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Fine dining, fast dining

To keep the cash registers ringing, good food is not the only mantra for a successful restaurant. It has to serve it fast too

SERVE ME IN A JIFFY Time is one of the reasons behind the worldwide success of dishes like pizzas and noodles

So, how many times have you seen someone becoming restless in a restaurant at not getting what they asked for on time? How many times have you seen someone screaming, `What is taking you so long to get just a cup of tea?'

Actually, we all have seen and heard this before. Be it at home, office or in a hotel.

`Wait' is a hated word today when everyone seems to be short of time. The good old saying that all good things take time to happen seems of little relevance today. Life is all about instant pleasure. No wonder instant noodles were an instant hit! Good food is welcome. However, if fine dining comes with a long wait then it is not quite so.

Everybody wants good food, fresh food, tasty food, even food that looks a little different. But it has to be quick food first. If it takes time in coming to the table, the diners might just walk out!

The unwillingness to wait for food has resulted in the invention of the word `fast food'. Incidentally, that is the buzzword now. The bubblegum brigade, the college goers, all want to park, bite and move.

At times, park, pack and drive! In fact, the time factor has brought changes in some kinds of cuisine, which have adopted cooking styles that are more in line with speed. And a lot of restaurants, having realised this, have worked out strategies to please the guest in a hurry. If one were to compare the time spent on food today with that of 20 years ago, the figures would show an astonishing difference.

A survey of this nature was done in the U.S. a couple of years ago. It showed that in 1975, the average time spent on food per day, all meals included, was nearly 2 hours and 18 minutes The average time currently being spent on food is just 1 hour and 14 minutes, all meals of the day included!

The success of Chinese food

That exactly is one of the reasons behind the success of Chinese food, not only in India but overseas as well. On an average, a Chinese meal, when ordered in a restaurant, takes around 30 per cent less time compared with other cuisines! Another example of the same is the success story of pizzas. Less time to cook and fast to deliver! In some cases, it happens that within 20 minutes you are out of a restaurant after a meal of a pizza, whereas if you had decided on some other cuisine that takes more time to cook, the waiting time for the food to reach your table might have been around 20 to 25 minutes. And remember the saying - time is money.

So let me help you save some time. Here is a recipe that is fast to cook, uncomplicated, tasty and nutritious.

Classical stir-fried quick noodles

Ingredients

3 cups - noodles, softened in boiling water for five minutes and drained
1 cup oil for frying
1 cup - bean sprouts
Half cup - Chinese mushroom, soaked in water, squeezed, dried and cut into shreds
Half cup - chicken, shredded
1 tbsp - light soy sauce
1 tsp - dark soy sauce
1dash - ground white pepper
1dash - sesame oil
4 tbsp - Chicken stock
1 tbsp - cornstarch

Method

Heat oil in a wok or in a deep frying pan. Fry noodles in hot oil on both sides till crisp and brown and put on a plate after all the oil is drained out.

Just grease the pan with a little oil and stir-fry the bean sprouts, Chinese mushroom and the shredded chicken for two minutes. Add light and dark soy sauce, white pepper, sesame oil in one go quickly and stir-fry for two more minutes.

Thicken it with cornstarch mixed with chicken broth and bring to a boil.

Pour the sauce over the fried noodles and serve immediately.

RAKESH KUMAR

(The author, a Limca Book of Records title holder, is an Executive Chef with Crowne Plaza. He can be e-mailed at chefk @crowneplazadelhi.com)

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