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Posts Tagged ‘Stir-fry’

Chicken & Soba Noodle Stir-Fry

Posted in Asian, Chicken, Food, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on 17 May 2022| Leave a Comment »

In our house almost anything will be eaten if it’s mixed with noodles (though not mushrooms sadly … but we’re working on it). Any leftovers of this will make a popular lunchbox too.

Chicken & soba noodle stiry-fry – serves 4

  • 800ml chicken stock
  • 400g chicken breasts
  • 200g dried soba noodles
  • 2 tbsp rapeseed oil
  • a thumb-sized piece of ginger, grated
  • half a red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
  • 1 red onion, thinly sliced
  • 1 carrot, peeled and finely shredded
  • 150g green beans, trimmed
  • 150g chestnut mushrooms, sliced
  • 1½ tbsp light soy sauce
  • 1 tsp toasted sesame oil
  • a small handful of coriander leaves, roughly chopped

Bring the chicken stock to the boil in a pot, then add the chicken breasts and cook for 20 minutes. Make sure they are completely submerged in the stock. Remove the chicken breasts, shred with two forks and set aside.

Add the noodles to the chicken stock and cook according to the pack instructions. Remove the noodles from the stock with tongs and set aside, reserve the stock.

Heat the oil in a wok, then stir-fry the ginger, chilli and garlic for 30 seconds. Add the onion, carrot, green beans and mushrooms and stir-fry for 4-5 minutes.

Add the shredded chicken, the noodles, 50ml of the reserved stock, the soy sauce and the sesame oil. Toss to combine and heat through. You can add a little more stock for moisture if you need.

Divide between warm bowls and scatter the coriander over the top.

(Original recipe by Nadine Brown in Olive Magazine, May 2021.)

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Beef with Mangetout & Cashews

Posted in Asian, Beef, Food, tagged , , , , , , , , on 28 February 2022| Leave a Comment »

Chinese New Year was on a Tuesday this year and we had to squeeze our Chinese food in between homework, swimming lessons etc. If that is you, then this recipe is for you. As ever you need to prep everything before you start cooking. We served with rice but noodles would be good too.

Beef with mangetout & cashews – serves 4

  • 50g unsalted cashews
  • 1 tsp cornflour
  • 1 ½ tbsp low-salt soy sauce
  • 4 tbsp oyster sauce
  • 1 tbsp rice vinegar
  • 1 tbsp honey
  • 1 tbsp vegetable oil
  • 280g rump steak, thinly sliced
  • a thumb-sized piece of ginger, cut into matchsticks
  • 2 cloves of garlic, crushed
  • 200g mangetout, halved

Toast the cashews in a dry wok or frying pan, until browned, then set aside.

Mix the cornflour and soy sauce together to make a paste, then add the oyster sauce, rice vinegar and honey.

Heat your wok until very hot. Add the oil and swirl around to cover the base and sides. Use tongs to place the steak pieces into the wok in a single layer. Cook, without turning for 30 seconds – 1 minute, or until a dark crust starts to form. Add the ginger and garlic and toss everything together, then add the mangetout and the sauce. Cook for another 30 seconds – 1 minute or until the beef is just cooked through and the sauce is glossy. Sprinkle over the cashews and serve.

(Original recipe from BBC Good Food)

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Duck Breasts with Plum Sauce and Stir-fry Veg

Posted in Duck, Food, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on 10 October 2021| Leave a Comment »

Plums are in season and we’ve been trying to find ways to cook them. This plum sauce is really rich with warm spices and it would be good with many things. We stashed the leftovers in the freezer for another night. Save the leftover duck fat in the fridge for roast potatoes, you won’t regret it.

Wine Suggestion: Whenever we’re in the southern part of France we can’t escape duck. Tonight’s wine match followed suit with a Grenache, Syrah, Carignan blend, the Roc des Anges Sega de Cor. Smooth and silky plums, sloes and raspberry flavours grounded in a seductive stony character.

Duck breasts with plum sauce and stir-fry veg – serves 4

  • 4 duck breasts, with skin on
  • 25ml sunflower oil
  • 4 carrots, finely sliced on an angle
  • 400g of cavolo nero or half a green cabbage, remove the core and shred the leaves
  • a bunch of scallions, sliced on an angle
  • 2 cloves of garlic, grated
  • 1 tsp finely grated ginger
  • 2-4 tbsp soy sauce

FOR THE PLUM SAUCE:

  • 400g plums, remove the stones and quarter
  • 2 shallots, sliced
  • 50g brown sugar
  • 1 tsp grated ginger
  • ¼ tsp Chinese five spice
  • 25ml red wine vinegar
  • 200ml red wine
  • 2 tbsp soy sauce

Make the plum sauce first. Put all of the ingredients into a small saucepan and place over a medium heat. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes or until the plums are very soft. Whizz using a stick blender or food processor until smooth. Taste and season with more soy sauce if needed.

