Tag: chinese food

Stir Fried Chicken and Cashew Nuts

Skinless an boneless chicken thigh meat, marinated in a delicious sauce then stir fried with mixed vegetables and cashew nuts.

A really quick and easy recipe which rivals your local Chinese take-away. I use thigh meat as it works far better in stir fry dishes than breast meat.  The wonderful flavours in this dish come from the marinade and are locked in by cooking quickly over a very high heat. This is so easy that really anyone should be able to make this dish.

Serve with your choice of boiled rice, fried rice or egg noodles.

 

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Serves two

Cooking time – less than 10 minutes

Ingredients

6-8 boneless and skinless chicken thighs – cut in half

25g cashew nuts – soak in water for 30 minutes before cooking

2 tbsp. wok oil

150g sliced water chestnuts

1 carrot – peel, thinly slice into discs

1 stick celery – dice

1 red pepper – dice

1 medium size white onion –  slice or cut into small chunks

For the marinade:

3 dessert spoons soy sauce

3 dessert spoons vinegar

3 dessert spoons honey

3 dessert spoons oyster sauce

1 dessert spoon sesame oil

1/2 tsp five spice

Thumb sized piece of peeled root ginger – cut into fine matchsticks

1 red chilli – deseed and finely slice

5 cloves garlic – peel, crush, finely chop

Method: Mix all the marinade ingredients in a bowl until combined, add the chicken, cover and marinade at room temperature for 45-60 minutes. You can marinade for longer in a fridge, just remember to take it out 30 minutes before cooking to bring back to room temperature for even cooking.

Cooking instructions

Heat 2tbsp of wok oil in a wok or large frying pan until smoking hot. Use tongs to remove the chicken from the marinade and add to the hot pan, take care as it will spit as the chicken meets the oil. Stir fry the chicken on a high heat for 3-4 minutes until the chicken browns and starts to caramelise.

Change your stirring spoon for hygiene then add the cashew nuts (discard the soaking water), carrots, water chestnuts, celery, onion and red pepper. Stir fry for  2 minutes on your cookers highest heat setting to cook the vegetables but retain some crunch.

Pour in the marinade and stir through the dish, then use the stirring spoon t push the chicken and vegetables to the sides of the pan so the marinade heats through. Let the marinade bubble away and reduce slightly for 1 minute.

Give the dish a good stir, remove from the heat and serve immediately, enjoy!

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Ferret Chef2 Comments

Stir fried Scallops with Roe sauce

Stir fried scallops and vegetables with a delicious scallop roe sauce.

A recipe of my own design. Stir fried scallops with green beans, onion red pepper and spring onion. Served with a delicious sauce made from scallop roe, chilli, garlic, ginger, honey, oyster sauce, dark soy, Shaoxing and vinegar.

Serve with boiled rice, fried rice or noodles.

Serves two

Preparation 15 minutes, cooking time less than 10 minutes

Ingredients and method

For scallop roe sauce:

Roe from King scallops – from 4-6 scallops

1 large red chilli – remove stalk and seeds

4 cloves garlic – peel

Thumb of ginger – peel, cut into matchsticks (for smoother sauce)

2 dessert spoons honey

2 dessert spoons dark soy sauce

2 dessert spoons oyster sauce

1 dessert spoon Shaoxing rice wine

1 dessert spoon vinegar

Method: Use a mini chopper or food processor to blitz into a smooth sauce. Retain ready to add to the wok.

 

For the main dish:

4-6 King scallops – slice in half 

1 small carrot – peel, cut into 3-4cm batons

1/2 a red bell pepper – dice

1 medium size white onion – peel and slice

3 spring onions – slice white on diagonal, keep green tails for garnish (slice very thinly)

10-12 green beans – trim ends and cut into 3-4cm batons

3-4 tbsp. vegetable oil – 2 tbsp. for frying scallops, 1-2 tbsp.  for the dish

1 red chilli – slice for garnish

Method: Start by frying the scallops. Heat 2 tbsp. vegetable oil in the wok over a high heat, once oil is smoking hot add the scallops. Cook for 60-90 seconds on each side, until some caramelisation appears, then remove from wok and drain on absorbent paper. Wipe the wok clean ready to cook the dish.

Heat 1-2 tbsp. of oil in the wok over a high heat until smoking hot. Add the peppers, onion, green beans and spring onion and stir fry for 2 minutes. Next add the scallop roe sauce and stir through the vegetables, keep on a high heat and stir fry the sauce for a further 3 minutes, until the sauce starts to reduce and thicken slightly. Add the cooked scallops and finish them in the sauce for a further minute.

Serve immediately with rice or noodles, using the thinly sliced spring onion greens and sliced chilli for a garnish. Enjoy!

 

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King Prawn Noodles

Wok fried egg noodle, King Prawns, vegetables and a delicious light sesame honey sauce.

A very quick and easy recipe for some very delicious noodles – Wok fried in minutes with a light sweet and savoury sauce.

This dish can easily be adapted, swapping the prawns for diced cooked chicken or using Tofu for vegetarians. You can also experiment with different vegetables – green beans, mushrooms and Chinese green vegetables all work well too.

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Serves two

Preparation 10 minutes, cooking less than 10 minutes.

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Method and ingredients

For the sauce:

2 dessert spoons sesame seeds

2 dessert spoons light soy sauce

1 dessert spoon dark soy sauce

1 dessert spoon Shaoxing rice wine

1 dessert spoon white vinegar (or rice vinegar)

1 dessert spoon honey

1 dessert spoon oyster sauce

2 tsps. sesame oil

Method: Mix well in a bowl and set aside ready to add to wok.

