chindian noodles

If you've never tried Indian-Chinese food, you are missing out on the most fantastic fusion fare. My initial experiences with this genre of Indian food was in Goa, India (there is a large Tibetan and Chinese population in Goa). Chili Chicken and Gobi Manchurian are some of the tastiest dishes I've ever consumed. The marriage of Indian food to Chinese spices is magical.

Inexplicably, I rarely see Indian-Chinese offered on either Indian or Chinese menus in America. 

My creation initially started out as an attempt at Chili Chicken, however it rapidly turned into more of a Chinese-Indian noodle dish which, of course, naturally evolved into being named Chindian Noodles. You can make this dish with chicken, seitan or tofu. It comes out saucier with chicken and tofu; I think the seitan actually absorbs some of the sauce. (Personally, I think it tastes better with the seitan.) Seitan emits its own salt, so taste the sauce prior to adding additional salt.

Chindian Noodles 

Marinade

2 1/2 tablespoons crushed ginger

2 1/2 tablespoons crushed garlic

1/2 cup soy sauce

2 teaspoons chili powder

1 1/2 teaspoon sugar

1 tablespoon worchestire sauce

Noodles

1/2 package of rice sticks (I use Trader Joe's)

1 medium onion, chopped

1/2 green pepper, chopped

1/2 red pepper, chopped

1 cup mushrooms

1 cup veggie broth

salt to taste

Marinate chicken, seitan or tofu in marinade for atleast two hours. Chop and fry onions. Add chicken/seitan/tofu, chopped peppers, mushrooms and veggie broth. Cook on medium heat for 15-minutes.

Cook rice sticks (6-8 minutes). Drain and mix with meat/veggies.

The preparation and cook time for this meal is quick and painless. The Mister and I can eat this over two days for dinner. I'd like to experiment a little more and come up with some additional Chindian dishes. Gobi Manchurian (cauliflower) may be my next project, I'd like to try a roasted, healthier oven-version.