air fryer,

Kung Pao Chicken with Roasted Chickpeas

September 28, 2019 S Malik 5 Comments

Kung Pao Chicken with Roasted Chickpeas on rice

The most popular dish in a Chinese takeout menu is Kung Pao Chicken. It is a Szechuan dish named after a governor of China's Szechuan province. Also known as Gong Bao or Kung Po, it is a very quick and easy dish to make. Usually made with chicken, peanuts and chilies, it is a combination for sweet, salt, spicy and sour.

Here, this all time favorite gets a make over to a healthy homemade allergy friendly Kung Pao Chicken with Roasted Chickpeas. I air fried the chicken instead of stir frying, just because frying makes everything that much more tasty and air frying makes it healthier than deep frying.

To give it an allergy friendly twist:


  • Lemon juice is substituted for the vinegar.
  • Roasted chickpeas are used to replace the peanuts. The chickpeas give a hint of nutty taste and crunch, like the peanuts. I am going to call this dish, Kung Pea Chicken, get it? 😉

With these substitutions the dish becomes nut free and vinegar free. It does not have a lot of sauce but a cup of stock can be added to make more sauce. I serve it over a bed of fried rice, get my secret recipe for restaurant style fried rice here.


  • 50 mins
  • Serves: 4
  • Easy

Ingredients

Adjust Servings:
Marination
1 lb chicken boneless cubes
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon corn flour
Sauce
10 button red chilies
1 tablespoon ginger julienne
1 tablespoon crushed garlic
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 tablespoon pasta sauce
2 tablespoons oil
Garnish
3 green onion, chopped
3 tablespoons roasted chickpeas

Nutritional information

26g
Protein
5g
Carbs
10g
Fat
1g
Sugars
1g
Sat Fat
218k
Calories

image of egg free vinegar free allergy friendly fried rice recipe

Steps

1
Done
10 mins
Marinate chicken with all marination ingredients for 10 minutes.
2
Done
35 mins
gluten free and egg free air fried chicken
Air fry for 35 minutes until light golden, remove and keep aside.
3
Done
1 min
ginger garlic and red chilli frying in oil
Heat oil in a pan, fry crushed garlic, ginger julienne and button red chilies for about a minute.
4
Done
1 min
coat the air fried chicken in sauce
Add all the seasoning, sauces and chicken, fry for a minute.
5
Done
1 min
peanut free egg free vinegar free gluten free Kung Pao Chicken with Roasted Chickpeas
Lastly add the green onions and roasted chickpeas on top.

Cook Notes




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chicken,

Jhat Pat Chicken

September 18, 2019 S Malik 5 Comments

plate of Jhat Pat Chicken

Jhat Pat Chicken is a very quick and easy recipe and a little different from your regular chicken dinner. Ideal for weeknight meal when you are running around for after school activities or come home late from work and have no time for an elaborate dinner. This is an ideal recipe for those nights.

Jhat Pat is an Urdu word which means quickly or promptly, which is what this dish is. It comes together in no time and can be served with bread of your choice or boiled rice. Usually boneless chicken cubes are used but I just used bone-in chicken pieces, which add to the flavor.


Here it is made allergy friendly and healthier by:

  • Vinegar Free: Using lemon instead of vinegar to give a tang to the dish.
  • Using honey powder instead of sugar to give it a healthier twist.

  • 45 mins
  • Serves: 4
  • Easy

Ingredients

Adjust Servings:
2 lb skinless bone-in chicken pieces
3 tablespoons oil
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon crushed black pepper
1 teaspoon honey
1 tablespoon soy sauce
4 tablespoons lemon juice
8 whole red chilies
1 onion, cubed
1/2 green and red pepper, cubed (each)
1 tablespoon ginger/garlic paste

Nutritional information

45g
Protein
7g
Carbs
23g
Fat
4g
Sugars
3g
Sat Fat
407k
Calories

Steps

1
Done
5 min
Cut all the veggies into cubes.
2
Done
2 min
cubed and stir-fried onions, green and red peppers
Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a pan. Add the vegetables along with the red chilies and stir-fry for 2 minutes. Take out of the pan and set aside.
3
Done
1 min
In the same pan, add the rest of the oil and ginger/garlic paste. Fry until fragrant.
4
Done
30 min
chicken cooking in a pot
Add the chicken and all the spices and seasonings, fry on high heat for a few minutes. Then lower the heat, add a 1/2 cup water and let the chicken cook through until tender.
5
Done
5 min
Add the vegetables back into the pan and simmer for five minutes. Serve with bread or rice.

