Arford Books Cooks

Easy recipes from Apple Tree

Tag: Chinese

Stir Fry – Easy Version

24/10/2023 /

You can make many different versions of this based on different meats as available. For four people:

Mix together

  • 4 tbsp    black bean sauce (or Hoisin sauce)
  • 2 tsp      soy sauce
  • 2 tbsp    Chinese rice wine or dry sherry
  • ½ tsp     chilli flakes
  • Pinch of Chinese five-spice powder

Set aside. Meat can be raw or cooked leftover sliced beef, pork or chicken. Now heat your wok or large frying pan with

  • 2–4 tbsp vegetable or groundnut oil
  • 2 large   garlic cloves, sliced
  • 20g root ginger, peeled and thinly sliced

Cook in hot oil for 30 seconds. Add

  • 400g meat, cut on the diagonal into slices about 5mm thick

Stir fry until golden, then scoop out onto a plate and keep warm. Now add a mixture of all or some of the following:

  • onion, sliced
  • red pepper, deseeded and sliced
  • tenderstem broccoli, cut into short pieces
  • Baby corn, halved lengthwise
  • Sugarsnap peas

Stir fry until still firm but not soggy

  • 4 nests  dried egg noodles, cooked according to the packet or 400g Straight to Wok noodles
  • 2 tsp cornflour, mixed with 60ml water

Add to the wok with the reserved meat and sauce mixture and stir around to coat and thicken. Add a splash more water if needed. Serve into four bowls and garnish with

  • spring onions, sliced
  • fresh coriander, roughly chopped
  • sesame seeds

Chinese mushroom and peppers

08/09/2022 /

This makes a quick vegetable side if you are making another more complex meat dish. For four:

  • Chop one onion (optional)
  • Chop two sweet peppers of different colours into squares about 15mm across
  • Dash of rape seed oil

Stir fry in a pan or wok until getting soft but still a bit crunchy

  • 4 cloves garlic, chopped
  • 1 packet button mushrooms, halved or quartered if large so all are the same size

Add to the wok and cook down until the liquid released by the mushrooms has gone. Add

  • 1 tbs oyster sauce
  • 2 tbs soy sauce

Cook on and stir until the vegetable are coated to your liking. Serve alongside your ethnic dish of choice!

Chinese Sesame Chicken

08/09/2022 /

Like many Westernised Chinese dishes, this probably bears little resemblance to an authentic dish. It is popular in American restaurants but not so prevalent in the UK although it bears a passing resemblance to variations of sticky chicken and sweet-and-sour. This recipe is for four people.

Mix the following then set aside:

  • 1 tbs sesame oil
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 tbs Chinese rice vinegar
  • 2 tbs honey
  • 2 tbs sweet chilli sauce
  • 3 tbs tomato ketchup
  • 2 tbs brown sugar
  • 4 tbs soy sauce

Mix and put in a bowl:

  • 1 cup plain flour
  • 0.5 tsp salt
  • 0.5 tsp white pepper
  • 0.5 tsp garlic powder
  • 2 tsp paprika

Now take:

  • 3 chicken breasts or thigh meat cut into bite sized chunks
  • 3 tbs cornflour
  • 2 eggs beaten
  • A good slug of rape seed oil

Assemble a production line of your chicken, then cornflour, then beaten egg then the flour mix. Put the oil in a wok and heat to sizzling. Dip each chicken piece in the cornflour, egg and then flour mix before dropping into the wok. Fry and stir until the pieces are golden and cooked. Remove the cooked pieces, put in a bowl lined with kitchen paper and transfer to an oven to keep warm. Tip #1: this can be a fiddly operation and you could end up with the first lump burning by the time the last lump goes in. Assemble the floured lumps on a plate so they all go in the pan together. Tip #2: you will probably need to do this in two batches anyway.

While the chicken is keeping warm tip your sauce mix into the wok and bubble away until thick and sticky. Return the chicken to the pan and roll them around until they are coated.

Sprinkle with sesame seeds and chopped spring onions, and serve over plain boiled rice. A side vegetable dish would complement this perfectly, such as mushrooms and pepper fry.

© 2024 Arford Books Cooks

Theme by Anders Noren — Up ↑