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Relish the Chinese melon

If you thought Chinese cuisine in India has long given way to other international cuisines, think again. The Chinese restaurants are once more doing a `sold-out' business

THE RETURN OF THE RULER The Chinese cuisine is popular because Indian taste-buds are accustomed to it

A couple of decades ago, there was a silent Chinese invasion. And we Indians quietly succumbed to it. No battle was fought yet thousands of people were conquered. How? Simply with the magic of Chinese food! The food from across the border took all of us by a storm in 1980s. And the onslaught continues! Nobody is complaining, everybody is happy, digging into the Chinese delights.

Right from the van parked at the corner of a residential street to most of the five-star hotels, Chinese food has been the buzz word. Long queues could be seen at different places with different budgets.

Then came the `90s. The queues became smaller. Some hotels too changed their Chinese restaurants to accommodate other innovative cuisines like Italian, Japanese, Thai etc. The Chinese cuisine looked all set to depart from the Indian diners' popularity chart. But hang on. The cuisine is back, and with a bang!

Yet again, the already-established Chinese restaurants are doing "sold out" business even as new Chinese restaurants are opening everywhere. Looking at the reasons that have triggered this, one finds that theIndian taste-buds have already been accustomed to the Chinese food, over the years. Increasing popularity can be attributed to the fact that the cuisine is `easy and quick to make'. More so in the fast-paced cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai and Kolkata, not to forget Bangalore. Fast food is the way of the masses, and with Chinese food being a wholesome meal that can be cooked really fast, caught the fancy of many Indians.

Varied fare

However popular it might be, most Indians cannot distinguish one Chinese dish from another belonging to different regions of that country. The crime is similar to equating all Indian food with just Mughlai delicacies, forgetting the variety in a single stroke. So then, let us have a fair idea of what Cantonese, Szechwan, Hunan and Shangdong styles of cooking are, known compositely to us as Chinese cuisine. Cantonese is the most popular of the Chinese regional cuisines. One of the more enduring and widely enjoyed traditions of Cantonese cooking is dim sum.

The Szechwan cuisine has grown in popularity over the last few decades too. Most famous for searing spicy foods like Kung Pao Chicken and Double Cooked Spicy Pork, Szechwan cuisine is a distinct style of cooking. The pungent flavours of ginger, fermented soybean, onions and garlic characterise the cuisine.

Hunan cuisine is from Zheijiang region of China. It is characterised by thick, rich sauces and complex pungent flavours. Typical ingredients include scallions, chilli and pepper.

Shangdong cuisine is characterised by its emphasis on fresh ingredients in combinations that emphasise the flavour, aroma, colour and texture of each ingredient. The Shangdong regional cuisine is known for combination of delicate flavours that are surprisingly pungent. Garlic and scallions are frequent ingredients.

Fujian and Jiangsu style of cooking focus on seafood and shellfish, accompanied by fresh vegetables. Fujian cuisine blends sweet, sour and salt flavours while Jiangsu is light, fresh and sweet.

Time now for a Chinese recipe:

Szechwan lobster

Ingredients

1 whole lobster (600-650 gm)
1 tsp corn starch 2 eggs
1/2 tsp sesame seeds
Salt to taste
1/2 tsp Szechwan pepper powder
1tbsp Japanese dark soya
1 dash of wasabi paste
1/2 tsp basil seeds
1/4 flower broccoli
8 asparagus halves
1 tbsp mayonnaise sauce

Method

Clean the lobster and remove head. Blanch the lobster head in separate water and keep aside.

Cut the lobster into half to open and remove meat, blanch shell and keep aside. Cut the lobster meat into 1 inch cubes and mix with egg and corn starch, half Japanese soya and Szechwan pepper powder.

Fry in oil till done it turns golden. Stir-fry the vegetables with the remaining soya.

Make a dressing of wasabi and mayonnaise, add the fried lobster pieces to it. Mix and arrange the lobster shell and head on the serving plate, and pt the the cooked lobster meat on it. Garnish with basil seeds and serve with the stir-fried vegetables.

RAKESH KUMAR

(The author is Executive Chef, Crowne Plaza.

He can be emailed: chefrk@crowneplazadelhi.com)

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