Cook Notes

  • Soy Free: Leave the soy sauce out and season with salt to taste.
  • Vegetables: use different colored peppers or onion to make the dish colorful.
  • Use boneless chicken cubes for even more faster cook time.




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affogato,

3 restaurants we ate in London England

September 03, 2019 S Malik 1 Comments


driving towards on the wandsworth roundabout

Recently, we went to London England for about a month. The weather was pleasant enough with some hot days thrown in, with a whole lot of rainy, gray and gloomy weather, it's England after all. The good thing is I have my family there, so it is always fun to visit. Mostly we ate home cooked meals, some of which were made by my extended family. I am grateful to them for keeping my children's food allergies in mind when cooking, asking me questions and clearing things up, if they were confused, to avoid any disasters. My kids are allergic to dairy, egg, wheat, fish, nuts, vinegar and lentils. Some of them are severe but I have been lucky enough not to worry about cross-contamination. Only when they actually ingest a said allergen or touch it do they get a reaction.

Occasionally, we went out to eat. This is a review of three of the places we went to and what my children thought of each place. When going to eat out, anywhere, I have to keep in mind the following two things to select a place to eat:

  • The place has to be halal
  • Do they offer allergy friendly options or have items on the menu that can be eaten by my kids.

I will not be mentioning cross contamination, since it is not an issue with us. Also all of the places we went to were halal. Those of you who do not know what halal is. Halal is the process of meat preparation as prescribed by Muslim law.

Disclaimer: None of the restaurants mentioned claim to be allergyfriendly. Please consult the restaurant before deciding to go there.
gluten free dairy free egg free burger patty and fries

Red Iron Burger

This restaurant is situated in Uxbridge. It was the longest distance from where we were staying, which was in South London. It took us about an hour's drive to get there. However, the food is worth all that traveling. It is an upscale fast food joint serving burgers and non burger items such as nachos and wings. It also has a few vegetarian options as well as desserts and milkshakes. However, I did not see a kids' menu.

food allergy sign at red iron burger

Most of their menu have the top eight allergens like gluten, dairy etc. They do have a sign near the cashier stating that you should notify the server if you have any allergies or intolerance. So I asked the server and they said they were able to serve the meat patty without the bun along with fries. The patty is only meat and spices. I did not opt for the wings as they are covered in some type of sauce which almost always have vinegar, which my kids can't have.

Kids' Opinion

Kids found the patty a bit bland on it's own and also a bit big to finish off. Offering gluten free buns would be a good idea.

wheat free and allergy friendly chicken strips and fries with fruitshoot juice

SteakOut Meat House

As the name suggests it is a steak franchise, there are various locations around England. They offer a wide variety of steaks from meat to poultry to seafood. They also have some vegetarian options available. There is also a kids menu. I ordered Chicken strips, from the kids menu. This was the only option that did not contain any of the allergens, only chicken and seasonings with a side of fries and Fruitshoot juice bottle. This was also the nearest and cheapest of the three meals. However, I did not see any allergy warnings.

Kids' Opinion

They were able to finish off their plates but did not comment whether they liked it or not.

free from allergens Sirloin steak and fries at affogato norbury england

Affogato

Affogato is located in Norbury in South London. It is more like a breakfast cafe. It offers a wide variety of breakfast and brunch items as well as burgers and salads. They serve an all day breakfast and then lunch from 11 am on wards. It also has a kids menu and also an allergy sign on its menu.

So I was able to discuss with the server and they suggested the sirloin steak as nothing on their kids menu was allergy friendly. My daughter also ordered a Fentimans Rose Lemonade which was ok but there smoothies are a real treat.

Kids' Opinion

My daughter wanted to go back there again as she enjoyed her meal very much.

  • bottle of fentimans rose lemonade at affogato norbury england
  • smoothie from affogato norbury england

So to conclude, we found that Affogato to be the best out of all three, because of the location, their taste and smoothies, even though they worked out to be a little more expensive than Steakout.

Affogato Norbury Red Iron Burger Steakout Meat House
Allergy Awareness
Co-operative Staff
Kid's Menu
Halal


Disclaimer: None of the restaurants mentioned claim to be allergyfriendly. Please consult the restaurant before deciding to go there.






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