Chinese New Year (31st January) is almost upon us and to celebrate Viking River Cruises, along with some inspiration from top chef Martin Yan, will be serving the below delicious recipes to guests on board the Viking Emerald as they travel down the Yangtze.

MARTIN YAN’S THREE-ALARM FIRECRACKER CHICKEN

With fresh jalapeño chili, dried red chilies and chili garlic sauce — this dish is hot and spicy! In China the dried chilies are typically eaten, but unless you like very hot food, you will probably want to remove them before serving.

Ingredients:

Marinade:

  • Two teaspoons soy sauce 
  • One teaspoon dark soy sauce 
  • One teaspoon cornstarch 
  • One pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts 

Sauce: 

  • Five and a half tablespoons of ketchup 
  • 60ml of chicken broth 
  • One tablespoon chili garlic sauce 
  • One teaspoon sugar 
  • One tablespoon vegetable oil 
  • One fresh jalapeño chili, cut into thin strips 
  • Eight small dried red chilies 
  • One red bell pepper, julienned 
  • One-half medium onion, thinly sliced

Serves 4 people

Directions:

Combine marinade ingredients in a bowl. Rinse chicken and pat dry then cut crosswise into half-inch wide strips. Place in marinade; and stir to coat. Let stand for 10 minutes. Combine sauce ingredients in a small bowl; mix well. Place stir-fry pan over high heat until hot. Add oil, swirling to coat sides. Add fresh and dried chilies; cook, stirring, until dried chilies begin to brown, about 15 seconds. Add chicken, bell pepper and onion; stir-fry until chicken is cooked through and no longer pink in centre, about 2 – 3 minutes. Add sauce and bring to a boil. Stir to evenly coat chicken and serve. 

MARTIN YAN’S SHRIMP WITH PAN-FRIED NOODLES

According to Celebrity Chef Martin Yan, the key to preparing the perfect crispy noodle pancake is the swirling of the noodle in the pan, which keeps the noodles from sticking. They are a great accompaniment to a variety of stir-fry dishes such as black pepper beef, chicken and a variety of sautéed vegetables.

Ingredients:

Noodle Pancakes: 

  • 450grams fresh Chinese egg noodles 
  • One teaspoon sesame oil 
  • Two tablespoons vegetable oil 

Shrimp:  

  • Sauce 
  • Eight tablespoons of ketchup 
  • 125ml of water 
  • Two tablespoons sweet chili sauce 
  • One and one-half tablespoons curry powder 
  • One tablespoon cooking oil 
  • One tablespoon lemongrass, minced 
  • Two cloves garlic, minced 
  • One teaspoon ginger, minced 
  • Two green onions, cut into 2″ pieces 
  • One-half each green and red bell peppers, cut into small chunks 
  • One pound medium raw shrimp, shelled and deveined 
  • One tablespoon sesame oil

Serves 4 people

Directions:

Noodle Pancakes:

Heat a wide nonstick frying pan over medium heat; swirl one tablespoon of vegetable oil around to coat. Spread half of the noodles evenly in pan. Cook about 5 minutes on each side, until noodles are golden brown. Swirl pan a few times to prevent noodles from sticking. Keep warm in a 200°F oven and repeat with remaining noodles. Make 2 noodle pancakes.

Shrimp:

Combine all sauce ingredients in a small bowl and mix well. Heat a large stir-fry pan over high heat; swirl vegetable oil around to coat. Add lemongrass, garlic and ginger, stirring 15 seconds, until fragrant. Add bell peppers and green onions; stir-fry for 1 minute.

Add shrimp and stir-fry for about 2 minutes, until they begin to curl and turn pink. Add sauce and cook until it boils and thickens slightly. Add sesame oil and toss to coat. Serve over the pan fried noodles.

For more information about Viking Cruises and to learn about their river cruise itineraries in China visit www.vikingcruises.co.uk 

By Recipes