Stir-fried hoisin pork and beans

Recipe adapted from Feast Magazine, October 2014 issue, page 36

Ingredients

375g green beans
¼ cup hoisin sauce
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 spring onions, sliced
1 long red chilli, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
½ teaspoon ginger, finely grated
500g minced pork
chopped chillies, extra to garnish (optional)

Method

1. In a pot of boiling salted water, cook the green beans for about 3 minutes, or until just tender. Using tongs, transfer the green beans to a plate lined with paper towels and cool to room temperature. 
2. Combine hoisin sauce, soy sauce and sesame oil in a jug. Set aside
3. Heat 1 tablespoon vegetable oil in a frying pan over medium heat, add the spring onions, chilli, garlic and ginger, and cook for 1 minute or until softened. 
4. Increase heat to high and add the pork. Cook for 7 minutes or until browned and slightly crisp.
5. Add the hoisin, soy sauce, sesame oil and beans, and cook for a further 2 minutes.
6. Serve with steamed rice.

Peking Style Shredded Pork

Ingredients

350g pork, thinly sliced
1 teaspoon baking soda
green shallots, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Pork Marinade 

1 tablespoon Chinese cooking wine
1½ teaspoons chicken stock powder
1 teaspoon cornflour
pinch of ground white pepper

Sauce 

2 tablespoons spicy bean paste sauce 
3 tablespoons water
2 teaspoons sugar

Method

Marinate the pork with the baking soda for 10 minutes and then rinse clean the pork thoroughly of the baking soda. Pat the pork dry with paper towels and then marinate with the Chinese cooking wine, chicken stock powder, corn flour and ground white pepper. Mix well and let stand for 10-15 minutes.

In a sauté pan, heat up 2 tablespoons of oil on high heat. Add pork and stir fry until half cooked, about 2 minutes. Drain and set aside.

Using the same sauté pan, reduce to medium heat. Add bean paste sauce, water and sugar. Sauté until sauce begins to thicken, about 1 minute. Add back the pork to sauté until fully cooked. Sprinkle over the sliced green onions. Serve with rice.

Wok-fried green beans with chilli pork

Ingredients


500g pork, coarsely minced
4 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp cornflour
2 tsp caster sugar
Salt and pepper
200g green or snake beans
1 red capsicum (approx 200g)
3 tbsp vegetable oil
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 tbsp Chinese rice wine or dry sherry
1 tbsp chilli bean sauce (toban djan*)

Method

Mix the pork with soy sauce, cornflour, sugar, salt and pepper and set aside.

Trim the beans and cut on the diagonal into 5cm lengths. Cut the red capsicum lengthwise into thin strips, discarding core and seeds. Cook the beans and red capsicum in simmering, salted water for 4 minutes. Drain and cool under cold running water, then pat dry.

Heat half the oil with the garlic in a wok. When hot, stir fry the beans and red capsicum for 4 mins until scorched. Remove to a warm platter. Heat the remaining oil and stir-fry the pork over high heat for 4 mins, tossing well. Add the rice wine, chilli bean sauce, the vegetables and a dash of water to the pork, tossing well for 2 mins, and serve with steamed rice.

* From Chinese food stores.

Stir Fried Beef Rice Noodles

If you've ever wondered how to achieve that soft, tender meat that you get from your local Chinese restaurant at home, then wonder no more. The Chinese method of tenderising meat is to marinate thinly sliced meat with baking soda! I've used fillet steak for the following recipe, however you can use a cheaper cut of meat when using this form of marinating since it will tenderise the meat so much, you wouldn't be able to tell the difference! Great tip for home cooks especially when watching the budget :)

Ingredients

600g beef eye fillet, thinly sliced
2 tsp baking soda
4 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 red onion, sliced
1kg flat rice noodles, strands loosened
100g bean sprouts
2 shallots, cut into 2.5cm lengths
Sesame seeds, as garnish

Seasoning

2 teaspoons sugar
½ teaspoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon Chinese rice wine (Shao Hsing wine)
1 tablespoon dark soy sauce

Sauce

3 tablespoon dark soy sauce
3 tablespoon light soy sauce


Method

Marinate the beef with the baking soda for 20 minutes and then rinse the beef thoroughly (make sure that the beef is properly rinsed clean of the baking soda). Pat the beef dry with paper towels and then marinate with the rest of the seasoning ingredients for at least 2 hours.

Heat the wok over high heat and add 2 tbsp oil. Stir fry the beef in several batches for 20 seconds then set aside.

Heat the rest of the oil in the wok then add the onions and stir fry until they are lightly browned.

Toss noodles in and stir gently until heated through. Add combined soy sauces and stir fry until well mixed.

Return beef slices to the noodles, add bean sprouts and shallots then stir fry until heated through and all ingredients are mixed together well. Dish out and sprinkle some sesame seeds on top as a garnish, if desired.

Mock Vegetarian Meat Stir Fry in Bean Sauce

This recipe is keeping in the tradition of strict (Buddhist) vegetarians of not using onion, shallots, garlic or ginger, however if you're not strict with your food practices, feel free to add it into the recipe.

