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Soy Glazed Chicken Livers with Chinese Leaves

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This light dish is great as a Starter or as a Main course – if you add some Potatoes, Noodles or Rice to it.

If you don’t want to grill the Livers, you can fry them off, by heating a couple of tablespoons of Sunflower Oil in a pan, sealing the Livers over a high heat, and then add the Juices to the pan, before simmering for three minutes.

Soy Glazed Chicken Livers with Chinese Leaves

To Serve 4
2tbsp Dark Soy Sauce
2tbsp Dry Sherry
1 Garlic Clove, peeled and crushed
1tsp Fresh Root Ginger, grated
1tsp Sesame Oil
1tsp Clear Honey
1/4tsp Chinese Five-Spice Powder
350g Chicken Livers, thawed
50g Watercress
125g Pak Choi, or Chinese Cabbage
1tbsp Coriander Leaves
1tbsp Sesame Seeds, roasted

1. Combine the Soy Sauce, Sherry, Crushed Garlic, Grated Ginger, Sesame Oil, Honey and Five Spice together, until well blended. Wash and dry the Chicken Liver, removing and discarding any discoloured parts, and toss the Liver in the Soy mixture, making sure it’s evenly covered. Transfer to a shallow dish, cover and leave to marinade for two hours.
2. After the two hours, transfer the Livers along with all the juices and remaining marinate to a foil lined pan, and grill as close to the heat for one to two minutes on each side, until browned and cooked through.
3. Place the Salad Leaves and Coriander, and toss in the Sesame Seeds and Juices from the Livers. Lay out on a plate, and place the Livers on top of the Leaves, and serve fresh from the pan.

Photo Courtesy of: FotoosVanRobin

Crispy Chinese Greens

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These shreds of crispy fried Chinese Greens are a superb addition to any Chinese meal – they’re particularly good served as a starter, along with some Sesame Prawn Toasts and a Crisp Dry White Wine.

Spring Greens

You can use different Nuts in place of the Peanuts – try some Cashews, Toasted Peanuts, or even some Sunflower Seeds. Using a mixture of the Nuts and Seeds is also a good idea for a bit of variety – as with every great recipe, experiment and you’ll be able to tailor something to what you prefer personally.

To Serve 4
700g Spring Greens
600ml Sunflower Oil
1 1/2tsp Caster Sugar
Salt
25g Natural Roasted Peanuts, halved

1. Remove the thick stems from the Spring Greens, and wash the leaves well. Dry thoroughly, before removing rolling them together tightly, and shredding them finely with a very sharp knife.
2. Spread the Shredded Spring Greens out on kitchen paper, and dry again – they must be completely dry before they go into the Oil for frying. If in doubt, leave them for a while sandwiched between two sheets of kitchen paper.
3. Heat the Oil up in a Large Wok or deep pan until it is just smoking. Remove from the heat, and add the Spring Greens, and stir well. Return the pan to the heat, and fry for about two minutes, stirring all the time.
4. Using a Slotted Spoon carefully remove the Fried Greens and place on a plate lined with Absorbent Kitchen Paper, and very carefully pat dry and leave to drain for a few moments.
5. Turn the Crispy Greens onto a warmed plate, and sprinkle with the Sugar and Salt (to taste) and the Nuts.

Photo Courtesy of: Avlxyz

Gingered Chicken and Noodles

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A Rich, creamy flavoursome sauce, that’s a great dish for a lunch. It’s very quick to make – taking around thirty minutes from start to finish, full of colour, and full of taste.
Chicken with Ginger and Chilli
If you’re not able to find any Coconut Milk, chop up 50g of Creamed Coconut, and make up to 300ml with Boiling Water, and bring to the boil, before stirring well.

To Serve 4
1tbsp Vegetable Oil
1 bunch Spring Onions, sliced
2.5cm Ginger, peeled and grated
1 Garlic Clove, peeled and crushed
275g Skinless Chicken Breast, cut into bite-sized pieces
2tbsp Mild Curry Paste or 1tbsp Hot Thai Curry Paste
300ml Coconut Milk
300ml Chicken Stock
Salt and Pepper
125g Chinese Egg Noodles
2tsp Lemon or Lime Juice

1. Heat the Oil In a large pan, and fry the Spring Onions, Ginger and Garlic until they begin to soften. Add the Chicken pieces and the Curry Paste, and cook off for a further three to four minutes until golden brown and cooked through.
2. Stir the Coconut Milk into the pan, along with the Chicken Stock, and season to taste with Salt and Pepper. Increase the heat, and bring the pan to the boil before adding the Noodles, broken into half. Cover the pan, and then simmer for around five to ten minutes, stirring occasionally. When cooked, the Noodles are just tender, and not too soft.
3. Add the Lemon or Lime juice, season to taste, and serve immediately.

If the mixture is too thick or dry after the Noodles are included, add some more stock. Similarly, if it becomes too watery, add more Coconut Milk and cook for slightly longer to thicken it up.

Photo Courtesy of: ricepalette

Dim Sum

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This Chinese Snack is becoming more and more popular in a wide range of western restaurants. The dumplings have a soft juicy filling, and are great to serve as a starter for a themed meal, or as part of a large buffet.