Use a sharp knife to score the duck skin and fat in a diamond pattern, but don’t cut the meat. Season and place in a frying pan, skin-side down. Put the pan over a medium heat and cook for about 10 minutes or until the skin is golden and the fat rendered. Leave to rest for 5 minutes, then cut into slices. Pour off the duck fat and keep for potatoes another day.

While the duck rests, stir-fry the veg. Put a wok over a high heat until smoking, then pour in the oil and add the carrots. Stir fry for 2 minutes, then add the cabbage, scallions, garlic, ginger and 2 tbsp of soy sauce. Cook for another couple of minutes or until the veg is softening but still with some crunch. Tip into a serving dish and add more soy sauce if needed. Serve with the duck and plum sauce.

(Original recipe from Rachel’s Everyday Kitchen by Rachel Allen, Harper Collins Publishers, 2013.)

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Stir-fry Duck with Coconut Milk, Thai Basil & Noodles

Posted in Asian, Duck, Food, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , on 14 September 2021| Leave a Comment »

Thai basil can be hard to come by for us but they sometimes have it in our local farm shop which inspired us to cook this delicious duck dish by Neil Perry.

Wine Suggestion: A dry, but fruit forward Pinot Gris was our first thought, but tried the Domaine Bott-Geyl’s Pinot d’Aslace Points Cardinaux, which was to hand, and were delighted with it’s playful nature and depth to match the dish. A blend of all the Pinot grapes, including Pinot Noir this has a vibrant freshness and focus as well as roundness and layers of texture; altogether a good food wine.

Stir-fry duck with coconut milk, Thai basil & noodles – serves 4

  • 600g boneless duck breasts, with skin on
  • 2 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
  • 1 stem of lemongrass, pale part only, thinly sliced
  • 1 long red chilli, thinly sliced on the diagonal
  • 80ml vegetable oil
  • 1 large white onion, halved and thickly sliced
  • 320ml coconut milk
  • 2 tbsp fish sauce
  • 1 tbsp oyster sauce
  • 1 tbsp tamarind paste
  • 1 tbsp caster sugar
  • 20g crispy fried shallots (shop bought)
  • a large handful of Thai basil leaves
  • 200g dried rice vermicelli or other rice noodles, cooked and drained (to serve)

Put the duck onto a board, skin side down, and cut into 5mm slices. Put the duck slices into a bowl and add the garlic, lemongrass and chilli. Mix well with your hands.

Heat 60ml of vegetable oil in a wok until smoking. Stir-fry the duck in batches for 1-2 minutes or until golden and cooked through. Transfer to a plate and set aside.

Add more oil if needed, then add the onion and stir-fry for 1-2 minutes or until light golden. Return the duck to the wok, then pour in the coconut milk and bring to thte boil. Turn down the heat and simmer for 2 minutes. Add the fish sauce, oyster sauce, tamarind paste, sugar and sea salt. Simmer for another few minutes, then check the seasoning.

Garnish with fried shallots and Thai basil and serve over noodles.

(Original recipe from Neil Perry’s Good Cooking, Murdoch Books, 2016.)

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Asparagus with Ginger & Garlic

Posted in Asian, Side dish, Vegetarian, tagged , , , , , , , , on 4 June 2021| Leave a Comment »

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We definitely have a bit of a thing for Asian-style greens and rice. And while it may seem like you need another dish on the side, you really don’t, it’s just a bowl of healthy, delicious things. Having said that, this would also be great on the side of some white fish.

Wine Suggestion: Anthony Girard’s La Clef du Recit Menetou Salon is a star here. A Sauvignon Blanc grown on Kimmergian clay-limestone, this has a depth, texture and body that belies the grape a little and a wine that we think gets better with a few years in the bottle … if you can wait that long. Don’t worry if you can’t though, it’s delicious from release too.

Asparagus with ginger & garlic – serves 2

  • 12-16 spears of asparagus, snap off the woody ends and slice on the diagonal into 4cm pieces
  • 2-3cm piece of ginger, peeled and sliced into very fine matchsticks
  • 1 tbsp sunflower oil
  • 1 clove of garlic, peeled and finely sliced
  • 1 red chilli, deseeded and finely sliced
  • 80ml water
  • 1 ½ tbsp oyster sauce
  • cooked rice, to serve

Put your wok over a medium-low heat and add the sunflower oil. When warm, add the ginger and cook briefly until fragrant.

Add the asparagus, garlic and chilli and toss, then pour in the water and turn the heat to high. Cook for a minute, then add the oyster sauce. Toss well to coat the asparagus and cook for about 30 seconds or until tender but with a bite.

Remove from the heat and season with some black pepper, you shouldn’t need salt.

Serve hot over rice.

(Original recipe from My Favourite Ingredients by Skye Gyngell, Quadrille Publishing, 2008.)