 

For the main dish:

2 nests medium thick egg noodles

500ml chicken stock – to cook noodles in

2 tbsp. wok oil – to fry dish

1 tbsp. vegetable oil – to cook prawns

10-12 large raw King prawns – shells removed

6 cloves garlic – peel, crush and chop

Thumb root ginger – peel, cut into matchsticks

2 large red chillies – removes stalks and seeds, finely chop

1 medium/large white onion – peel, pull layers apart and dice into large chunks

1/2 red bell pepper – dice (same size as onion)

1 stick celery – diced

1 carrot – cut into thin batons

Method: The first step is to cook the prawns and the noodles so they are ready to add to the wok.

To cook the prawns heat 1 tbsp. vegetable oil in the wok until smoking hot and add the prawns. Stir fry for 60-90 seconds then remove prawns and place on absorbent paper – you want to just cook the prawns and no more, remove them the second they turn from grey to white/pink as they will finish cooking in final dish.

Cook the noodles as per packet instructions but use chicken stock instead of water, this will add extra flavour to the noodles. Once cooked drain and set aside ready to add to the wok.

Wipe the wok clean then add 2 tbsp. of wok oil and heat until smoking hot – keep hob on max setting. Add the garlic, ginger and chilli and stir fry for 30-60 seconds. Add the onion, pepper, celery and carrot and stir fry for a further 90 seconds, you want these to retain crunch for texture.

Add the cooked noodles, followed by the prawns, stir well and fry until warmed through (should take 30-60 seconds). Add the sauce to the dish and stir well until combined, stir fry for 45-60 seconds until dish is steaming hot. Remove from the heat and serve straight away in a nice noodle bowl, chopsticks entirely optional 🙂

 

 

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Prawn, Sweet Peppers and Cashew Nuts

My version of the classic chinese take away dish using sweet bell peppers and honey to give the dish a delicious sweet taste. Green beans, onion and celery also give the dish some crunch. Like many Chinese dishes this is very quick and easy to cook.

Serve with your choice of rice or noodles.

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Prawn, sweet peppers and cashew nuts

For two people

Preparation time 10 minutes

Cooking time 5-6 minutes

 

What’s needed

12-14 Raw King prawns – peel, devein and butterfly

4 cloves garlic – finely chopped

Thumb sized piece of ginger – peel, cut into fine match sticks

1 tablespoon corn flour – dissolved in 50ml warm water

Dash of shaoxing  rice wine

1 tablespoon of honey

1 teaspoon of five spice

2 tablespoons of soy sauce

handful of trimmed fine green beans – cut into batons

handful of cashew nuts

1 stick of celery – cut into 2cm cubes

1 medium brown onion – cut into 2-3cm cubes

1 yellow bell pepper – cut into 2-3cm cubes

1 orange bell pepper – cut into 2-3cm cubes

Black pepper to season

1 tablespoon wok oil

Serve with choice of rice or noodles.

Get cooking

  1. Start by adding oil to your wok and heat till smoking hot. keep your hob on full heat for the whole cooking process, remove wok from heat when needed rather than reduce heat.

  2. Fry the chopped garlic and ginger for 1 minute. Remove wok from heat if required to prevent burning.

  3. Add the vegetables to the wok and stir fry for 1 minute. Then add the King prawns and continue to stir fry for 1-2 minutes

  4. Now add the corn flour (dissolved in water),  2 tablespoons soy sauce, a tablespoon of honey, dash of shaoxing rice wine and teaspoon five spice. Stir fry for 1 minute, until the sauce starts to bubble.

  5. Taste test – add more honey if more sweetness is required or more soy sauce if you require more seasoning. Crack a little black pepper through the dish.

  6. Serve with rice/noodles and enjoy.

    Prawn and cashew nut with sweet peppers

     

 

Ferret Chef3 Comments

Tomato egg flower soup

This sweet and delicious Chinese soup is a current favourite of mine. It is extremely easy to make and tastes way better than most Chinese take ways.

 

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For four portions

 

preparation time 15 minutes

cooking time 20-30 mintues

Ingredients

1 litre of chicken stock –  stock cubes are fine

4-6 round tomatoes cut into thin wedges – remove skins first

2 eggs lightly beaten

4-5 heaped Tablespoons brown sugar

2 teaspoons corn flour – mixed in 50ml warm water

2-3 spring onions –  thinly sliced

Pepper to season

Salt – to taste, half to 1 teaspoon

Get cooking

  1. Start by bringing a litre of chicken stock to a simmer in a large saucepan.
  2. Next add the tomatoes and simmer for 15-20minutes on a medium heat until the tomatoes are broken down.
  3. Add 4 tablespoons of brown sugar and stir until dissolved. The soup should taste sweet not savoury so depending upon taste and how sweet your tomatoes were you may need to add more sugar. You want the soup to be quite sweet but not to the point it is sickly.
  4. Next add half a teaspoon of salt and taste, again depending on taste you may need to add a little more salt.
  5. Next add in the corn four dissolved in water and simmer until this slightly thickens the soup.
  6. Then add the beaten egg – there is an easy technique to this. Very slowly drizzle the egg into the soup with one hand, with the other use a fork to constantly stir the soup. This will give the classic egg drop effect you are looking for, if you were to add the egg in too quickly or not stir with a fork you will end up with unwanted large chunks of cooked egg.
  7. Bring back to a simmer then remove from heat.
  8. Add in the finely chopped spring onions as a final step and serve immediately.

 

 

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