Dim Sum

They take little preparation compared to how easy they are to make – you can also replace the minced Pork with Peeled Prawns, and sprinkle with some Sesame Seeds before you cook them. If you have a steamer, you can cook them in much larger numbers, and much easier, so you can produce more!

To Serve 4
150g Plain Flour
50ml Boiling Water
25ml Cold Water
2tsp Vegetable Oil
75g Minced Pork
3tbsp Chopped Canned Bamboo Roots
½ tbsp Light Soy Sauce
1tsp Dry Sherry
1tsp Demerara Sugar
1/2tsp Sesame Oil
1tsp Cornflour

1. Sift the Flour into a bowl, and stir in the Boiling Water, then the Cold Water and finally Oil. Mix together to form dough, and knead it until smooth.
2. Roll the Dough out into a sausage, and cut into sixteen equal sized pieces, and flatten into circles about five centimetres across
3. Mix the Pork Mince, Bamboo Roots, Soy Sauce, Dry Sherry, Sugar and Sesame Oil in a bowl, and then mix in the Cornflour.
4. Place a spoonful of the filling mixture in the centre of each circle. Pinch the edges of the dough together to form a little purse.
5. Line a steamer with a clean damp dish towel, and steam for five to ten minutes.

Serve on a bed of Lettuce, with some Soy Sauce and Sweet Chilli Dipping Sauce.

Photo Courtesy of: Avlxyz

Beef with Chilli and Black Bean Sauce

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Beef with Black Bean SauceSince we’re getting all Christmas-y, here’s a completely non-related dish guaranteed to get you in the mood for festivities!

Okay, so it’s not exactly a Turkey Dinner, with all the trimmings, but it’s a very nice treat – especially with a nice, thick, sticky sauce…mmm! Serve with fresh cooked rice or noodles

To Serve 4
600g Beef Fillet, cleaned of any fibres, cut into thin slices
1/3 Cup Oil
2tbsp Spring Onions
2tbsp Dry Sherry or Dry Vermouth
1tsp Salt
1tsp Sugar
½ Red Pepper, cut into thin strips
1 small Red Onion, thinly sliced
1 heaped tbsp Ginger, cut into thin strips
3 Garlic Cloves, finely chopped
2tbsp Dry Sherry, or dry white wine
2tbsp Black Bean Sauce, from a jar
1tbsp Vinegar
1/2tsp Sesame Oil
2 large red Chilli Peppers, cut into diagonal pieces

1.       Mix the Meat with two tablespoons of the Sherry (or Vermouth), Salt and Sugar, and keep covered in the fridge for thirty minutes.
2.       In a large, heavy pan or wok, heat some of the oil until very hot, and fry half the Meat for thirty seconds, and then repeat with the other half of the meat.
3.       Fry the Onion, Ginger and Garlic for thirty seconds, before adding the Meat back to the Wok, with the remaining Sherry and stir until warmed through.
4.       Add the Black Bean sauce, Sugar, Soy Sauce, Vinegar and Sesame Oil to the pan, and continue cooking for another minute.
5.       Finally add the Chilli Peppers and Pepper to the pan, and continue stirring for another thirty seconds, before serving.

Photo Courtesy of: Avlxyz

Lemon Chicken

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Lemon ChickenSweet, Sticky and so tasty, this delicacy is a personal favourite when I’m out in a restaurant, and it’s the closest thing I’ve found whilst cooking at home.

The chunks of lemon in the dish soften very nicely, and add a delicious extra texture to surprise your taste buds. Try to de-seed the chunks of lemon, or at least make sure that you have picked them out of the mixture.

To Serve 4

800g Boneless Chicken, cut into bite size chunks

½ Chicken Stock Cube, in 2 cups of hot water

1/3 Dry Sherry or Dry White Wine

2tbsp Oyster Sauce

4tbsp Hoisin Sauce

1tbsp Soy Sauce

1tbsp Sugar

1 Lemon, with the peel cut into strips

1 small Lemon, cut into round pieces

1/3 cup Flour

1/3 cup Corn Flour

Plenty of Oil for Frying

2tbsp Lemon Juice

2tbsp Corn Flour

2 Egg Yolks

2tbsp Dry Sherry or Dry White Wine

1tsp Salt

1.       In a bowl, dissolve 2 tablespoons of the Corn Flour, with 2tablespoons of water. Mix in the Egg Yolks, 2 tablespoons of Dry Sherry (or White Wine), and teaspoon of Salt.

2.       Add the Chicken, and make sure it’s well covered, put to one side, cover and refrigerate for an hour.

3.       In a medium sized pan, place the Chicken stock, Sherry, Oyster Sauce, Hoisin Sauce, Soy Sauce and the Lemon Peel, then allow to boil. Turn down to the lowest heat, then leave to simmer uncovered for ten minutes.

4.       Add the lemon slices and continue to simmer for five more minutes, and then remove from the heat.

5.       In a bag, mix the third cup of Corn Flour with the third cup of Flour, and mix well. Remove the chicken from the marinade, and shake well, making sure the chunks are completely covered.