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Black Pepper Beef Stir-fry

Posted in Asian, Beef, Food, tagged , , , , , , , , on 25 May 2021| Leave a Comment »

This is a tasty weeknight option, and healthy too. We used just green peppers but a green and a red would look nice. Serve over brown rice.

Wine Suggestion: This dish needs a savoury wine balanced by youthful, juicy fruit like Martin Korrell’s Weisser Burgunder (Pinot Blanc). Joyfully frivolous and deep at the same time.

Black pepper beef stir-fry – serves 2 (generously)

  • 300g rump steak, trimmed of fat and sliced thinly, about 5mm
  • vegetable oil
  • 1 red onion, finely sliced
  • 2 cloves of garlic, finely sliced
  • 5cm piece of ginger, julienned
  • 1 red pepper, thinly sliced
  • 1 green pepper, thinly sliced
  • 1 tsp cornflour
  • 2 tbsp oyster sauce
  • 1 tbsp soy sauce
  • 2 tbsp shaoxing wine
  • ½ tsp ground black pepper

FOR THE MARINADE:

  • 1 tsp cornflour
  • 1 tsp soy sauce
  • 1 tsp sesame oil
  • ½ tsp coarsely ground black pepper

TO SERVE:

  • steamed brown basmati
  • 2 scallions, green part only, finely sliced

Combine all of the marinade ingredients together in a bowl and season with a good pinch of sea salt. Add the steak and toss to coat in the marinade, then leave aside for a few minutes.

Put your wok over a high heat until smoking hot. Add a splash of vegetable oil followed by half the beef. Stir-fry quickly for 1-2 minute, then remove to a plate. Add another splash of oil if you need, then repeat with the rest of the meat.

Put the wok back over a high heat. Add the onion and cook for a couple of minutes, then add the garlic and ginger and stir-fry for 1 minute. Add the peppers and continue to cook for a few more minutes.

Mix the cornflour to a paste with 2 tbsp water.

Add the oyster and soy sauces, shaoxing wine and black pepper to the wok and stir. Return the beef to the wok with any pan juices, then stir in the cornflour paste and stir-fry for another minute or until the sauce is thickened and the beef warmed through.

Divide the rice between warm bowls, top with the stir-fry and scatter with the scallions.

(Original recipe from Lose Weight & Get Fit by Tom Kerridge, Bloomsbury, 2019.)

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Thai Chicken Stir-fry with Cashews & Chilli Sauce

Posted in Asian, Chicken, Food, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on 25 February 2021| Leave a Comment »

This is so simple and definitely better than a take away. While we’re not massive fans of baby corn it provides a crunch and texture that would be missing from the dish if not there. Made for Jono’s birthday on a Monday after a weekend of extensive birthday cooking; great flavours and quick for a work day celebration.

Wine Suggestion: We’d opened a Dermot Sugrue Cuvée Dr Brendan O’Regan, a profound, complex and rewarding English Sparkling for Jono’s birthday and had a leftover glass with this dish. We discovered Dermot’s wines a few years ago and have loved them ever since and it was a super match, standing up to the Asian flavours exceptionally well. We know this particlar wine may be hard to find but look for a good crisp sparkling that has been left on lees for a while or a good Champagne – sparkling should be so much more than a celebratory glass and they make great food matches.

Thai Chicken Stir-fry with Cashews & Chilli Sauce – serves 4

  • 100g baby corn
  • 1 tbsp vegetable oil
  • 500g boneless skinless chicken thighs, cut into small bite-size pieces
  • 4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
  • 2 red chillies, thickly sliced
  • 2 red peppers, cut into thick pieces
  • 1 onion, halved and sliced
  • 50g roasted cashews
  • Thai basil or regular basil and steamed rice, to serve

FOR THE CHILLI SAUCE:

  • 2 tbsp Thai chilli paste/jam (nam prik)
  • 1 tbsp fish sauce
  • 2 tbsp light soy sauce
  • juice of 1 lime
  • 4 tbsp oyster sauce

Make the chilli sauce by mixing all of the ingredients together in a small bowl, then set aside.

Blanch the baby corn in a pot of boiling water for 2 minutes, then drain and refresh under cold water and drain again.

Heat a large wok until hot and add ½ tbsp vegetable oil. Brown the chicken in batches. If you leave them for 2-3 minutes on one side initially they will get a nice colour, then stir-fry for another minute or until golden on all sides. Transfer to a bowl.

Heat another ½ tbsp oil of oil in the wok over a medium heat, then add the garlic and chilli and stir-fry for a minute. Add the peppers, onions, cashews and baby corn and heat for 1 minute. Pour in the chilli sauce and add the chicken. Stir-fry until heated through and the sauce has thickened.

Serve with steamed rice and basil sprinkled over.

(Original recipe from My Asian Kitchen by Jennifer Joyce, Murdoch Books, 2018.)

