Chinese tonight: chicken satay, straw mushrooms and beansprouts in oyster sauce and red pepper and cashew stir fry

A little trip into a chinese supermarket gave me the idea, but you can get most of the flavourings from Oriental Foods and me in Todmorden market.

Rice
Chicken - legs in this instance
Peanut butter
Sweet chilli sauce
Shaoshin rice wine
Rice wine vinegar
Chilli
Peanut oil
Spring onions
Garlic
Ginger
Straw mushrooms
Oyster sauce
Soya sauce
Red pepper
Chinese vegetable (or pak choi)
Cashew nuts
Beansprouts
Cornflour

1.  Cook the rice
2.  In an oven dish mix peanut butter with a dash of peanut oil, sweet chilli sauce, chilli and soya sauce.  Coat the chicken in the marinade and cook in the oven for about 30 minutes.
3.  In 2 woks, fry chopped spring onion, garlic and ginger.
4.  For the cashew nut mixture add red pepper, chilli flakes, soya sauce, rice wine vinegar, rice vinegar and stir fry.  Add the chopped vegetable and stir fry again.  Add a little water to create the steam.  Finish by adding slaked cornflour to thicken the sauce and the cashew nuts.
5.  For the mushroom mixture add a tin of straw mushrooms, a tablespoon of oyster sauce and a tiny splash of water, heat through then add beansprouts.  Finish by thickenning the sauce (if required) with a little slaked cornflour.
6.  Serve, scoff ...

This went down very well, but the chicken legs were fiddly, so next time I'll use diced thigh meat on a skewer.

Hot spicy prawns, vegetable stir fry ... more Chinese New Year deliciousness

 Gung Hay Fat Choi ... more Happy Chinese New Year.  Loving it!

I am not practised in chinese cooking, but I do give it a go now and again.  I was proud of tonight's dishes.  The spring rolls were from a chinese supermarket - they should be fried (deep fried or shallow fried is less important) and not baked for good tasty crispiness.

Dip in sweet chili sauce.

Jasmine rice - cooked according to packet instructions.

Spicy prawns

Spring onions
Garlic
Chili Flakes
Peanut oil

Stir fry spring onions in peanut oil.
Add prawns and spices, toss about for a couple of minutes.

Vegetable stir fry

Peanut oil
Spring onion
Celery
Red pepper
Carrots
Courgette
Mushrooms
Garlic
Ginger
Chili flakes
Chinese 5 spice
Chinese rice wine
Rice vinegar
Tomato ketchup
Light soy sauce
Pak choi
Beansprouts
Toasted sesame oil

1.  Prepare all veg and cut into bite sized pieces.
2.  Heat peanut oil in wok.
3.  Add spring onions, then hard veg, then spices, tossing all the time.
4.  Splosh in wine and vinegar - then tomato ketchup and soy sauce to taste.
5.  Just before serving toss in pak choi leaves, beans sprouts and a tiny hint of sesame oil.

I preferred this to the noodles earlier in the week, but both were delicious.

Chili and garlic squid, black bean vegetable, noodle, stir fry

Chinese New Year - and into the year of the sheep we go.

So, tonight we had garlic chili squid and a black bean, vegetable and noodle stir fry.

Noodles are traditional for a long life, I believe.  Rice noodles, in our case, to keep it all gluten free.




Chili and garlic squid

Peanut oil
Squid tubes - cut into rings
chili flakes
Crushed garlic
spring onion
salt
cornflour
water

1.  Cut squid tubes into rings, mix with chili, garlic and chopped spring onion.
2.  Make a batter (quite liquid) from cornflour and water.
3.  Dip squid into batter and fry in hot oil.

Scoff!

Black bean and vegetable noodle stir fry

Peanut oil
Black bean paste
Garlic paste
Fennel
Spring onions
Pak choi
Radish
Japanese mushrooms
bean sprouts
soy sauce
Chinese rice wine
Tomato ketchup
Water
Rice noodles

1.  Prepare all the vegetables, chopping into bite sized pieces.
2.  Heat oil in the wok, add spring onion and black bean paste.
3.  Stir fry, add veg ... from harder to softer, so they cook in time.
4.  Meanwhile cook noodles according to packet instructions.
5.  Taste veg and add soy sauce, rice wine and ketchup to taste.
6.  Add a little water if it's looking dry.
7.  When noodles are ready, drain and add to veg.
8.  Sprinkle chopped spring onions over the top.