6.       Heat plenty of oil and fry half the Chicken, and fry for a minute. Lower the heat and continue cooking for another minute. Remove from the oil, and place on Kitchen paper to remove any excess oil.

7.       Do the same for the other half of the Chicken.

8.       Mix a small amount of Corn Flour in with the lemon Juice, and serve as a sauce.

Photo Courtesy of: Avlxyz

Crispy Fried Duck

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Crispy Fried Duck PancakeThese pancakes are crispy, juicy and full of flavour, all in the same mouthful. They are great as a posh snack, part of a party menu, or as part of a themed dinner night. When preparing the Cucumber and Spring Onion, try to get it as close to serving time as possible to make sure that they’re fresh, and you can keep the pancakes warm in over steam in order to make sure they keep their softness.

You can buy the pancakes pre-made, and just heat them up before serving, but if you’re going to make it all yourself, you really should make it all – otherwise it’s cheating really! (p.s., I won’t tell if you do use pre-made ones!)

To serve 16

1 Duck (1 ¾ to 2kg)

Oil for Frying

5 cups Chicken Stock

2 ½ cups Dry Sherry (not white Wine)

7tbsp Light Soy Sauce

4tbsp Dark Soy Sauce

4tbsp Hoisin Sauce

4 Onions, Sliced

6 slices fresh Ginger

1 ½ tbsp Sugar

1 tsp Five Spice

1 ½ kg Beef and Pork Bones

16 Mandarin Pancakes

5-6tsp Hoisin Sauce

4 Cucumbers, peeled and cut into thin strips

5 Spring Onions, cut into strips

For the Mandarin Pancakes

½ Cup Flour

½ Cup Hot Water

1 tsp Oil

1 tsp Sesame Oil

1.       Boil the duck for ten minutes, before draining.

2.       Mix the Chicken Stock, Sherry, Soy Sauce (light and dark), Hoisin Sauce, sliced Onions, Ginger, Sugar, Five Spice and Beef and Pork bones, and simmer for thirty minutes, then remove the bones.

3.       Add the duck to this sauce, and simmer on a low heat for 1 ½ hours, turning it over every so often. After an hour and a half, remove the duck, and place on an oven grill tray, and leave to completely cool and drain – it will need at least two hours.

4.       Heat up a large amount of Oil in a wok or pot, and fry for around eight to ten minutes. Remove from the oil, and dry with some absorbent paper towels, and shred.

For the Pancakes

1.       Mix the Flour, hot Water and the teaspoon of Oil. Empty the mixture out onto a floured surface, and knead until it becomes smooth and tight.

2.       Create 16 even-sized balls, and spread out until small and paper-thin. Spread Sesame Oil onto the surface of each pancake.

3.       Heat a non-stick pan, and lightly brown each side of the pancakes.

Serve with the thin slices of Spring Onion and Cucumber, and a bowl of Hoisin Sauce.

Photo Courtesy of ItJournalist

Home Made Spring Rolls

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Spring RollsIf you like your Chinese food like I do, you’ll love these Spring Rolls. Fresh, crispy and less fatty than the ones you can get from a take-away, but still taste great. You can chance some of the ingredients if you want to make them closer to what you want, but I’m a massive fan of these as they are.

They’re great as a starter, party food, or as a side dish to a wide range of meals. Sadly, they can’t be frozen, but you can just adjust the quantities to make a smaller amount (even though you’ll still want more!)

To make 48

6 medium fresh onions, thinly sliced

1 ½ tbsp Oil

3 Spring Onions, thinly sliced

2 Garlic Cloves, finely chopped

½ kg Minced Pork

1/3 Cup tinned Water Chestnuts, finely chopped

2 tsp Fish Sauce

1 tbsp Soy Sauce

2 tbsp Oyster Sauce

48 small Spring Roll Pastry Wrappers (or Filo Pastry for pies if you can’t find any – they need to be in 12cm squares)

1 egg, lightly beaten

1/3 Cup Rice Vinegar

1/3 Cup Sweet Chilli Sauce

1.       Sauté the onions in half a tablespoon of Oil, until they are brown.

2.       In a Wok or large pan, heat the remaining tablespoon of Oil, and sauté the Onions and Garlic until soft. Add the Meat and continue to cook, stirring all the time to break up any large lumps.

3.       When brown, add the Mushrooms, Water Chestnuts, Cabbage and the Fish, Soy and Oyster Sauces. Stir until the Cabbage has wilted, and allow to cool.

4.       Pre-heat the oven to 180 C, and grease two baking trays (or cover them with non-stick baking paper. Lay the pastry sheets out diagonally, and place a small teaspoon of the mixture in the middle, and brush around it with the beaten egg.

5.       Take the two corners opposite each other, and bring them in to the middle. Bring the third corner in, and then roll towards the fourth, so that the point is in the middle of the roll.

6.       Spread the rolls out in the tray, so that the fourth corner is facing down, and brush the top with some more egg.

7.       Bake for around ten minutes, until golden brown.

8.       Serve warm, after mixing the Rice Vinegar and Sweet Chilli Sauce together.



Photo Courtesy of: Avlxyz