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Green Spiced Rice

Posted in Food, Gluten-free, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on 9 February 2021| Leave a Comment »

We love recipes like this; perfect for using up bits and pieces and super tasty. 

Wine Suggestion: There’s a vibrancy to this food and we matched it with Ventenac’s “Dissidents” le Paria, a fresh-fruited, minerally grenache. Lovely light spices, a stony core of texture and bright plums and cherry flavours.

Green Spiced Rice – serves 2-3

  • 150g frozen broad beans
  • 400ml vegetable stock
  • 2 tbsp Thai green curry paste
  • 200g basmati rice
  • a slice of butter
  • a few sliced mushrooms
  • a large carrot, coarsely grated
  • 3 eggs, lightly beaten
  • a handful of coriander, roughly chopped
  • a few handfuls of spinach

Cook the broad beans in boiling water for 2 minutes, then drain and pop them out of the skins. 

Wilt the spinach is a saucepan, then leave to cool. Squeeze out any excess liquid if necessary and chop. 

Pour the vegetable stock into a saucepan, then add the curry paste and the rice. Bring to the boil, then cover and simmer for 10 minutes or until almost tender and most of the liquid absorbed. 

Melt the butter in a large frying pan, then fry the mushrooms until lightly coloured. Add the rice and carrot to the pan with the broad beans. Stir until the rice is moist but no longer wet, then add the eggs and season. Keep cooking, stirring now and then to break up the egg, until it is lightly cooked. Fold through the chopped spinach and coriander, then serve. 

(Original recipe from Eat by Nigel Slater, Fourth Estate, 2013.)

 

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Korean Winter Veg Stir-fry

Posted in Food, Vegetarian, tagged , , , , , , , , , on 16 January 2021| Leave a Comment »

We’re not buying any meat or fish this January, it’s not veganuary, but just an effort to be a little frugal at the start of the year. We also want to make sure we use up all the odds and ends in the freezer. We’ve been making lots of Korean dishes but they tend to focus on meat or fish, so we decided to give some winter veg the Gochujang treatment. Serve with some sticky rice.

Wine Suggestion: The sommelier’s secret weapon: Quinta Soalheiro’s Allo. Light and fresh, but with fruit, texture and depth to stand up to any dish. The earthy, iodine kale and spicy flavours just work with this wine.

Korean Winter Veg Stir-fry – serves 2

  • 2 tbsp vegetable oil
  • 1 onion, halved and sliced
  • a small clove of garlic, chopped
  • 1 tbsp finely chopped ginger
  • a small bunch of long-stemmed broccoli, cut into bite-sized pieces
  • 1 carrot, cut into batons
  • 100g greens, we used purple kale but any kale or cabbage will be good, remove any thick stalks and shred
  • 4 scallions, 2 chopped and 2 cut into 4 cm lengths
  • ½ tbsp sesame seeds

FOR THE GOCHUJANG SAUCE:

  • 1 tbsp gochujang (Korean chilli paste)
  • 2 tbsp rice vinegar
  • 2 tbsp light soy sauce
  • 2 tbsp mirin or rice wine
  • 1 tbsp honey

To make the gochujang sauce, mix all of the ingredients together in a small bowl and whisk until smooth.

Heat a large wok over a high heat, then add 1 tbsp of the vegetable oil. Add the onion, garlic and ginger and stir-fry until softened, a couple of minutes.

Add another tbsp of oil to the wok, then add the broccoli, carrot and longer pieces of scallion, continue to stir-fry until slightly softened.

Add the sauce and the kale and stir-fry for another 2 minutes. The sauce should be sticky on the vegetables and everything piping hot.

Serve the veg over sticky rice and sprinkled with chopped scallions and sesame seeds.

(Original recipe from My Asian Kitchen by Jennifer Joyce, Murdoch Books, 2018.)

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Nasi Goreng with Poached Eggs

Posted in Food, Gluten-free, Vegetarian, tagged , , , , , , , , on 16 December 2020| Leave a Comment »

We are forever cooking too much rice and this is our favourite way to use it. It’s also an excellent recipe for using up odds and ends in the fridge.

Nasi goreng with poached eggs – serves 2

  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 red chillies, shredded
  • 4 shallots or a small onion, finely sliced
  • 1 clove of garlic, finely chopped
  • 1 large carrot, peeled and julienned
  • 150g chestnut mushrooms, sliced
  • 250g pack of ready-cooked rice or leftover cooked rice
  • 2 tsp brown sugar
  • 1 tbsp soy sauce
  • 2 tbsp Asian chilli sauce, plus extra to serve – we use sriracha
  • a handful of coriander leaves, chopped
  • 2 eggs, poached, to serve

Heat the olive oil in a large non-stick pan or wok.

Cook the chilli, shallots, garlic, carrot and mushrooms for 3-4 minutes.

