<p>If someone asked me what I wanted to become when I grew up, I would have never said that I wanted to be a chef. </p>.<p>My dad is an Army man and I was born and raised in Chandigarh. I moved to Bengaluru in 1999 to work as a marketing professional. That’s what I trained to be and what I thought would be my career. But as they say, not everything in your life goes according to plan. </p>.<p>After working as a marketing professional for two years, I joined a food and beverage hospitality which eventually led me to become a chef. </p>.<p>Before I even thought I could do this full-time, my friends from the hotel industry expressed their faith in me. When I married in 2001, my wife too encouraged me to consider this professionally.</p>.<p>I am thankful to all of them for believing and encouraging me to take my passion for cooking seriously. </p>.<p>About 15 years since I changed my career, I am now the brand chef at Misu in the city. Learning or becoming an expert at Asian cuisine was not really my choice. When I started working in the hotel industry, I joined an Asian kitchen and that’s where I learnt everything I know today. </p>.<p>I love that there’s something new to learn every day. I find that Chinese is one of the most versatile cuisines to learn. It’s also a popular choice across the globe. Having said that, I think Indian dishes are quite complex to master. </p>.<p>Whenever I create a dish, I make sure that I make it for the Indian palate. Though I believe in keeping the dish as authentic as possible, I’ve realised that it’s not easy to source the right ingredients. So I try to modify the recipe to the ingredients available and prepare them accordingly. </p>.<p>One of my creation like that is the ‘Zoodles Pad Thai’. Now that diners are conscious about what they eat, I thought it would be a fun idea to make a healthy version of a Pad Thai. It’s a very simple recipe and does not require too many ingredients. You can fulfil your hunger and not worry about your health when devouring this dish.</p>.<p><span><strong>Recipe: Zoodles Pad Thai </strong></span></p>.<p><strong>Ingredients</strong></p>.<p>- Zucchini zoodles, 200 gm<br />- Carrots, 25 gm<br />- Tofu, 25 gm<br />- Chinese cabbage, 25 gm<br />- Bok Choy, 15 gm<br />- Beans sprouts, 10 gm<br />- Peanuts, 10 gm<br />- Onion, 10 gm<br />- Garlic, 10 gm<br />- Broccoli, 10 gm<br />- Chilli flakes, 5 gm<br />- Dark so, 5 ml<br />- Tamarind pulp, 5 ml <br />- Olive oil, 25 ml</p>.<p><strong>For seasoning </strong></p>.<p>- Salt, 2 gm<br />- Broth powder, 5 gm<br />- Sugar, 2 gm</p>.<p><strong>Method</strong></p>.<p>- Cut Zucchini zoodles into thin long strips and fast blanch in hot water. <br />- Place wok on a stove and add oil, garlic, onion and simmer until golden brown.<br />- Add blanched Chinese cabbage, bok choy, carrot and broccoli and stir fry for 30 seconds. <br />- To this, add zucchini zoodle with seasoning and stir fry until cooked well. <br />- In a separate pan, cut tofu into finger-sized strips and flash fry.<br />- Now add the tofu, beans sprout, chilli flakes and peanut into the wok and stir fry with the cooked Zoodle. <br />- Mix in high flame for 1 minute and take it off the stove.<br />- Serve on to a plate and garnish with peanut and beans sprout. </p>.<p class="byline"><strong>Chef Dinesh Sharma</strong></p>
<p>If someone asked me what I wanted to become when I grew up, I would have never said that I wanted to be a chef. </p>.<p>My dad is an Army man and I was born and raised in Chandigarh. I moved to Bengaluru in 1999 to work as a marketing professional. That’s what I trained to be and what I thought would be my career. But as they say, not everything in your life goes according to plan. </p>.<p>After working as a marketing professional for two years, I joined a food and beverage hospitality which eventually led me to become a chef. </p>.<p>Before I even thought I could do this full-time, my friends from the hotel industry expressed their faith in me. When I married in 2001, my wife too encouraged me to consider this professionally.</p>.<p>I am thankful to all of them for believing and encouraging me to take my passion for cooking seriously. </p>.<p>About 15 years since I changed my career, I am now the brand chef at Misu in the city. Learning or becoming an expert at Asian cuisine was not really my choice. When I started working in the hotel industry, I joined an Asian kitchen and that’s where I learnt everything I know today. </p>.<p>I love that there’s something new to learn every day. I find that Chinese is one of the most versatile cuisines to learn. It’s also a popular choice across the globe. Having said that, I think Indian dishes are quite complex to master. </p>.<p>Whenever I create a dish, I make sure that I make it for the Indian palate. Though I believe in keeping the dish as authentic as possible, I’ve realised that it’s not easy to source the right ingredients. So I try to modify the recipe to the ingredients available and prepare them accordingly. </p>.<p>One of my creation like that is the ‘Zoodles Pad Thai’. Now that diners are conscious about what they eat, I thought it would be a fun idea to make a healthy version of a Pad Thai. It’s a very simple recipe and does not require too many ingredients. You can fulfil your hunger and not worry about your health when devouring this dish.</p>.<p><span><strong>Recipe: Zoodles Pad Thai </strong></span></p>.<p><strong>Ingredients</strong></p>.<p>- Zucchini zoodles, 200 gm<br />- Carrots, 25 gm<br />- Tofu, 25 gm<br />- Chinese cabbage, 25 gm<br />- Bok Choy, 15 gm<br />- Beans sprouts, 10 gm<br />- Peanuts, 10 gm<br />- Onion, 10 gm<br />- Garlic, 10 gm<br />- Broccoli, 10 gm<br />- Chilli flakes, 5 gm<br />- Dark so, 5 ml<br />- Tamarind pulp, 5 ml <br />- Olive oil, 25 ml</p>.<p><strong>For seasoning </strong></p>.<p>- Salt, 2 gm<br />- Broth powder, 5 gm<br />- Sugar, 2 gm</p>.<p><strong>Method</strong></p>.<p>- Cut Zucchini zoodles into thin long strips and fast blanch in hot water. <br />- Place wok on a stove and add oil, garlic, onion and simmer until golden brown.<br />- Add blanched Chinese cabbage, bok choy, carrot and broccoli and stir fry for 30 seconds. <br />- To this, add zucchini zoodle with seasoning and stir fry until cooked well. <br />- In a separate pan, cut tofu into finger-sized strips and flash fry.<br />- Now add the tofu, beans sprout, chilli flakes and peanut into the wok and stir fry with the cooked Zoodle. <br />- Mix in high flame for 1 minute and take it off the stove.<br />- Serve on to a plate and garnish with peanut and beans sprout. </p>.<p class="byline"><strong>Chef Dinesh Sharma</strong></p>