Tandori Chicken

2 chicken breasts, cubed
1 heaped tbsp tandori spice powder
2 tbsp plain yoghurt
Squeeze of lemon juice

Combine all the ingredients and marinade for at least two hours in the fridge. Bake at 200 degrees centigrade for 25 minutes until cooked through. Serve with rice.

Meatloaf with Chinese Flavours

800g lean minced beef
3 large spring onions, finely chopped
1cm piece ginger, minced
1 tbsp rice wine
1 tbsp oyster sauce
3 tbsp soya sauce
1 egg

Mix everything together, shape into a loaf and bake for one hour at 200 degrees centigrade.

Meatloaf is not very Chinese but I fancied making one with Chinese seasoning. Some finely chopped waterchestnuts would add a nice texture to this. If the mix was shaped into small burgers and fried in a little oil they would make delicious Chinese hamburgers!

Chicken Balti

2 chicken breasts, cubed
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 onion, finely chopped
2 heaped tbsp balti paste
200g chopped tomatoes
Water

Preheat the oil in a saucepan, add the onions and cook for about 10 minutes at a low heat until the onions are softened. Add the balti paste and cook for another two minutes. Increase the heat and add the chicken breasts, stirring until the chicken is sealed. Add the chopped tomatoes and enough water to form a sauce. Cook for another 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the chicken is cooked. Serve with rice and naan bread.

Basic Stir Fry Beef

1 steak
1 clove garlic, peeled and minced
1 slice ginger, minced
1-3 spring onions, cut to roughly 5cm lengths
1 tsp rice wine
2 tsp light soya sauce
1 tsp flour (cornstarch or plain)
1 1/2 tbsp vegetable oil
1/2 tbsp oyster sauce

Slice the steak thinly, place in a bowl and mix with rice wine, soya sauce and flour. Stir to coat, leave to marinade for at least 10 minutes (it can be left overnight, covered, in the fridge). Heat half a tablespoon of oil in a frying pan, add the spring onions and stir for about 2 minutes until they are beginning to soften but still bright green. Transfer the onions to a plate. Heat the remaining oil and add the ginger and garlic, add the steak and allow it to seal for about a minute, stir, allow to seal on the other side for a minute. Stir for another minute or two until beginning to brown. Add the onions, stir, add the oyster sauce, stir. Drizzle on a little water (approximately four tablespoons). Stir rapidly so the water releases the tasty bits that have stuck to the bottom of the pan. Serve over rice for one serving or as part of a larger Chinese meal.



A little flour is used to seal the meat and keep it moist. The flour will also start to stick to the bottom of the pan, when water is added it softens and thickens to a tasty sauce. The trick is not to over-crowd the pan so vegetables are half cooked before everything is mixed together (harder vegetables such as beans, carrots etc. can be blanched and refreshed with cold water).

This is the basic recipe. It can be modified by:

• Increasing, decreasing or omitting the ginger
• Using different kinds of vegetables, just ensure they are cut to a uniform size
• Using different kinds of meats: chicken, pork, lamb, prawns (they don't need to be cut) would work
• Using different kinds of sauces: hoisin, chilli, black bean etc. would work, add in place of or in addition to the oyster sauce

Refried Beans

1/2 onion
1 1/2 cups cooked kidney beans
1 tbsp vegetable oil
Salt and pepper

Heat the oil in a saucepan, add the onions and stir for two minutes. Add the beans and mash with a potato masher, mix in enough water to achieve a soft consistency, season with salt and pepper. Bring the the boil, cook for a 3 minutes, stirring to prevent sticking.

I decided to make this because I had some kidney beans leftover from making brownies. I think refried beans are traditionally made with pinto beans and slighty spicier but this was still tasty.