Add the rice and cook for another 2 minutes, breaking it up with a wooden spoon. Mix the brown sugar with and the chilli sauce until dissolved, then stir through the rice. Stir in the coriander.

Divide the rice between two dishes then top with a poached egg and another drizzle of chilli sauce.

(Original recipe by Janine Ratcliffe in Olive Magazine, December 2012.)

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Thai Pork with Basil & Chillies

Posted in Asian, Food, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on 17 November 2020| 3 Comments »

We tried this to use up some Thai basil leftover from the weekend. Leftover ingredients are so often our inspiration for trying new things and sometimes the results are great, as was the case with this. Prep all the ingredients before you start cooking and it will be ready to eat in a flash.

Wine Suggestion: The Kilikanoon Mort’s Block Riesling from the Clare Valley in Australia was both suitably dry but full of fruit and freshly aromatic to sit alongside the strong and aromatic flavours here. We suggest something similar when you make this.

Thai pork with basil & chillies – serves 3

  • 2 tbsp vegetable oil
  • 700g pork fillet, cut into strips (you can use chicken breasts instead)
  • 1 Thai green chilli, finely chopped (deseed if you wish)
  • 2 cloves of garlic, shredded
  • 1 tbsp sesame oil
  • 1 medium red pepper, diced into 8mm pieces
  • 3 scallions, cut into 5cm pieces
  • 1 tsp freshly roasted and ground coriander seeds
  • 1 tbsp palm sugar or soft brown sugar
  • 1 tsp cornflour
  • 2 tbsp fish sauce (nam pla)
  • 1 tbsp light soy sauce
  • 7g Thai basil, shredded (you can use regular basil if you can’t find the Thai version)
  • rice or noodles, to serve
  • a handful of chopped coriander, to serve

Heat 1 tbsp of the vegetable oil in a wok or large frying pan over a high heat, and toss in the pork. Add the chilli and garlic and stir-fry until coloured, about 5 minutes.

Sprinkle with some sesame oil, then remove and set aside. Put another tbsp of vegetable oil into the wok, then add the red pepper, scallions, ground coriander and sugar. Stir-fry for 2 minutes, then return the meat to the wok and mix through.

Mix the cornflour with the fish sauce and soy sauce until smooth, pour this into the pan and stir continuously for a minutes or so, until the juice thickens slightly. Sprinkle with the remaining sesame oil, add the shredded basil, season to taste, then remove from the heat.

Serve straight away over sticky rice or cooked noodles. Sprinkle the chopped coriander over the top.

(Original recipe from Grow Cook Nourish by Darina Allen, Kyle Books, 2017.)

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Spicy Korean Squid

Posted in Asian, Food, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on 29 October 2020| Leave a Comment »

You can serve this with other dishes or just on its own with some sticky rice. It is perfect for a Friday night feast and much quicker than Deliveroo. Squid is so cheap and although almost everyone loves calamari they don’t seem to cook with squid much. I find it’s quite a satisfying thing to prepare too, but that might just be me.

Wine Suggestion: We opened a really nice bottle of Pearce Road Semillon 2016 from Kilikanoon in the Clare Valley. Delicious wine which we quickly abandoned for a beer as this dish is spicy! Do try the Semillon though maybe with some cheese or something a bit less fiery.

Stir-fried Spicy Squid – serves 2-3

  • 500g squid, cleaned
  • 2 tbsp vegetable oil
  • 1 large carrot, halved lengthways and sliced
  • 1 onions, thinly sliced
  • 1 green chilli (optional), thinly sliced
  • 3 scallions (cut 2 of them into 3cm lengths and finely slice 1 to sprinkle over at the end)
  • 2 tsp roasted sesame seed oil
  • 1 tsp roasted sesame seeds

FOR THE SAUCE:

  • 2 tbsp gochujang chilli paste
  • 1 tbsp gochugaru red pepper powder
  • 1 tbsp mirin
  • 2 tsp soy sauce
  • 1 tbsp honey
  • 4 garlic cloves, crushed
  • 2½ cm piece of ginger, finely grated

Make the sauce first by combining all of the ingredients in a bowl.

Slice the body of the squid open so it lies flat. Score the inside in a criss cross pattern with a sharp knife but make sure you don’t cut through. Cut the squid into 5cm pieces, any shape will do. Cut the tentacles into similar size pieces.

Put the vegetable oil into a wok (or a large frying pan) and put over a high heat. When the oil is hot, add the carrot and onion and stir-fry for 3 minutes, tossing the whole time until starting to soften.

Add the squid, chilli, scallions and sauce, then stir-fry for another 2-3 minutes or until the squid has turned opaque. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the sesame oil. Sprinkle the toasted sesame seeds and sliced scallions over the top to garnish.

Serve with sticky rice.

(Original recipe from Our Korean Kitchen by Jordan Bourke & Rejina Pyo, Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2015.)

