FIVE SPICE POWDER

Five spice is a Chinese spice blend used sparingly in the cuisine of china. All though i can not claim this recipe as my own, as i do not know the origin, i do feel that it is a shame not to share this with others. Use with caution and as recipe dictates.

THE BLEND;

1 tbsp star anise
1 tbsp sichuan pepper
1 tbsp fennel seeds
1/2 tbsp cinnamon
1/2 tbsp cloves

Grind all of the spices in a pestle and mortar,clean coffee/spice grinder or use the blender attachment on the food processor. Once ground to a fine powder the blend can be stored in an air tight container for 2-3 months after which freshness will be lost leading to inferior five spice, like wise it is essential to use spices that are in date.

CHICKEN THIGH WITH FRIED RICE AND LIME

Succulent chicken thighs marinaded with lime,soy and ginger then stir fryed with rice. A nod towards the orient but simple and achievable in the home kitchen! Serves 3-4

INGREDIENTS;

2 chicken thighs
juice of 1 lime
2" piece of fresh ginger
1 medium green chilli
400g long grain rice
75g peas
3 garlic cloves
1 carrot
1 bunch of spring onions/scallions
2 tbsp of light soy
1 tbsp sesame oil
3 tbsp of veg oil
optional egg x 2

MARINADE;

Bone and dice two chicken thighs into 1cm pieces, place into a bowl with the juice of one lime, 1 tbsp of light soy sauce, half of the ginger and one medium green chilli. Cover and leave to marinade for a minimum of 1 hour.

RICE;

Bring 2 lts of salted water to the boil, add the rice and cook for approx 10 minutes. Reserve.

THE DISH;


PREP;
Finely dice the carrot,garlic and remaining ginger then slice the spring onion diagonally.


TO COOK;
Heat a wok with 1 tbsp of oil. Stir fry the chicken and marinade for 2 minutes then set aside . Wipe the wok clean and return to the heat - add the remaining 2 tbsp of oil, add the garlic,carrot,ginger and chopped spring onion, cook for one minute, then add the peas. Stir fry for a further two minutes then add the rice and coat with the oil in the wok. Cook for a further 2 minutes then add the reserved chicken and marinade, season with salt and pepper to taste, cook for a further minute before adding 1 tbsp of soy and 1 tbsp of sesame oil. Toss or stir to combine and you are ready to serve.

If using the eggs, give a quick whisk, then add at the same time as the rice.

PANCAKE FU YOUNG

A vegetarian version of a Fu Young dish. This recipe is using a pancake as a base rather than the traditional egg omelette. The beauty of this dish is that you can use any vegetables you have to hand. The Fu young is really a folded omelette with an assortment of Chinese ingredients.

THE RECIPE;

4 pancakes

2 cloves of garlic(finely chopped)

1 chilli- seeds removed and sliced

1" piece of fresh ginger(finely chopped)

8-10 chestnut mushrooms(sliced)

4 spring onions(sliced on the diagonal)

1 medium onion(roughly chopped)

1 red pepper- sliced and seeds removed

4-6 mangetout

4-6 baby corn

A handful of fresh beansprouts

1 tbsp plus 1 teaspoon of light soy sauce

Juice of half a lime

1 tsp sesame oil

sweet chilli sauce to taste

sea salt and black pepper to taste

OPTIONAL INGREDIENTS;

1 tsp of 5 spice

1 tsp of sugar

METHOD;

Stir fry the garlic ,onion,ginger and chilli for 1 minute, add the mangetout and corn and cook for a further minute, then add the bell pepper and mushrooms cook for a further 2-3 minutes then add the soy sauce and lime. Continue to stir fry then check for seasoning, adjust as necessary. Finally add the beansprouts and spring onion and cook for a further minute, then add a tsp of sesame oil before serving.

TO SERVE;

Place a 1/4 of the stir fry on each pancake and roll into a cigar shape, cut in half and plate with a garnish of sweet chilli sauce and a drizzle of the pan juices.

BEEF CHOW MEIN

Fried noodles(chow mein) can be served with most forms of protein, a favourite of mine is beef.

In this recipe i am using rump as the beef is seared in a wok first, then cut across and tossed with the noodles when ready to serve. My version of beef chow mein is rather dry, but by increasing the soy,oyster and rice wine too 2 tbsp each you will achieve a moister chow mein, if that is your preference.

RECIPE;

serves 2

150g egg noodles

175g rump steak(APPROX)

2 tbps groundnut oil or vegetable oil

1 tbsp light soy

1 tbsp oyster sauce

1 tbsp of rice wine(shaoshing)

1 large clove garlic

1 pak choi(sliced on the diagonal)

6 chestnut mushrooms

pinch of sugar

beansprouts(1 handful)

sesame oil

salt(to taste)

pepper(to taste)

METHOD;

Bring a pan of salted water to the boil, meanwhile add a tbsp of oil to a wok or saute pan and cook the beef for 2 minutes a side, then set aside. Reserve the cooking juices in the wok. Add the noodles to the boiling water and cook according to the manufacturers instructions. Now reheat the wok and add the other tbsp of oil and stirfry the garlic then add the mushrooms,pak choi and the bean sprouts, cook for 2 minutes. Then add the oyster and soy sauce, stirfry and add the rice wine and a pinch of sugar. Drain the noodles and add to the wok, toss to combine then add the sliced beef,toss again then adjust the seasoning if required and turn out onto a plate with a drizzle of sesame oil to taste.

NOODLES - PRAWN WITH CHILLI AND GINGER

A simple meal for one that can be increased in quantity. Egg noodles cooked with chilli and ginger with a garnish of fresh coriander and spring onion. A lovely combination that is simplicity in itself.