Spinach, Corn and Tomatoes

1/2 onion, diced
1/2 bag frozen spinach, defrosted
1 small can corn, drained
1 handful cherry tomatoes, halved
1 generous knob butter
1 tbsp vegetable oil
Salt and pepper

Melt the butter in a pan, add the vegetable oil. Add the onions and fry for 2 minutes. Squeeze excess water out of the spinach, add to the pan along with the corn. Stir for 3-4 minutes, season with salt and pepper. Remove from the heat and mix in the cherry tomatoes.

Choco-Bean Brownies, Pt. 2

1/2 cup cocoa
1/3 cup vegetable oil
420g kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup white sugar
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
3 eggs
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla extract
100g chocolate, chopped
1/2 cup toasted walnuts, broken into pieces

Put the cocoa, oil, beans, sugars, eggs, baking powder and vanilla into a blender and blend until smooth. Stir in the chocolate and toasted walnuts. Pour into a lined dish and bake for 40 minutes at 180 degrees centigrade. Remove from the oven, allow to cool for a few minutes and then transfer to a cooling rack. Cut into squares once it's completely cool.

Left: Milk chocolate chunks with some of the walnut pieces sprinkled on top.
Right: 86% chocolate chunks with all the walnut pieces mixed in.



It was yummy:

Pork Goulash

Pork goulash and mash:



It's made using the same recipe as my other goulashes but using cubed pork shoulder and baked for 2 hours at 150 degrees centigrade.

Chickpea Nibbles

2 cans chickpeas, drained
4 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp garam masala
Salt and Pepper

Mix everything together, flatten out the chickpeas to a single layer. Bake at 150 degrees centigrade for 80 minutes or until crispy. Store in an airtight container.

Green Tea Shortbread

2 cups plain flour, plus more for rolling
2 tbsp matcha
1/2 tsp salt
225g unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar

Beat the butter, add the sugar and continue beating. Sieve in the flour, salt and matcha. Mix to form a dough. Cover with cling film and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Remove from the fridge, using as little flour as possible, roll out to approximately 5mm. Cut with cutters and place onto a baking sheet lined with silicone. Bake at 170 degrees centigrade for 15-20 minutes. Remove from the oven before they start to brown.

The shortbread before baking:


Straight out of the oven:


Yum!

Meatloaf

Choco-Bean Brownies

1/2 cup cocoa
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 can kidney beans, drained
1 1/4 cup sugar
3 eggs
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 180 degrees centigrade. Put all the ingredients into a food processor, blend until smooth. Pour into a lined or greased dish. Bake for 35-40 minutes. Allow to cool and cut into 16 brownies.



It was actually much tastier than I expected! It didn't taste of beans until right at the end.

Hoisin Ribs

Soya Bean Salad

1 bag frozen soya beans
2 spring onion, chopped
1 tsp vegetable oil
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp soya sauce
4 tbsp sweet chilli sauce
2 tomatoes, deseeded and chopped

Bring a pan of water to the boil, add the soya beans and cook for about 3 minutes then drain. Heat a pan, add the oil and the chopped spring onions, cook until the onions are soft and beginning to brown. Add the lemon juice, soya sauce and sweet chilli sauce and allow to sizzle for a few seconds, add the soya beans. Stir to ensure the beans are coated with the sauce. Add the chopped tomatoes.

Beef, Carrot and Rice Noodle Soup

Cook some rice noodles in water until just tender. Drain and refresh with cold water. Put some Beef and Carrots (from the recipe below) into a pan, add beef stock and some chilli paste, bring to the boil. Add the rice noodles, bring to the boil. Serve immediately.