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Chinese Meatball Stir-fry

Posted in Beef, Food, Healthy, tagged , , , , , , , on 30 April 2019| Leave a Comment »

Chinese Meatball Stir-fry

This is a diet dish but is packed with flavour and you get a decent bowl full to really fill you up. The recipe is by Tom Kerridge and the ingredient list is long, but it’s easy to put together and other than the fresh veg you probably have most of the ingredients in the cupboard.

Chinese Meatball Stir-fry – serves 4

  • vegetable oil
  • 2 onions, very finely chopped
  • 1 tbsp light soy sauce
  • 750g lean beef mince
  • 1 ½ tsp Chinese five-spice powder
  • 1 ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
  • 1 tsp sesame oil
  • 1 large red onion, cut into thin wedges
  • 200g carrots, thinly sliced on an angle
  • 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
  • 2.5cm piece of ginger, finely grated
  • 1 large red pepper, diced
  • 1 large yellow pepper, diced
  • 300ml fresh beef stock
  • 120g Asian mushrooms or chestnut mushrooms, sliced
  • 1 ½ tbsp hoisin sauce
  • 1 ½ tbsp oyster sauce
  • 1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
  • 1 tbsp cornflour
  • 80g mangetout
  • 4 scallions, thinly sliced on an angle

Heat the vegetable oil in a non-stick frying pan over a medium heat. Add the chopped onions and cook for 5 minutes or until softened. Remove the pan from the heat and add the soy sauce. Leave to cool.

Put the beef mince into a large bowl and add the cooled onions, Chinese five-spice, bicarbonate of soda and plenty of salt and pepper. Mix well with your hands, then divide into 16 equally sized meatballs. Chill in the fridge for 2 hours to firm up.

Preheat the oven to 180C/gas 4.

Put a large non-stick wok/frying pan over a high heat. When hot, add a splash of vegetable oil. Add the meatballs and cook for 5-6 minutes, or until browned on all sides. Transfer to an oven tray and bake for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, return the wok/frying pan to a high heat. Add the sesame oil, red onion and carrots and cook for 2 minutes. Add the garlic and ginger and cook for 2 minutes stirring continually. Add the peppers and cook for 4 minutes, add a dash of the beef stock at any point if things start to stick.

Add the mushrooms, meatballs and half of the beef stock to the pan, then add the hoisin and oyster sauces and the rice wine vinegar. Stir well and bring to a simmer.

Mix the cornflour to a paste with 1 tbsp of the remaining beef stock and pout into the pan, along with the rest of the stock.

Add the mangetout and scallions and stir-fry for 4-5 minutes or until the mangetout are just cooked and the meatballs heated through.

(Original recipe from Lose Weight for Good by Tom Kerridge, Absolute Press, 2017.)

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Duck Stir-Fry with Ginger & Greens

Posted in Duck, Food, Healthy, tagged , , , , , , , , on 19 February 2019| Leave a Comment »

Duck Stir-Fry with Ginger & Greens

It’s not often you find a duck dish that is light and healthy. It pains us too to pull off and discard that duck skin but somedays it just has to be done. Can’t recommend this highly enough for a good food day. We served with some brown basmati.

Duck stir-fry with ginger and greens – serves 4

  • groundnut oil
  • 2 skinless duck breasts, cut into thin strips
  • 1 tbsp finely chopped ginger
  • 1 red chilli, sliced
  • 6 scallions, sliced
  • 500g pak choi, sliced
  • 1 tsp soy sauce
  • 1 tbsp honey
  • 2 tbsp oyster sauce
  • 1 tsp cornflour

Heat a wok until smoking hot, then add 2 tsp of oil. Add the duck and stir-fry for 2 minutes before removing with a slotted spoon. Add another teaspoon of oil and tip in the ginger, chilli, almost all the scallions and the pak choi. Cook until the pak choi is just wilted.

Add the soy, honey and oyster sauce to the wok and put the duck back in – bubble for a minute. Mix the cornflour with 2 tsp cold water and stir until smooth, add to the wok and cook until the sauce thickens and looks glossy. Garnish with the leftover scallions to serve.

(Original recipe by Jemma Morphet in Olive Magazine, February 2011.)

 

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Ginger Pork Stir-fry

Posted in Food, Gluten-free, Pork, tagged , , , , , , , on 15 May 2018| Leave a Comment »

Ginger pork stir-fry

A light and tasty stir-fry to use up bits of veg leftover from the weekend. Feel free to use what you have rather than the suggestions below and prep all the ingredients before you start as this takes minutes to cook. Serve with rice or noodles.

Wine Suggestion: If you can find it, the Zind Humbrecht Muscat Grand Cru Goldberg 2013, was an amazing match. This is a truly astonishing wine that confounds the stereotype of Muscat because of the terroir and winemaker, being fresh, vibrant and dry. Alongside the ginger and soy this danced a fine line of complementary and contrasting flavours.