RECIPE;

6 prawn/shrimp(cooked)

2 tbsp groundnut oil or veg oil

1 chilli( deseed, if required)

5 g root ginger

1 clove of garlic

3 spring onions

125g egg noodles

1 tbsp light soy sauce

1 tbsp rice wine(shaohsing)

1 tbsp fresh coriander

Pepper (to taste)

Salt (to taste)

METHOD;

First cook the noodles according to manufacturers instructions. While noodles are boiling, finely chop 5g ginger, 1 chilli, 1 clove of garlic. Reserve the white part of one of spring onions for garnish and cut the rest of the spring onions on the diagonal(green leafy part as well). Heat a wok or saute pan on a high heat add the oil, once hot add the garlic, ginger and chilli cook for one minute add the spring onion and prawns cook for further minute then add the noodles. Toss all of the ingredients to combine now add 1 tbsp of light soy and 1 tbsp of rice wine. Cook for a further 2 minutes while keeping the ingredients moving! Add a turn of black pepper and check for salt. Turn onto a plate and garnish with 1 tbsp of fresh coriander and shredded spring onion.

Note; When checking for salt bear in mind that soy sauce is salty! You might not need as much as you think.

PLYMOUTH AND THE CHINESE BUFFET

Now let me tell you a bit about my home town, being situated at the start of a peninsula and being the last city of any size, although small, by most standards, we are the last big population of the south of England. Due to our geographic location we always seem to be the last place that branded businesses set up shop. With this in mind we also seem to be the last or at least a few years behind other cities in culinary concepts.

If i remember rightly it took a long time for the fast food chains to set up shop, first one then lots throughout the city. We only got Starbucks 2 years ago, now we have two maybe three along with the other coffee brands. Now we come to the point of the post- The Chinese buffet.

Back in 2005 we had a small Chinese buffet in a dank basement in the student area of the city, although the food was certainly not of any note, it was a new concept in Chinese dining at the time, a chance for people to taste the different dishes on offer with out breaking the wallet. This place was eventually superseded by another small buffet in Cornwall street which appeared for a time to have the monopoly on buffet dining, until 2008 when two super size buffets opened within the city - Water dragon and Buffet city.
Water dragon easily has the edge of the two but is certainly not serving much in the way of great food.
What is the point of the Chinese buffet i ask? Is it so that you can try lots of dishes of a different cuisine or a chance to be a glutton of mammoth proportions.
Seeing how the Chinese food that we eat in this country, or should i say the food that is cooked for the westerner, bears little resemblance to the food of china or the depth of skill that Chinese cooks reach. Then why are these places full, is it so that people feel they are receiving a bargain or is that we have gone the way of most of the western world and need to eat as much food as possible in one sitting. Quantity over quality appears to be the order of the day.
Plymouth has always had it's share of Chinese restaurants, some not so good, and others serving slightly better, but this not London or any of the other size able cities,but a small city with a reasonable Chinese population. It would be nice to see a Chinese open one day that went a little more authentic than dishes that all taste the same with liberal use of MSG. If the buffet restaurants are making a claim what hope is there for that special little Chinese restaurant to open where you have to actually pay a reasonable amount for good quality well cooked food with a little imagination behind the stove and plate.
For those that have tasted high end Chinese it is in a completely different league to what is served as the normal British Chinese restaurant fare. Maybe it's me or maybe I'm wrong, but the chance to go out in this city and eat real Chinese food would be as welcome as a big win on the lottery. Chances are neither will happen!

Note;
This is in no way intended to offend or upset anyone, it is just an honest account of how i see things at the moment! If and when things change you can bet i will be the first comment!

FRIED RICE WITH EGG

A simple standby fried rice with egg that will satisfy your soul, at any meal time!
This recipe will serve 4 people, or alternatively leftovers are wonderful eaten cold!

Note;
Traditionally rice is fried after being cooked and left for a day or maybe a little longer. This dish calls for rice cooked in the present and makes a wonderful supper dish or standby!



400g American long grain rice

2 large organic eggs

100g peas

1 bunch spring onions/scallions- approx 8

2 cloves garlic

1 tbsp sesame oil + more if desired

1 tbsp light soy sauce + more if desired

3 tbsp sunflower oil

Sea salt and fresh ground pepper(preferably white) to taste



Bring 2 litres of lightly salted water to the boil.

Whilst waiting for water to boil;


Lightly whisk 2 eggs with a dash of soy sauce, heat a saute pan with 1 tablespoon of the oil, over a medium heat, cook the eggs as per a plain omelette, once eggs are set fold each side into the middle and slide onto a plate, reserve.

Trim the spring onions reserving the green ends(make sure green ends are cleaned and free of dirt and grit). Finely slice the whites of the onion on the diagonal, and cut the green ends into slightly larger pieces, now finely chop the garlic.


Add rice too boiling water and cook for approx 10 minutes or until cooked but still giving a little.

It is important to keep an eye on the rice whilst cooking. Loosen the rice from time to time, and check to see if rice is cooked.


Once cooked strain the rice into a colander and run under the cold tap for 1 minute to remove excess starch and stop the cooking process. Set aside.


Heat 2 tbsp of oil in a wok or high sided saute pan, once hot add the garlic and stir fry for 1 minute or until a slight change in colour, add peas and cook for a further 2 minutes then add spring onions and cook for 1 minute before adding cooked rice. Do not dump all of the rice into the wok in one go, add a little at a time until all the rice is coated with oil. Add 1 tbsp 0f sesame oil, toss then add 1 tbsp of soy, again toss. Once happy that all rice is thoroughly coated, taste and adjust with either more soy or sesame oil or both.


Add cooked egg and toss, add a turn or two of pepper and salt if required-Serve.