Tandoori Kung Bao Chicken at 'The Chinese Club'
WILLIAMSBURG, Brooklyn (WABC) -- Maybe you've been to an Indian restaurant and to a Chinese restaurant, but have you ever been to one that serves the cuisine of both countries, not side by side, but together?
"The Chinese Club" is owned by a couple in Brooklyn; she's Chinese and he's Indian.
The food they're creating has its roots in India where a large community of Chinese lived a century ago.
The Chinese Club and it's located at 208 Grand Street in Williamsburg.
"The Chinese Club was established in 1914 by my great grandfather, Lo Fung Shu," said Stacey Lo Mehta, of The Chinese Club.
It was a club for Chinese ex-pats living in Darjeeling, India.
Fast-forward 100 years and you'll find the Chinese Club in Williamsburg.
"I want to bring all the memories of the Chinese Club back," Stacey said.
What Stacey is really bringing back is the original mah jong tiles and food memories.
Traditional Chinese dishes are given an Indian twist.
Her husband Salil Mehta grew up in India and reinterprets those dishes.
"It's something new and unique and our way of helping people understand Indian Chinese food," Salil said.
He says it isn't fusion, but a reworking of recipes like the tandoori kung bao chicken.
He forgoes the yogurt base for tandoori. Instead for the marinade he uses spices like chili, cumin, masala and lime.
"When you make traditional tandoori chicken, it's not going to go well with a Chinese sauce, trust me when I tell you that. So we had to stay true to the tandoor and the kung pao sauce, so it took me a while to find that balance," Salil said.
The chicken is sauteed along with with chilis and peppers.
The kung pao's main ingredients are chili paste, vinegar and chili oil, and it's topped with peanuts.
"I think it's a marriage waiting to happen," Salil said.
Customers are thrilled to experience it.
Tandoori Kung Bao Chicken Recipe
Serves four people:
- 1 lb chicken
Ingredients for the chicken marinade:
- Kashmir chili - 2tsp (can vary depending on how spicy you wish the dish to taste)
- Coriander powder - 1tsp
- Cumin powder - 1tsp
- Garam masala - 1tsp
- Lime - 1 whole lime
- Paprika - spoon for color
- Cornstarch - 4tsp
Ingredients for the sauce:
- Soy sauce - 45 ml
- Wine - 45 ml
- Ketchup - 45 ml
- Chili oil - 45 ml
- Chili paste - 45 ml
- Vinegar - 45 ml
- Sugar - 45 ml
- Chicken stock - 1 cup
- Oyster sauce - 2tsp
Additional ingredients:
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1 red bell pepper chopped
- 2 celery stalks chopped
- 3 scallions dices
- 3 dry red chilis
- cup peanuts
Instructions/steps:
- Marinate the chicken overnight
- Stir-fry the chicken with garlic, ginger
- Then add onion, bell pepper, celery, scallion heads followed by oil and cornstarch
- Finally add dry chilly during the stir fry process
- Garnish with the sauce and peanuts