Ginger Pork Stir-fry – serves 4

  • 25g root ginger, peeled and cut into thin matchsticks
  • 1 tbsp finely grated root ginger
  • 2 tbsp sunflower oil
  • 200g pork fillet, trimmed and sliced into 5mm slices
  • 2 large cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed/grated
  • 150g carrots, peeled and finely sliced
  • 150g purple-sprouting broccoli or small broccoli florets
  • 1 red or yellow pepper, finely sliced
  • 75g kale (stalks removed), shredded
  • 2 tbsp sesame oil
  • 1-2 tbsp soy sauce
  • 3 tbsp roughly chopped coriander (leaves & stalks)

Bring a small saucepan of water to the boil, add the sliced ginger and boil for 1 minute, then drain.

Get a wok or a large frying pan smoking hot, then pour in the oil and stir-fry the boiled ginger for 30-60 seconds, remove with a slotted spoon and drain on kitchen paper.

Add the pork, garlic, grated ginger and carrots. Stir-fry for 2 minutes or until the pork is cooked, then add the broccoli and peppers.

Keep frying for another minute, then add the kale and toss for briefly to wilt.

Finally, add the sesame oil, soy sauce and chopped coriander. Toss together quickly then serve over rice or noodles and garnish with the crispy ginger.

(Original recipe from Rachel’s Everyday Kitchen by Rachel Allen, Harper Collins, 2013.)

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Hot & Sour Aubergine

Posted in Asian, Food, Vegetarian, tagged , , , , , , , on 5 October 2015| 2 Comments »

Hot & Sour Aubergine

This photo is a bit dark in colour but the flavours are vibrant and delicious and we’re now converts to soaking aubergine in brine before stir-frying to give a soft, velvety texture.

Hot & Sour Aubergine – serves 2

  • 1 large or 2 medium aubergines, cut into long batons
  • 100g green beans, halved
  • 2 tbsp vegetable oil
  • 1 large onion, thickly sliced
  • 1 red chilli, deseeded and thinly sliced

FOR THE SAUCE:

  • 2 tbsp light soy sace
  • 2 tbsp dark soy sauce
  • 1 tbsp tomato purée
  • 2 tbsp Chinese black vinegar or balsamic vinegar
  • 1 tbsp golden caster sugar
  • 1 tsp cornflour dissolved in 2 tbsp water
  • cooked rice, to serve

Put the aubergine slices into a bowl of lightly salted water and leave to soak for 30 minutes, then drain and pat dry.

Blanch the green beans in boiling water for a minute, then rinse in cold water and drain.

Combine all of the sauce ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.

Heat the oil in a large frying pan or wok over a medium-high heat, then cook the aubergine until well browned on all sides. When the aubergine is starting to take on a good colour, add the onion and chilli and continue to stir-fry for 4 minutes or until soft.

Add the sauce and green beans, cover with a lid, then turn down the heat and simmer for 2 minutes or until the aubergine is soft. Serve with rice.

(Original recipe from BBC Good Food)

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Stir-fried Beef with Black Bean & Chilli

Posted in Beef, Food, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on 10 June 2014| 1 Comment »

Stir-fried Beef with black bean and chilli

This comes from a new discovery: Every Grain of Rice by Fuschia Dunlop. We’ve been looking for a Chinese cookbook for some time and this comes up trumps. This beef dish tasted authentic and delicious.

Don’t be tempted to substitute the Laoganma black bean sauce with the more common black bean sauce, widely available in supermarkets, which is something completely different. Laoganma black bean sauce is a relish made from fermented black beans and dried chillies in oil. You can find it in any good Asian supermarket (where you will also find the Shaoxing wine and potato flour).

Stir-fried beef with black bean and chilli – serves 2

  • 300g lean beef steak, cut into 1cm thick strips
  • ¼ red pepper
  • ¼ green pepper
  • about 40g coriander
  • 3 tbsp cooking oil
  • 2½ tbsp Laoganma black bean sauce
  • salt
  • 1 tsp sesame oil

For the marinade: 

  • ½ tsp dark soy sauce
  • 1 tsp light soy sauce
  • 1 tsp Shaoxing wine
  • 1½ tsp potato flour

Stir the marinade ingredients with 2 tsp water, add to the meat and set aside.

Cut the peppers into strips similar in size to the beef and coarsely chop the coriander.

Heat the oil in a seasoned wok over a high heat. When the pan is smoking hot, add the beef and stir-fry until the strips begin to separate out. Tip in the peppers and keep stir-frying until the beef is almost cooked.

Add the black bean sauce and stir, then add some salt to taste. When everything is hot and fragrant, stir in the coriander.

Take off the heat and add the sesame oil before serving with some plain white rice.