Dipping sauce

Soy sauce
peanut oil
sweet chili sauce

Mixed to taste

Oh ... I am so full ... roll on the year of the sheep.

Veg box chowmein

This was delicious.  It is also vegan, gluten free and easy.  Oh, and cheap.

Recipe:  open fridge, take out whatever vegetables are there - chop them up, stir fry/simmer with tasty stuff from cupboard. Scoff.

Oh, OK, this is what I did:-


Vegetable oil
2 cloves garlic crushed
small knob ginger, grated
2 leeks, sliced and washed
1 kholrabi
2 carrots
1 red pepper
Biggish pinch of chili flakes
1 tbsp tomato puree
2 tbsp Soy sauce (check GF if GF)
1 tbsp Chinese rice wine
splash rice wine vinegar
water
2 tbsp peanut sauce
Handful baby spinach
Rice noodles
Sesame seeds

1.  Prep veg - cut into smallish pieces.
2.  Soften leeks in oil, after a minute or so chuck in other veg, garlic, ginger and chili flakes.  Stir round.
3.  Add about a pint of water and tomato puree, soy sauce, rice wine and rice wine vinegar.
4.  Simmer for about 10-15 minutes, let the sauce thicken up, but don't let it go completely dry - just add more water as you need it until the vegetables are just done.  Add peanut sauce when the vegetables are nearly cooked.
5.  Meanwhile boil the rice noodles.
6.  Drain noodles, add to vegetables with baby spinach.  Take of the heat and stir together until spinach leaves wilt.
7.  Sprinkle on sesame seeds.

Spicy beef stir fry with noodles

A stir fry is not the best thing to make when you have a hurty hand as there is too much chopping involved, and vigorous stirring and flipping can be a challenge - but I managed.

I used peanut oil, cos I had some, but any neutral flavoured vegetable oil would be fine, avoid olive oil.



1 tbsp peanut oil
about 100g steak - in bite sized strips
1 small leek
Fresh ginger, grated
1 clove garlic, crushed
Chili flakes
1/2 red pepper, in strips
1/2 Kholrabi, peeled and chopped into strips
Small handful green beans
4 mushrooms
Chinese rice wine
Chinese rice wine vinegar
Soy sauce
Sweet chili sauce
1/2 tbsp cornflour
1 cup water
Beansprouts
Shredded chinese leaf
1 nest noodles
1 tbsp sesame seeds
1 tsp sesame oil

1.  Heat wok, add peanut oil.  Sear beef in hot oil.
2.  After a couple of minutes flipping meat about add chopped leek, garlic, ginger and chili. (set smoke alarm off)
3.  When leek is slightly softened, chuck in harder veg - beans, kholrabi and pepper.
4.  Splash in chinese rice wine, chinese rice wine vinegar and soy sauce. Keep stirring around for a couple of minutes, add sliced mushrooms.
5. Add water, and boil quickly.
6.  Slake cornflour in water and stir in quickly to thicken sauce.
7.  Chuck in cooked, drained noodles, beansprouts and shredded cabbage.
8. Sprinkle sesame seeds on top, scoff.

Chicken and cashew nut in black bean sauce with rice

Well, where to begin?  There are loads of things to do with chicken - but I am trying to expand my repertoire without spending anything - and had 2 x chicken breasts left over.  So, quick scout through the fridge and cupboards... and a chinesey vibe... Crushed fermented black beans with chili, garlic, ginger and peanut oil.  Cooked Thai rice using steam method ... ie. bring to boil in water to cover + 1.5 cm ... then out in medium oven to finish itself off.  Chopped spring onion, red onion, orange pepper, celery, sculpted carrot (you can't see on this pic - and victim didn't even notice, but I tried that fancy scalloped carrot slice thing!)  and some mushrooms - cooked in hot (couple of spoons) peanut oil - add crushed paste - add bite sized pieces of chicken breast - sautee.  After a couple of minutes of turning over add mug of water, tomato puree, soy sauce, rice wine and a good squirt of ketchup.  Stir again, and simmer for a a few minutes - add more water to make sure it has enough sauce (it might look a bit watery, but it will be thickened in a mo).  Simmer until chicken is done (pull a bit out and make sure it is cooked all the way through), season, add a handful of frozen peas and simmer for another couple of minutes.  Stir in slaked cornflour to thicken sauce & big handful of cashew nuts.  Stir through until thickened and all is hot.  Serve on rice.  I would have liked more dishes to present more of a feast, and a variety of flavours - but it is only Tuesday tea, after work - do people really find time to make 4+ dishes from scratch?  Victim was pleased it wasn't as horrid as last night (please see last night's post... the cheek!), and finished off seconds - USING CHOPSTICKS!  (have 3 portions for dinners, but am not sure that it will freeze very well... ).