Beef Simmered with Carrots

1kg stewing or braising steak, cut into pieces
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 slices ginger, minced
2 large spring onions, chopped
1 1/2 tbsp dark brown sugar
40ml soya sauce
1/2 tsp five spice
Dash of rice wine
Vegetable oil
Salt

In a large pan, heat some oil and add the garlic, ginger and spring onions, fry until brown. Add the beef, sugar, rice wine and soya sauce. Add enough water to cover the beef. Bring to the boil and scoop off any foam. Reduce the heat and simmer for 2-3 hours until the beef is tender. Season with extra salt if needed.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

115g butter, softened
100g granulated sugar
20g dark brown sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 large egg
160g plain flour
1/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda
100g dark chocolate, cut into chunks

Blend the butter and sugar in a bowl. Add the egg and vanilla, mixing well. Add the flour and bicarbonate of soda, beat well into a soft dough. Stir in the chocolate chunks. Put tablespoons of the dough onto a greased baking sheet and bake at 180 degrees centigrade for 8-10 minutes until brown. Leave on the baking sheet for 2 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.

Spinach Knedlicky

Apparently the Czech people will want to lynch me for this! I made Brambrove knedlicky to serve with my roast chicken. I reserved a small piece and kneaded some defrosted frozen spinach into it. I squeezed as much water out of the spinach as I could but it was still quite wet so I added a little more flour to produce a dough. I steamed the spinach knedlicky in the same way as a normal knedlicky.



I thought it was very tasty. The softness of the spinach goes well with the Brambrove knedlicky. If I was making this for guests I would probably only use half the spinach so there's more knedlicky binding it together but for myself I thought this was perfectly fine.

Succulent Roast Chicken

In the past I rarely roasted whole chickens because they tend to dry out too much. I've found a good way to keep the flesh nice and tender.

Preheat oven to 200 degrees centigrade. Season chicken as you wish (I put an onion in the cavity, slipped a few bay leaves under the skin and generously seasoned with salt and pepper). Place the chicken into a heatproof dish, bake for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and cover the chicken (either with a lid or foil will do) and bake for another 40 minutes. Once it's done remove from the oven and let the chicken rest for 10 minutes before carving.



The chicken cooks evenly and turns out really tender and juicy.

Ginger Nuts

125g self raising flour
1 tsp bicarbonate soda
1 heaping tsp ground ginger
45g sugar
60g butter
60g golden syrup

Sieve the flour, bicarbonate soda and ground ginger into a bowl, add the sugar. Add the butter and rub in until it resembles breadcrumbs. Add the golden syrup and knead until it forms a soft dough. Divide the dough into 16 and roll into spheres, flatten slightly and place on a baking tray. Bake for 10-15 minutes at 190 degress centigrade. Allow to cool and harden before removing from the tray.




The biscuits were lovely but not quite ginger-y enough. I think next time I will increase the ginger to 1 1/2 teaspoons.

Spinach Mash

Defrost some frozen spinach and squeeze out the water. Heat a pan and melt a little butter. Saute the spinach until hot, add some mashed potato, stir until evenly mixed. Serve with lamb chops and gravy.

Spicy Pork Stew

1 pork shoulder, chopped
1 onion, peeled and chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 sticks celery, diced
2 carrots, diced
1 can chopped tomatoes
2 tsp chilli flakes
Oil
Salt and pepper


Put the pork shoulder into a ovenproof dish, bake for 30 minutes at 220 degrees centigrade. Meanwhile, heat some oil in a large saucepan and fry the onions and garlic until softened. Add the celery and carrot and continue cooking until beginning to brown. Add the chilli flakes and chopped tomatoes. Bring to the boil and season with salt and pepper. Remove the pan from the oven and pour the tomato sauce on top. Cover and bake for 2 hours at 160 degrees centrigrade.

Beef Ribs Braised in Red WIne

3 kg beef ribs, chopped
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 onion, chopped
2 large carrots, peeled and diced
3 sticks celery, diced
1 glass red wine
1 can chopped tomatoes
3 bay leaves
2 tsp rosemary
Oil
Salt and pepper


Put the ribs in a large ovenproof dish and bake for 30 minutes at 220 degrees centigrade.



In the meantime, heat oil in a large pan and gently cook onions for 5 minutes or until soft. Add the garlic, carrots and celery, continue cooking until lightly brown. Add the bay leaves and the wine, allow to the wine to bubble. Season with salt and pepper. Add the chopped tomatoes and bring to the boil.