Ingredients

300g mock vegetarian meat pieces
1 small green capsicum, cut into 2.5cm pieces
1 small red capsicum, cut into 2.5cm pieces
1 long red chilli, chopped
1 small eggplant
100g mushroom, sliced
Thai basil a few sprigs
2 tsp lemongrass
4 tbsp of oil
2 tsp sesame oil
100ml of water
1 tsp of corn flour mixed with 2 tbsp of water
vegetable oil

For the stir-fry seasoning sauce:

2 tbsp crushed/ground yellow bean sauce
2 tsp of light soy sauce
1 tsp of dark soy sauce
1 tsp of sugar
1 tsp of Shaoxing wine/Chinese rice wine

Method

1. Mix together all the stir fry seasoning sauce ingredients in a small jug and set aside.
2. Heat up some oil in a wok over medium heat and pan fry eggplant, set aside on paper lined plates.
3. Heat up some more oil in a wok and stir-fry lemon grass and chilli at low heat until fragrant and aromatic.
4. Add in mock meat pieces, capsicum, eggplant, mushroom and stir-fry at high heat for 30 seconds.
5. Add in water and cover wok with tight lid for 30 seconds at high heat.
6. Add in stir fry seasoning sauce and Thai basil leaves. Stir fry for a further 30 seconds then serve with rice

Chow Mein

Recipe adapted from The Australian Women's Weekly Kid's Cooking book, page46

Ingredients

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
500g lean beef mince
1 medium brown onion, chopped finely
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tablespoon curry powder
1 cup frozen carrot, pea & corn mix
150g rehydrated shitake mushrooms
1 cup (250ml) chicken stock
⅓ cup (80ml) oyster sauce
2 tablespoons soy sauce
450g fresh thin egg noodles
½ small Chinese cabbage, shredded coarsely

Method

1. Heat oil in wok or large frying pan; stir fry mince, onion and garlic until mince is browned. Add curry powder; stir-fry about 1 minute or until fragrant. Add frozen carrot, pea & corn mix, mushrooms; stir fry until vegetables soften.
2. Add stock, sauces and noodles, stir-fry until combined; bring to a boil. Add cabbage, reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, tossing occasionally for about 5 minutes or until vegetables are just soft.

Fruity Nutty Chicken

The following is an adaptation of a recipe I saw from the T.V. show Poh's Kitchen. It's a Malaysian Chinese chicken stir fry dish with interestingly enough some fruits like honeydew added in. I like the bright colours of this dish as well as the different textures, flavours and the sweetness that comes from the fruits and sauce.

Ingredients

600g chicken breast, cubed
2 small capsicum (green/red/yellow), cubed
1 medium sized carrot, cubed
300g honeydew, cubed
150g toasted cashew nuts
225g tinned pineapple pieces, syrup juice drained
4 tbsp cooking oil
2 garlic cloves, crushed

Marinate (A)

2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp oyster sauce
2 tsp chicken stock powder
2 tsp light soy sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
¼ tsp pepper (powder)
½  tsp sugar

Seasoning (B)

6 tbsp tomato sauce
6 tbsp plum sauce
1 tbsp vinegar
2 ½  tbsp sugar
8 tbsp water
2 tsp cornflour
Salt (optional)

Method

1. Marinate the chicken meat with the baking soda for 20 minutes and then rinse the chicken thoroughly (make sure that the chicken is properly rinsed clean of the baking soda). Pat the chicken meat dry with paper towels and then marinate with the rest of the ingredients for 10 minutes.
2. Heat up the oil in a wok over medium heat and sauté garlic till fragrant.
3. Add chicken and stir fry till almost cooked through.
4. Add in carrots and capsicums.
5. Pour in (B) and bring to boil.
6. Add honeydew and pineapple pieces.
7. Lastly, mix in cashew nuts.
8. Dish up and serve hot with rice.

Nonya Fried Rice

If you haven't figured it out by now, I like food and I like to eat. Which shouldn't come to anybody's surprise that I also like to watch cooking shows. However, I don't often cook what I watch on T.V. as most of the stuff that's cooked on the telly these days is too gourmet or fine dining for me. When I come home from an exhausting day at work, I don't want to necessarily be slaving away in the kitchen for 3 hours on a meal that will be eaten in 30 minutes and that doesn't taste nice reheated the next day for work. I tend to cook more easier, simpler, practical meals on a work night and occasionally on a weekend or a day off I might try a recipe that requires a bit more effort.

Watching Poh's Kitchen the other day, I saw her make a dish called Nonya Fried Rice. It looked quite easy to put together and the flavours of this Malaysian style fried rice intrigued me so much that I decided to give it a go and to my surprise I quite liked it (and so did hubby). There is a spicy prawn flavour as you eat the fried rice (that comes from both the dried shrimp and fresh prawns), with the refreshing and cool taste of the cucumber. The cucumber also adds a nice crunch and bite to the dish.

It's great to see Poh (the runner's up to season 1 Masterchef) have her own T.V. show and share some of her Malaysian recipes with the wider audience in Australia.

