Mohammad Barrawi’s Credentials

General Tsao’s Chicken

Ingredients

Chicken:

  • 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into 1-inch pieces
  • Sea salt and freshly ground white pepper
  • 1 tablespoon cornstarch 

Sweet Sauce:

  • 1/2 cup chicken stock
  • 1 tablespoon Guilin chili sauce or Sriracha
  • 1 tablespoon ketchup
  • 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon yellow bean sauce (soy bean paste)
  • 1 teaspoon honey
  • 1/2 teaspoon dark soy sauce

Stir-Fry:

  • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
  • 1 clove garlic, peeled, left whole and crushed
  • 1 tablespoon Shaohsing rice wine or dry sherry
  • 4 whole dried Sichuan chilies
  • 2 scallions, chopped
  • 1 cup peanuts, toasted and chopped 
  • 8 ounces egg noodles, cooked per package instructions

Directions:

For the chicken: In a large bowl, sprinkle the chicken with a pinch of salt and pepper. Add the cornstarch and mix well.

For the sweet sauce: In another bowl, add the stock, chili sauce, ketchup, light soy sauce, rice vinegar, yellow bean sauce, honey and dark soy sauce together and set aside.

For the stir-fry: Heat a wok over high heat and when the wok starts to smoke, add the vegetable oil. Add the garlic and chicken pieces and let the chicken settle in the wok for 1 minute before stir-frying for another 2 minutes. As the chicken starts to turn opaque, add the rice wine and dried chilies and fry for a few seconds. Then add the sweet sauce mixture and cook for another 3 minutes. Cook the chicken in the sauce until the chicken is cooked through and the sauce has reduced, is slightly sticky and has a thicker consistency, another 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in the scallions and peanuts and cook for less than 1 minute. Toss in the noodles and then transfer to a serving plate.

Falafel

Ingredients

  • 1 lb dry chickpeas/garbanzo beans – you must start with dry, do NOT substitute canned, they will not work!
  • 1 small onion, roughly chopped
  • 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
  • 3-5 cloves garlic (I prefer roasted garlic cloves)
  • 1 1/2 tbsp flour or chickpea flour
  • 1 3/4 tsp salt
  • 2 tsp cumin
  • 1 tsp ground coriander
  • 1/4 tsp black pepper
  • 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
  • Pinch of ground cardamom
  • Vegetable oil for frying – grapeseed, sunflower, avocado, canola, and peanut oils all work well

Directions

  1. Overnight soak: Place the dry chickpeas in a large bowl, add enough water to cover them by 1 inch, and let sit uncovered at room temperature for 20 to 24 hours. They should double in size to give you about 3 cups of chickpeas. When ready, you should be able to break apart a chickpea with your fingers. Drain.
  2. Quick soak: Place the chickpeas and 1 quart of water in a 4-quart saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and cook for 3 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat, cover, and set aside for 1 hour. Drain.
  3. Mix: Place the drained chickpeas, scallions, garlic, parsley, olive oil, lemon juice, cumin, coriander, and salt in a large bowl and stir to combine.
  4. Process: Transfer the chickpea mixture to a food processor fitted with the blade attachment, working in batches if needed. Pulse each batch until the chickpeas are finely chopped, 10 or 12 pulses.
  5. Add the baking powder: Sprinkle the baking powder over the mixture. Pulse the chickpeas again, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed, until the mixture forms a ball when you squeeze it in your hand.
  6. Shape the falafel: Scoop the falafel into 2 tablespoon-sized balls (a small ice cream scoop works well for this) and place on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet.
  7. Heat the oil: Heat the oil in a 10-inch straight-sided skillet over medium-high heat until it reaches 350°F. (Pan-frying is typically too shallow to get an accurate temperature reading — a clip-on thermometer works well for this.)
  8. Fry: Gently lower 6 falafel at a time into the hot oil and fry until deep golden-brown, flipping them halfway through, 5 to 7 minutes total per batch. Remove the cooked falafel to a paper towel-lined baking sheet.
  9. Serve: Serve the cooked falafel in a warmed pita with yogurt or tzatziki sauce, tomatoes, feta cheese, and shredded lettuce.