I am a huge fan of quick and easy recipes that are super delicious too. Do you feel me? In that case, this paneer chili garlic stir fry perfectly fits the bill. This Chinese style recipe, is a one pot recipe as well. Hence, there you have so many reasons to give this spicy and tangy paneer recipe a try. And I have rarely come across anybody who doesn’t like this variety of Indian cottage cheese. So, I am sure when you make this quick paneer chili garlic stir fry, you will see a lot of happy faces around you!
Chinese cooking doesn’t take time, as most of it is done over high flame. So, you will be able to stir this one up in under 30 minutes. Also, for this recipe, I have added store bought sauces, which limits your pre-preparation to simply the chopping bit. Therefore, this stir fry is a great appetiser recipe. Moreover, paneer is enjoyed by both vegetarians and non-vegetarians, so this one is surely a crowd pleaser.
For a vegan recipe, you can replace the cheese with tofu. Even the tofu chili garlic stir fry tastes wonderful. On the other hand, you could also make this one with chicken, shrimps and/or fish. So, with this one recipe, you can do so much. How convenient, isn’t it?
One pot recipe
I have already told you what a quick and easy recipe this one is, but I can’t emphasize enough. First, I have pan fried the paneer strips and then added it to the sauce. And neither of these processes take up time. Alternatively, you could choose to not fry the paneer at all. It will still taste great. However, coating it lightly in cornflour and shallow frying it, gives the cheese a lovely, golden brown crust.
My paneer chili garlic stir fry, also has bell peppers in them. Not only do the peppers up the flavours of the dish, but also, make it so vibrant. Besides, you could also add mushrooms, baby corn, broccoli etc. – your choices are endless.
Also, I have used a combination of fresh chilis, Sriracha sauce and chili flakes to cook this up. All three of these, along with the ginger, give the stir fry its fiery flavour. But, you could leave out any or all three as per your heat tolerance. If you are making this for kids, then I’d suggest leaving these out, but do include the ginger. The ginger-garlic duo is the essence, after all, of Asian cooking.
Yummy appetizer
You can serve the paneer chili garlic stir fry as a wonderful appetizer. Alternatively, you can transform this into a side to be served along side some Chinese fried rice or noodles too. You will simply need to add some water and cornflour slurry to make a paneer chili garlic gravy. Either way, you are going to throughly enjoy this recipe.
I will await your feedback on the recipe, once you have tried it.
Here are some more of my Oriental recipes, if you wish to browse through:
Tom kha gai – Thai coconut chicken soup
Eat hearty!
Paneer chili garlic stir fry
Ingredients
- 500 g paneer
- 1 medium red onion sliced
- 1 medium yellow bell pepper sliced
- 1 medium red bell pepper sliced
- 1 bunch spring onions chopped
- 1 tbsp ginger chopped
- 2 tbsp garlic chopped
- 5-6 fresh green chilis sliced
- 3 tbsp Sriracha sauce or any chilli sauce
- 1 tbsp tomato ketchup
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tsp vinegar
- 2 tsp chili oil optional
- 2 tsp chilli flakes
- 2 tsp black pepper crushed
- 2 tbsp cornflour
- 4 tbsp oil
- salt to taste
Instructions
- Cut the paneer in 1 inch long and thick strips
- Mix the cornflour with a tsp of salt, pepper and chilli flakes. Dab the paneer lightly in this and pan fry, in 2 tbsp oil, until it gets a golden brown crust
- Set aside when done
- Heat a wok with the remaining oil and add the chopped ginger, garlic and chilis
- When these turn fragrant, add the onion and fry until it turns pink, on a high flame
- Add the bell peppers, spring onion whites along with salt*, pepper and remaining chili flakes. Saute for 3-4 minutes
- Add all the sauces and vinegar, mix well and cook for a minute**
- Add the fried paneer and spring onion greens (leave some for garnish). Fry for 4-5 minutes. Switch the flame off and add the chili oil
- Garnish with some spring greens and serve the paneer chili garlic stir fry immediately. Enjoy
Notes
- *Be mindful when adding salt, as all the sauces have salt in them
- **If you wish to make a gravy, add two cups of water with two tablespoons of cornflour mixed in one tablespoon of cold water, at this time. Mix well and cook until the sauce thickens
- Make sure you cook on a high flame throughout, this will result in crunchy veggies as well as faster cooking
- Do not let the garlic turn brown in step 4. Only wait until it turns fragrant to proceed ahead
- g - grams
- tsp - teaspoon
- tbsp - tablespoon
looks perfect for a starter.
Thank you so much maa 🙂