social community and harmony in chinese culture,” the chef shares, continuing, “With the advancement in science and technology, the development of cooking skills now provides a colorful variety of HotPot, each with its own set of characteristics. In addition, there is Lianshen HotPot, split style HotPot, Yuanyang style HotPot, etc.” The concept has varieties that add a lively atmosphere to the table. It has come a long way, evolving from charcoal, gas and now to electric format. HotPot soup from chicken broth, is supplemented with meat, fish, mushrooms, and other raw materials, dispersing fresh and spicy, rich flavour. Enjoy while you’re out with your family or make something from the chinese appetizing cuisine to satisfy your constant cravings.

Black pepper-crusted Lamb Chops (Portion -one)

Ingredients
First marination:
Lamb chop single bone clean, fat removed        100gm (2 pieces)
Onion (chopped)    10 gms
Celery (chopped)    5 gms
Carrot (chopped)    10 gms
Parsley (chopped)    5 gms
Black pepper (crushed)    5 gms
Salt 2 gms
Sugar  2 gms
Cooking oil for shallow frying

Ingredients for cooking
Onion (chopped)    1 no.
Ginger (chopped)    5 gms
Garlic (chopped)    5 gms
Butter           10 gms
Soy sauce        5 ml
Black pepper crushed    2 gms
Red wine cooking    10 ml
Diluted corn flour    05 ml
Asparagus trimmed and cut into long diagonal, blanched      50 gms

Method
Mix all the ingredients along with lamb chops and rest for 30 minutes.
Shallow fry lamb chops in hot chinese wok with minimum oil, check for desired doneness, it should have a crusty layer outside, that helps retain the juiciness of lamb chops.
For sauce: heat oil, sauté garlic, onion, ginger and black pepper and then glaze with red wine and finish with soy sauce, add diluted corn flour if required.
Add lamb chops to the sauce and simmer for 10-15 second.
Place it on a serving plate and garnish with sautéed asparagus.

Pan-fried Chinese omelet with silken tofu (Portion -one)

Ingredients:
Silken Tofu 150 gms
Golden yolk egg 1 no.
Oil 10 ml
Chicken stock 75 ml
Soy sauce 5 ml
Corn flour 50 gm
Salt as per taste
Sesame oil 0.5 ml
Potato starch   thickening agent
Spring onion chopped    2 gms

Method:
Cut silken tofu in dices, dust with corn flour and deep fry till crispy in appearance.
Break egg in a bowl and whisk well and season with salt.
Heat oil in chinese wok; fry the egg when it starts coagulating and add fried tofu to it and cook till it forms a thick omelet.
Add soy sauce, salt and chicken stock to make sauce, add potato starch to get the desired thickness.
Add sesame oil and chicken stock and cook till the omelet absorbs the entire sauce. Flip it twice to get the desired golden brown color
Place on serving platter and garnish with chopped spring onion.

— Thanksgiving and Christmas recipes by Master Chef  Yongliang Wang, Jaypee, Vasatnt Kunj