Here’s another gluten free Chinese style meal idea that is so easy to make at home, using paneer and pak choi. ๐
For those of you who are not familiar with paneer, it’s a fresh cheese commonly eaten in South Asia, especially India. I never see it being used in Chinese food, butย I personally doย it all the time and love it! It’sย a great alternative to tofu in meat free dishes since it doesn’t melt, it’s a great source of protein and calcium and it’s much quicker to cook too (because unless you like squidgy tofu, it can take a while to fry to perfection!).
It’s sold in most supermarkets here in the UK, but if you can’t find it, check out independent Indian/Asian shops as they usually sell it. This is the one I normally get, from Morrisons and Tesco.
And with pak choi being an excellent source of many nutrients including calcium, iron, vitamin A and C, this quick stir-fry isn’t just tasty, but very nutritious too. It’s an underrated leafy veg that I’ve been making a point of usingย more often lately. ๐
Ingredients
- 1 small block of paneer (234g)
- 2 pak choi (about 3 cups)
- Red cabbaged (2 cups)
- 1 large onion
- A few garlic cloves (or paste/powder)
- 1-2 inch piece of ginger (or paste/powder)
- Chilli (to taste)
- Black pepper
- Salt
For the sauce:
- 3 Tbsp soy sauce (I used Ayam gluten free thick soy sauce)
- 3 Tbsp sherry
- 1 Tbsp Sriracha sauce (I used the Flying Goose brand)
- 1 Tbsp rice vinegar
- Olive oil (or your choice of cooking oil)
- Sesame oil (to garnish – optional)
- Tamari sauce (to garnish – optional – I used Kikkoman)
- Lime juice (to garnish – optional – I used bottled lime juice to save time)
Directions
- Cut the paneer into small cubes, slice the pak choi, red cabbage and onion and finely chop the garlic, ginger and chilli.
- Pan fry the paneer in a bit of olive oil (or cooking oil of your choice) on medium/low heat until the outer layer becomes slightly crispy and golden. Add salt and black pepper.
- Add theย onion, pak choi, red cabbage, garlic, ginger and chilli and keep on frying for a few minutes.
- Add the soy sauce, sherry, sriracha sauce, rice vinegar. Keep on frying for a few more minutes.
- Optional: serve with a drizzle of sesame oil, tamari sauce and lime juice.
Enjoy!