Update:  it froze very well - had it for lunch today - the cashew nuts were chewier, but I quite liked the texture, and they were still sweet.

Prawny fried rice

If you have left over boiled rice this is an ideal use - but it's worth making fresh too.  Chop loads of veg - today - spring onion, red pepper, carrot, kholrabi, radish, celery, mushroom.. and fry in peanut (or vegetable) oil at top whack, add crushed garlic, grated ginger and finely chopped chili.  Splash in soy sauce. Keep stirring until cooked, but some bite left.   Add cooked rice, and frozen peas.  Keep stirring for a couple of minutes.  Stir in prawns (if frozen, they need to be thawed first).  Taste - adjust seasoning.  Whisk 3 eggs together - stir rice - and flatten about  a 3 inch circle in the middle section - pour eggs in a shallow layer, into the shallow layer of rice - leave,... leave a bit more, when it starts to set underneath like an omelette - turn into the rice mixture very gently.  Turn gently until egg is cooked and all rice mixture is hot -stir in more soy sauce and rice wine to taste.  You might want to add - soy sauce, chili, oyster sauce, coriander ....  Victim said "yum, yum, bear" ... which is praise indeed around here.

Chinese chicken pancakes

Marinate chicken breasts in soy sauce, rice wine, chinese five spice, star anise, garlic and szechuan peppercorns for a few hours.  Poach in marinade topped up with water for about 15 minutes.  Fry off, add some of the strained poaching water to reduce.  Remove chicken and shred.  Steam pancakes.  Shred chinese cabbage, spring onions, cucumber and radish.  Serve chicken with spicy reduced marinade over, hoisin sauce for pancakes.  Get stuck in.  Grins and licked fingers from victim.

Prawn fried rice

Cooked rice.  Stir fried onion, mushroom, red pepper and celery in peanut oil with garlic, ginger and chili.  Added cooked rice and defrosted prawns.  Stirred some more.  Chucked in handful of frozen peas.  Stirred some more.  Poured in 2 beaten eggs, in a layer so that it set.  Did not stir - let the egg set.  Added soy sauce and rice wine.  After a couple of minutes stirred it all round so that everything mixes in - but not too vigourously, so that some of the bits of egg were recognisable.  Serve, scoff.  Victim approved.

Chicken and vegetable noodle soup

OK Victim nearly had a soup refusal today - and then admitted having soup for lunch too (smoked haddock chowder).  So, I had to persuade with one of current favourites... well-ish... it could have been more chinese, but it was declared "yum" when every last drop was gone.  So, sautee onion, ginger and garlic in peanut oil,  add chopped chicken breast - then toss in chopped carrot, red pepper, green beans, mushrooms, radish and chili.  Add about 2 pints of chicken stock and liberal splashings of soy sauce and rice wine.  When veg is almost done add egg noodles, simmer for a minute add handful of frozen peas, sprinkle of chili flakes and good squeeze of lime, simmer then add handful of chopped kale.  Tasty, hot and sour, clean tasting and nutritious.  Victim declared yum. 

Peanut, vegetable and rice noodle soup... does this have an exotic name?

Get me for health giving soup !... but what to call it?  Peanuts are the crunchy garnish, and used sparingly ... but the single ingredient which makes it a bit more interesting.  Broth with some noodles and vegetables...?  So, it's a chinese(ish) rice noodle soup with peanuts and chili.  You need a good chicken (or vegetable) stock for this because most of the flavour is in the very "thin" liquor.  Right, so here we go.  I made chicken stock from roast chicken carcass, but chucked in star anise, szechaun pepper corns, sprinkle of Chinese five spice, cumin seeds and a pinch of fennel seeds - after a couple of minutes chuck in tbsp rice wine/ sherry, season til proper tasty but not over powering...this is now "broth", keep it hot.  Actually, it's probably worth mentioning that in this case the roast chicken was roasted with shed loads of garlic and lemon, and the stock made with additional celery, carrot, onion (and some more garlic).  Heat stock/broth back up to boiling point.  Meanwhile - chop and prep solid bits of soup - in this case spring onion, red pepper, carrot, celery (chop finely to avoid aniseedy overload) and mushrooms... and a red chili.  Then, cook noodles as per packet instructions and chuck in veg to soften at appropriate point... ie water boils - noodles say 5 minutes - chuck in noodles, stir, bring back to boil add veg (keep some chili and spring onion or other yummy veg (beansprouts, mange tout.... for garnish), bring back to boil for 3 minutes... drain.  When ready to serve pile noodles and veg in bowls (top with stips of chicken for extra yummy meatiness, and if you have some) ladel over hot broth.  Sprinkle on garnish - chili rings, spring onion, coriander, basil, chopped roasted peanuts, gold leaf... you choose  :).  I liked it, and had seconds, victim agreed the flavours are OK - but declares preference for egg noodles.  I get the point, as the thinner rice noodles are a bit slimey - but, from diet balance/ allergy/ variety etc... rice noodles are worth understanding and using where they are nutritiuous and tasty/ a carrier for tastes.

