serve
FOR THE PORK COATING
3 tablespoons roasted whole soya beans or dry-roasted peanuts
a pinch of sea salt (optional) a few pinches of ground
white pepper
1 teaspoon crushed dried chillies
FOR THE SWEET AND SOUR SAUCE
125g/4oz tinned pineapple in natural juice
125ml/4fl oz pineapple juice
3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
1 Put all the ingredients for the pork coating into a grinder and whiz until coarsely ground, or grind in a pestle and mortar. Transfer to a bowl. Put all the ingredients for the sweet and sour sauce into a blender and whiz to a paste.
2 Sprinkle the pork coating onto a board and press the pork into the spice mix, pressing down so that the mix sticks to the meat, and coating well on both sides.
3 Heat a wok or pan over a high heat and add the groundnut oil. Add the pork and cook for 2 minutes until browned, then turn over and cook the other side for 2 minutes, or until fully cooked. Remove the pork from the wok and put to one side in a warm place.
4 Pour the sweet and sour sauce into the wok and cook for 1–2 minutes until the sauce has reduced and thickened naturally. Season further if required with light soy sauce, rice wine or sherry, salt and pepper.
5 Serve the sauce poured over the pork, with salad leaves or rice.
Ching’s tip
The Choi sum and mixed vegetable salad with pineapple dressing would also go well with this dish.
This is a classic takeaway dish and a classic Chinese snack – Chow mein in Mandarin Chinese is pronounced ‘chao meean’ and it means ‘stir-noodle’, or stir-fried noodle.
I like this simple dish with plenty of fresh crunchy vegetables and light soy sauce and toasted sesame oil – but the key to a good chow mein is in the quality of the noodles. I use shi wheat flour noodles – ‘shi’ means ‘thin’ – and whether yellow shi or white, they are easy to cook, just 3 minutes in boiling water. Then all the ingredients go into a wok – couldn’t be easier or healthier!
Chicken chow mein
SERVES 2
150g/5oz dried yellow shi wheat flour noodles
toasted sesame oil
300g/11oz skinless chicken breast fillets, sliced into strips
a dash of dark soy sauce
1 teaspoon five-spice powder
1 tablespoon cornflour
2 tablespoons groundnut oil
1 red pepper, deseeded and finely sliced
150g/5oz bean sprouts
1 large spring onion, sliced lengthways
2 tablespoons light soy sauce
1 teaspoon chilli sauce (optional)
finely ground black pepper (optional)
1 Cook the noodles for 3 minutes in a pan of boiling water until al dente. Drain, then run them under cold running water and drain again. Drizzle with a few splashes of sesame oil and toss through to prevent them from sticking.
2 Season the chicken with a splash of dark soy sauce and coat with the five-spice powder. Coat lightly with the cornflour.
3 Heat a wok over a high heat, add the groundnut oil and heat until smoking, then add the chicken and stir-fry for 2–3 minutes until cooked.
4 Add the red pepper and stir-fry for 1 minute, then add the bean sprouts and spring onion and stir-fry for less than 1 minute. Add the cooked noodles and season with the light soy sauce and 1 teaspoon sesame oil. If you like, stir in the chilli sauce and some black pepper. Stir well and serve immediately.
This dish is so simple to cook and eat. There’s no need for the gloopy bought sauce laden with MSG – this home-made version is full of flavour and takes minutes to cook.
This is definitely one of my favourite suppers. A great accompaniment is cooked jasmine rice, but if I’m not in the mood for a large meal, I eat the dish with plenty of greens – wok-fried chilli pak choy. Or try my tangy Black vinegar oyster mushrooms, which when topped on the beef give it an earthy, tangy edge.
Beef in oyster sauce
SERVES 2
350g/12oz fillet of beef
1 teaspoon light soy sauce
1 tablespoon oyster sauce plus 1 teaspoon
1 pinch of sugar
2 tablespoons groundnut oil
3 garlic cloves, crushed and finely chopped
1 medium chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
200g/7oz baby white-stemmed pak choy, sliced in half
salt and ground black pepper
1 Prepare the fillet of beef by hammering it with a meat cleaver, the side of a Chinese cleaver or a rolling pin. Slice it thinly and place the pieces in a bowl. Season the beef with the soy sauce, 1 tablespoon oyster sauce, the sugar, salt and pepper. Set aside.
2 Heat a wok over a high heat and add 1 tablespoon groundnut oil. Add the garlic and chilli and toss quickly, then add the pak choy and stir-fry for 1 minute. Season with a pinch of salt and 1 teaspoon oyster sauce. Transfer the pak choy to a serving plate.
3 Heat the wok over a high heat and add the remaining groundnut oil. Add the beef slices and stir-fry for 1–2 minutes. To serve, either place the beef slices on the pak choy or toss the beef with the pak choy, then serve immediately.
I love deep-fried crispy chilli beef, but deep-frying is not always healthy. So I have come up with a light but tasty alternative that cooks the beef in a fast and furious way – in the wok!
This is another of my favourite fast, delicious, healthy suppers and I hope it gets your thumbs up. You can reduce the amount of sugar if you like.
Sweet and tangy chilli beef
SERVES 4
1 tablespoon groundnut oil
250g/9oz fillet of beef, cut into 5mm/1/4 inch strips
1 teaspoon Shaohsing rice wine or dry sherry
1 pinch of crushed dried chilli flakes
1 teaspoon light soy sauce