Festive Chinese platter

Sip piping hot wintermelon & chicken velvet soup before sinking your teeth into crispy five spice chicken. How about tucking into wok tossed jumbo prawns with ginger and scallions next? Top off the meal with fruit sushi and ginger vanilla ice cream.

Tempting, isn’t it? These are just a few dishes on Mainland China’s festive menu that you can indulge in till the first week of March. The restaurant is ushering in the year of the tiger with 45 exotic culinary items.  While some, like the quick tossed haricot beans with chilies and sesame, are traditional, other dishes have been evolved.

There is no place for desserts on the conventional Chinese table, says Chef Indraneel Bhattacharya. So the entire dessert section of the food fest has been developed keeping the Chinese palate in mind. Take for example the fruit sushi for which assorted fruits are chopped, flavoured with five spices, rolled in spring-roll sheets and then deep fried. The sushi is served with ginger vanilla and cinnamon ice cream.

The delicacies will be available from 12.00 noon to 3.30pm and from 7.30pm to 11.00pm. A meal for two would cost you Rs. 875/- plus taxes.

Want to try your hand at rustling up some Chinese delicacies? Here are two recipes from the chef’s kitty:


Wok tossed aniseed flavoured fish

Ingredients (for one portion):
180 gms sliced fish,1/2 an egg, 60 gms cornflour, 1/4 tsp chopped ginger, 1/4 tsp chopped garlic, 1/2 tsp aniseed - broiled and powdered, 1 tsp chopped spring onions, 1/4 tsp white vinegar, 1 tbp chilli paste, 200 ml refined oil, a pinch of white pepper powder and salt to taste

Method:
Marinate the fish with salt, white pepper powder, egg, cornflour and keep it aside for 20 minutes. Dust with cornflour and crisp fry. Now take 1 tbsp of oil and saute the ginger and garlic. To these add chilli paste and sauté further. Add vinegar, adjust the seasoning and toss in the crisp fish. Lastly, sprinkle the aniseed powder. Garnish with chopped spring onions and serve.


Sautéed mushrooms with dry red chillies and cashew nuts

Ingredients (for one portion):

200 gms sliced button mushrooms, 5 gms sliced black mushrooms, 3 halved straw mushrooms, 10 sichuan peppercorns, 10 dry red chillies diced into 1" pieces, 1/4 tsp chopped ginger, 1/4 tsp chopped garlic, 1 tsp oyster sauce, 1/4 tsp light soy sauce, 1/4 tsp dark soy sauce, 15 gms cornflour, 4 drops of chilli oil, 3 drops of lemon juice, 10 fried cashewnuts, 15 gms spring onion and 1 tbsp of refined oil.


Method:
Slice and blanch the fresh button mushrooms. Soak the black mushrooms before slicing them. Blanch the canned straw mushroom and cut them. Now heat oil, char the sichuan peppercorns and remove them. Add the dry red chilli, ginger and garlic and sauté. Pour in a little stock, add the oyster sauce and both the soy sauces, and then adjust the seasoning. Thicken this with cornflour and toss in the mushrooms. Finish with chilli oil, lemon juice and spring onion dices. Garnish with fried cashewnut and serve.


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