Anyway... clean, hot, balanced... but not victim's favourite.

Chicken and noodles in black beans

From scratch!   Bash black beans, garlic, chili and ginger to smithereens, add a little peanut oil to make a paste.  In a wok, or large frying pan, stir fry spring onion, black bean paste, chicken breast pieces, red pepper, mushroom and green beans.  Boil noodles for 4 minutes, drain.  Stir fry/ simmer chicken mixture in a splash water, for about 10 minutes, add soy sauce and rice wine, thicken sauce with slaked cornflour.  Stir in noodles, sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve... feed to admiring victim.  Who was mostly complimentary except apparently there were too many mushrooms.

Steak and noodle stir fry

Boil noodles according to packet instructions.  Chop steak into bite sized pieces.  Chop veg and grate garlic and ginger.  Stir fry spring onions in peanut oil, then add steak to hot wok - stir fry for a couple or three minutes - then add veg - in this case carrot, red pepper and mushroom, add garlic, ginger, chili and tomato puree.  Stir about a bit then add soy sauce and rice wine, and maybe a spinkle of sugar.     After a few stirs add a mug of water and put a lid on to cook them through for about 5 mins.  Slake a spoon of cornflour with water and stir in until sauce is slightly thickened.  Add drained noodles, chopped chinese cabbage and big handfuls of spinach. Toss until everything is distributed and spinach is wilted.  Add small handful sesame seeds and stir in.  Next time I think I'll use sweet chili sauce in place of chili flakes, to add a bit of sweetness as well as the heat, and probably balck bean paste for depth of flavour.  Still not bad for less than 30 minutes from fridge to plate.

Black bean and ginger noodles with chicken

Speechless today I'm afraid.  Made some dinner.

Chinese(ish) chicken casserole

It started off as a stir-fry - but when it came to it I just didn't fancy stir fry and brown rice.  Far too virtuous!  So, stayed virtuous, but with more sauce.  Sauteed spring onion, garlic, ginger and chili in peanut oil.  Added bite sized chicken pieces, chinese five spice and a good splash of soy sauce.  Added assorted chopped vegetables - red pepper, courgette, mushroom, celery, soya beans, sliced sugar snap peas.  Fry until soft(er).  Add 2 tbsp tomato puree, some rice wine and black pepper.  Add a cup or so of water and simmer for 15 mins.  Add some greens - we had curly kale, so chucked that in - could have been cabbage or spinach, but we had kale so in it went (chopped quite finely to avoid victim grumps) - and another handful of chopped spring onion for freshness.  Also, steamed some brown rice.  After 30 mins the casserole was still quite sweet from the five spice, so added more black pepper and soy sauce.  Yum - victim had seconds - noted addition of greens but admitted that they weren't so bad.... result!  When I do similar again I will add bean paste (black or yellow) at the start for depth.

Mongolian beef

Mongolian beef with rice.  Grated thumb size piece of ginger & 2 large cloves of garlic - cooked with about half a cup soy sauce and the same amount of water.  Added splach of rice wine and heated, stirred in spoonful of chili paste and handful of dark brown sugar - simmered for 10 mins.  Steak cut into bite sized pieces and tossed in cornflour.  Veg - carrots, red pepper and mushrooms - steamed.  Fried off beef, added veg and sauce and spring onions - simmered for another couple of minutes. Sprinke with sesame seeds. Nice and a change, but would be better as a small dish with a number of others as the sauce is strong and could benefit from releif from spicy stickiness.  Victim likes Chinese, so slurped it up, but thought it would be better as part of a suite of dishes.  And, it is Great British Beef week, so it was fitting, http://www.nfuonline.com/News/Celebrate-Great-British-Beef-Week/.  3 eggs today - Sophie, Rosemary and Clarissa.