Kung Hei Fat Choi! Once again it is time for the Chinese New Year and this year is the Year of The Rooster!
I wanted to show how easy it is to make some really good Chinese food at home. You don't need loads of special equipment (although a wok style frying pan does help) or really specialist ingredients.
We often have a stir fry during the week. By using a lot of ingredients but just a small amount of each you will have a huge feast to feed the family.
The secret is in the prep. I like to get everything chopped and sliced in advance so that when the time comes to stir fry it all together nothing overcooks because I am taking too long to prepare the next ingredient.
I use onion, celery, mushrooms, red peppers, ginger and garlic as standard and then like to add mange tout (the thin little peas that you cook the whole thing), sugar snap peas, baby sweetcorn and a leafy green vegetable like Chinese Bok Choi (available in most supermarkets) or a baby spinach. I also like to add some 'straight to wok' noodles again there is a selection in most supermarkets.
Over the years I have gathered a collection of Chinese style platters, plates and bowls however these are not essential so don't let not having them put you off a good stir fry!
Every good stir fry has some sort of rice as an accompaniment. For speed I usually use the microwave basmati or long grain rice and whilst it is in the microwave I will mix up 3-4 eggs and have some frozen peas and chopped spring onion ready.
Add some vegetable oil to the hot pan, add the rice and mix around to avoid it sticking
When it is hot add the beaten egg and continue to mix to avoid sticking. Add the frozen peas until warmed through.
Serve on a platter drizzled with a thin drizzle of sesame oil and top with the chopped spring onions and you are good to go!
For the main dishes I will stir fry the onion, peppers, celery, garlic and ginger then add sliced chicken breast however you could add thinly sliced strips of beef or prawns.
When the chicken (meat/fish) has cooked I add the other vegetable and the straight to wok noodles.
You can buy really good and authentic oyster sauce or black bean sauces which go into the wok and mix through until all of the ingredients have been coated and the sauce has warmed through. Serve immediately with the Egg Fried Rice.
Alternatively, after a recent trip to Chinatown in London's SoHo area I went into one of the Chinese supermarkets and bought a bag of little bok choi
which I stir fried with onion and sliced garlic and served with a drizzle of Oyster Sauce. Quick and easy and really delicious.
For oils you can use any vegetable or rapeseed oil to stir fry and a sesame oil for drizzling over the top to bring out the flavour. Sesame oil is too strong to use as a stir fry oil on it own but you can add some to the rapeseed oil.
I like to serve my stir-fries and egg fried rice on the table and let everyone help themselves.
Do you ever cook a Chinese inspired meal at home. Please leave a comment below to say which is your favourite food to cook.
Perhaps you prefer to eat out and get someone else to cook it for you so you can relax and enjoy a lovely meal. Which type of restaurant is your favourite?
Here are a couple of other Chinese New Year posts written by blogger friends - hope you enjoy them.
All opinions and photos are my own. No photos may be reproduced in any form without my written permission.