Remove the ribs from the oven, sprinkle on the rosemary and pour the tomato sauce on top. Add enough boiling water to cover the meat. Put a lid on the dish and bake for 3 hours at 150 degrees centigrade.

Cha Sui Chicken Wings

Miracle Noodle Bolognaise

Bolognaise served with Miracle Noodles:

Houskove Knedlicky

2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp salt
3 cups plain flour, sifted
3 pinches baking powder
5 slices slightly stale white bread, crusts removed, cubed

Mix the eggs, milk and salt together. Add the baking powder and flour gradually, stirring. Knead to form a smooth dough. Knead in the cubes of bread (if it's too dry, add a few tablespoons of water, gradually). Shape into two loaves, place on a small piece of baking parchment and steam for 50 minutes.

The finished knedlicky:




I served it with beef goulash (substitute stewing beef into the chicken goulash recipe and bake for at least 90 minutes at 180 degrees centigrade):



A close up of the knedlicky:



This is the first time I've tried to make houskove knedlicky from scratch. It turned out well for a first attempt. I think the knedlicky should be a little softer. In the original recipe the knedlicky were boiled but I prefer steaming - perhaps they absorb more water if they're boiled? I will try using 3/4 cups of milk next time but keep with the steaming as I find it much easier.

Cha Sui Ribs

Boil the ribs in salted water for 40 minutes. While they're still hot, remove from the pan and marinade with soya sauce, cha sui sauce and rice wine. Refrigerate overnight. Bake in a single layer for 30 minutes at 180 degrees centrigrade until brown but not burnt.

Quorn Goulash

For the veggies, cook the onion, garlic, paprika, caraway seed as per previous recipe, use veggie stock instead. Add two packets of quorn along with the red pepper, then continue as below.

Chicken Goulash

8 chicken thighs, with skin
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves, minced
4 tbsp paprika
1/2 tsp caraway seed
1 red pepper, sliced
Chicken stock
Cubes of dried bread
Oil
Salt and pepper, to taste

Heat the oil in a pan and brown the chicken. Remove the chicken from the pan to a dish, heat some more oil and add the onion and garlic, stirring. Add the paprika and caraway, stir to prevent burning. Add the chicken stock, bring to the boil, stirring, add the red pepper. Pour over the chicken and season with salt and pepper. Cover the dish with foil, bake at 180 degrees centigrade for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven, add the bread cubes, cover again and and bake for a further 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and mash the bread cubes to thicken the sauce. Serve with knedlicky, rice or mash.

Slow Roast Pork Shoulder

2 1/2 kg pork shoulder, skin scored
2 red onions, halved
2 carrots, halved
2 sticks celery
1 head of garlic, cloves separated but unpeeled
Salt and Pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 220 degrees centigrade, place pork on a tray, season with salt and bake for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven, add about 2 cm of water into the tray, cover with two layers of baking foil and return to the oven. Reduce the heat to 150 degrees centigrade and bake for 4 1/2 hours. Remove from the oven, carefully remove the foil, place the vegetables underneath and return to the oven. Bake for a further hour at 170 degrees centigrade. Allow the pork to rest for 30 minutes before serving.

Ginger and Spice Chicken Udon

Slice some chicken, marinade in rice wine, soya sauce and a little cornstarch. Mince some garlic and ginger. Slice some cucumber.

In a saucepan, bring your stock to the simmer and add some chilli garlic sauce and sliced ginger.

Heat oil in a frying pan, add cucumber and stir until undercooked, remove to a plate. Heat some more oil, add the minced garlic and ginger then the sliced chicken, allow the chicken to seal, stir. Once it's undercooked add stock and udon, bring to the boil and simmer for a few minutes. Add the cucumber and simmer for a minute until the chicken is cooked but tender.