B: Last month, food lovers had a chance to enjoy Pakistani food during the event "Flavors of Pakistan" in Hanoi, brought by Food Fusion, one of Pakistan’s most popular online recipe platforms.
A: And there, we could not miss highway-style chicken karahi, a very typical Pakistani dish, made by stir-frying chicken in succulent tomatoes and various fragrant spices in a wok.
B: Asad Memon, Founder & CEO of Food Fusion, who showcased his recipe for highway-style chicken karahi, revealed the story behind the dish’s name - one that certainly sounds intriguing.
“This is something which you get at the highways, roadside cafes or restaurants. Mostly truck drivers who go on trucks and drive for a very long time, they used to enjoy it and then it became part of a regular household thing. And now, it is available everywhere but it's now named as highway-style chicken karahi,” Asad said.
A: A simple but interesting story, right? But it is more interesting that you can easily make this Pakistani signature dish with ingredients available in Vietnam.
“In this chicken karahi, the highway style, we use cooking oil, chicken, which is locally easily available. And something very interesting is Himalayan pink salt. Himalayan pink salt comes from Pakistan. It has a lot of minerals in it. And of course, it can be substituted with normal salt. But we always try to use Himalayan pink salt as much as possible because it is very good for your health,” said Asad.
“Tomatoes naturally have MSG. And which is why we add so many tomatoes in the dishes. Then you have coriander, which gives a very powerful aroma to it. Black pepper, of course. Black pepper goes towards the end of the dish. And then green chillies, ginger, julienne too, for the garnish.” Asad noted, adding “You have to first completely cook the chicken. And then literally fry it in oil. When you fry it, it becomes brown. You add ginger, garlic, you add salt. And all those flavours are incorporated into the chicken. After that, you add tomatoes. Cut them in half and put them on top of the chicken. Which will, and then cover the wok. When you cover the wok, the tomatoes with the steam will start melting. The juice will start coming out. And it will help it cook. So we don't add any water to the dish.”
B: Now, what you have to do is to wait until the tomato skin comes off and releases the juice. After it’s cooked, you open the lid and the tomato skin will automatically creel away.
“And then add black pepper. You make sure that the tomatoes are properly incorporated. You sprinkle some black pepper on top. Some green chillies for garnish. And ginger julienne for garnish. That's it”, said Asad.
A: It seems to me that this dish doesn’t take long to prepare, since there’s no need to marinate the chicken beforehand.
B: That’s absolutely right! And there’s one more thing that intrigued me. Asad didn’t heat the oil first - he added the chicken, cut into bite-sized pieces, straight into the pan. Is that a special cooking technique for this dish?
“When you heat the oil, you get a temperature shock. Whatever you put in it, it gives a temperature shock all of a sudden.The muscle will immediately cook from outside, not from inside. So when you slowly bring it to heat, that will not give it a temperature shock. And it will help the chicken release its flavours,” said Asad.
B: Keep in mind that Chicken Karahi gets its distinctive flavor from a rich blend of spices. But rather than adding them all at once, the spices are introduced at different stages of the cooking process, as Asad explained, “In the recipe, you have black pepper and you have salt. That's it, nothing else. But now, should I put black pepper first? No, black pepper towards the end. Because if you incorporate black pepper, it will release a lot of flavour in the beginning. You want it fresh. Freshly ground black pepper towards the end of the cooking. So that's very important, when you add black pepper and you cook it, it does not give that aroma that you get towards the end. You will always add black pepper towards the end of any dish to get the best flavour.”
A: Highway-style chicken karahi tastes best when served hot, accompanied by bread or steamed white rice.
B: With just a few simple ingredients and Chef Asad Memon’s step-by-step guidance, you can bring the rich flavors of Pakistan straight to your own kitchen and share them with the people you love. So why not give it a try? And don’t forget to stay tuned to VOV24/7’s Food Delight for more delicious culinary journeys.