(Original recipe from Every Grain of Rice by Fuchsia Dunlop, Bloomsbury, 2012.)

 

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Sprout-fry with Sesame & Spring Onions

Posted in Food, Healthy, Side dish, Vegan, Vegetarian, tagged , , , , , , , , on 1 February 2013| 1 Comment »

A stir-fry of Sprouts; Brussels & Bean. A delight and a real treat as a healthy midweek supper.

Sprouts with Sesame & Spring Onions – to serve 2 (or 4 as a side)

  • 1 tbsp sesame oil
  • thumb-size piece ginger, cut into matchsticks
  • 300g Brussels sprouts, halved
  • 250g beansprouts
  • small bunch spring onions, sliced diagonally
  • 1 tbsp clear honey
  • 2 tbsp soy sauce, plus extra to serve
  • 1 tbsp sesame seeds

Heat the oil in a wok. Fry the ginger and Brussels sprouts, tossing, for 5-6 minutes, until slightly browned. Add a few tbsp water while they’re cooking if you need to stop them sticking, though the odd crusty bit will only improve things.

Add the beansprouts, spring onions, honey and soy sauce, then stir-fry for 1 minute. Sprinkle over the sesame seeds and serve with some extra soy sauce.

(Original recipe from BBC Good Food)

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Sticky lemon & chilli chicken noodles

Posted in Asian, Chicken, Food, Healthy, tagged , , , , , , on 27 March 2012| 1 Comment »

Healthy, super-speedy and tasty. Perfect weeknight dinner!

Sticky lemon & chilli chicken noodles – to serve 2

  • 100g thread egg noodles
  • 2 skinless chicken breasts, sliced into strips
  • 1 tsp cornflour
  • oil
  • 4 scallions, shredded
  • 50 mange tout, shredded
  • 1 red pepper, sliced
  • 2 tbsp soy sauce
  • 1 lemon, juiced
  • 1 tbsp honey
  • 2 tbsp chilli sauce

Cook the noodles according to the pack. Put the chicken slices into a plastic bag, add the cornflour and some seasoning and give it a good shake. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a wok and stir-fry the chicken until golden. Set the chicken aside and add the vegetables to the pan but hold back some of the scallions for a garnish. Toss for a couple of minutes .

Return the chicken to the pan and add the lemon, honey, soy sauce and chilli sauce, plus a splash of water and bubble for a few minutes to make a sauce. Toss with the noodles and garnish with the remaining scallions.

Wine Suggestion: Go for something fresh, fruity and aromatic, like a Sauvignon Blanc from Italy or Chile.

(Original recipe from BBC Good Food)

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Healthy Thai Prawn Stir-fry with Ginger and Scallions

Posted in Asian, Food, Healthy, Shellfish, tagged , , , , , , on 27 May 2011| 2 Comments »

This tastes so much better than it looks and it looked really good on the plate when served, but by that stage we were so starved we ate it instead of taking pics! So much healthier than a Thai takeaway and dead-on tasty. The marinade is a really neat trick which we’ll definitely use again.

  • 200g raw, peeled tiger prawns
  • 1 green chilli, chopped
  • 3 garlic cloves, crush 1 and finely slice the other 2
  • a bunch of coriander, separate the leaves from the stalks and save both
  • 1 tbsp caster sugar
  • juice of a lime
  • 3 tbsp fish sauce
  • 2 tbsp groundnut oil
  • 3 cm piece of ginger, finely slice and then shred it
  • 8 scallions, finely sliced
  • a red pepper, thinly sliced
  • 85g water chestnuts, sliced (we couldn’t find these and it was fine without them!)
  • 100g beansprouts
  • 1 tbsp soy sauce
  • pack of egg noodles to serve
  • lime wedges
Whiz the chilli, crushed garlic, coriander stalks (snip them with scissors to make them small) and caster sugar in a small food processor. Add half the lime juice and the fish sauce and then pour over your prawns.
Heat 1 tbsp oil in a wok, add the ginger and scallions and fry for a minute. Add the red pepper and fry for another minute or until it starts to soften. Add the water chestnuts and bean sprouts and toss until the sprouts start wilting. Add the soy sauce and plenty of black pepper and tip the lot into a serving dish.
Heat a bit of oil in the wok and toss your egg noodles until hot. They’ll pick up some of the juicy and crunchy bits from the veggies. Mix them into the serving dish with the vegetables.
Lift the prawns out of their marinade and cook in wok with the remaining oil for a minute or two or until they turn pink. Add the marinade and swirl it around in the wok to heat it. Tip everything over the vegetables and noodles. Add the coriander leaves and remaining lime juice before you serve. Put some lime wedges on the side of the plates.
Wine Suggestion: We had a glass of Chilean Sauvignon Blanc which went really well. The fruit was juicy and counter-acted the chilli instead of fighting against it which can happen. It was fresh and zingy.

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