Ingredients

¼ cup vegetable oil
2 large red chillies, chopped and seeded
3 cloves garlic, chopped
4 shallots, chopped
¾ cups dried shrimp, soaked in boiling water
10 green prawns, peeled deveined and cut into small pieces
1 ½ cups jasmine rice, cooked
2 tbs light soy
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
½ tsp white pepper
2 eggs, beaten lightly
1 telegraph (long thin) cucumber, quartered lengthways, seeds sliced off and discarded (for maximum crunch) and then sliced diagonally - about 2 to 3 mm

Method

1. Pound the chilli, garlic and shallots to a paste in a mortar and pestle. If you don’t have a mortar and pestle, chopping finely will be completely appropriate.
2. Heat the vegetable oil in a wok till hot and add the paste and sauté till it is rich and aromatic. (If finely chopping the aromatics, add the garlic first to the wok, and cook briefly, then the shallots and chilli and stir fry till aromatic).
3. Pound drained dried shrimp in mortar and pestle till shredded, or blitz in a food processor to a crumbly consistency. Add to the wok and stir fry till fragrant. Add prawns and stir fry till just cooked. Immediately add rice, soy, salt, sugar and white pepper.
4. Cook till rice has separated, and tender.
5. Make a well in the middle of the wok pushing rice to the sides. Tip in the egg and let it sit for a while so the bottom has a while to caramelise. With an eggflip turn it over on the other side till that is also nice and brown, then chop it with the eggflip so little pieces of it cook all the way through. Add the cucumber and give it all a final toss so everything is incorporated, checking for seasoning. Serve hot or at room temperature.

Notes & Tips

The trick to cooking great fried rice is to pre-cook the rice and put it in the fridge overnight spread out on a baking tray lined with a sheet of baking paper. This makes the grains stay separate and prevents the fried rice from getting stodgy when cooking.

Tomato & Egg Stir Fry

Tomato and egg stir fry is a popular and humble Chinese dish that is often served at home. My dad's version includes tomato sauce and sometimes a bit of sweet chilli sauce. I prefer to not add the tomato sauce and enjoy the natural flavours of the tomatoes instead. This dish is really simple, inexpensive to make and quite healthy. It's a delicious accompaniment to any Chinese meal.

Serves 2
Ingredients

4 large eggs
3-4 tomatoes (cut into thin wedges)
½ teaspoon salt
3 dashes white pepper powder
1 tablespoon sugar
1-2 tablespoons water
¼ teaspoon sesame oil
3 tablespoons cooking oil
3 shallots, chopped

Method

Break the eggs into a bowl and use chopsticks to beat the eggs until they break thoroughly. Add salt, sesame oil, white pepper powder and lightly beat to blend well. Set aside.

Heat up a wok with 2 tablespoons cooking oil. Add the egg mixture into the wok, and use your spatula to spread the eggs. Keep stirring until the eggs form lumps. Gently break the lumps into smaller pieces. As soon as the eggs are cooked, dish out and set aside.

Clean the wok and heat it up again with 1 tablespoon cooking oil. Drop the tomato wedges into the wok and do a few quick stirs. Add sugar and water into the tomatoes. Cover it with the lid and let it cook for about 30 seconds. Transfer the eggs and chopped shallots into the tomatoes, stir-fry for 30 seconds or so, dish out and serve immediately.

Cashew Chicken

The key to a great Chinese stir-fried chicken dish is simple: smooth and tender chicken meat lightly coated with a sauce, stir-fried over HIGH heat using a wok to achieve the breath of wok. To make the chicken tender, many restaurants and Chinese chefs use BAKING SODA.

Baking soda serves two purposes:

1. to rid the chicken of any potential foul chicken smell
2. to tenderize the meat. 

SECRET TECHNIQUE: BAKING SODA is the secret weapon to make any meat–chicken, beef, pork–tender.

Once you try out this Cashew Chicken recipe, you will never go back to the gooey, sticky, starchy Cashew Chicken from your neighborhood Chinese joints again!

Ingredients:

Boneless and skinless chicken breast 700g (cut into small cubes)
½ cup cashew nuts
1 small green capsicum, cut into small square pieces
1 small red capsicum, cut into small square pieces
1 small onion, cut into small square pieces
225g tinned pineapple pieces in syrup, drained

Marinade:

1 tsp baking soda
2½ tsp corn flour
1½ tsp Chinese rice wine

Sauce:

1½ tbsp oyster sauce
2 tsp soy sauce
½ cup water
1½ tsp sugar
1½ tsp Chinese rice wine
½ tsp sesame oil

Method

1. Marinate the chicken meat with the baking soda for 20 minutes and then rinse the chicken thoroughly (make sure that the chicken is properly rinsed clean of the baking soda).
2. Pat the chicken meat dry with paper towels and then marinate with the rest of the ingredients for 15 minutes.
3. Mix the sauce together and set aside.
4. Heat up a wok with 1 tablespoon of cooking oil over high heat and stir-fry the chicken meat until the color turns white or half-cooked. Dish out and set aside.
5. Add another 1 tablespoon of cooking oil into the wok and add in the ginger slices, capsicums and onion.
6. Stir-fry until you smell the peppery aroma from the capsicum and add the chicken meat back in.
7. Add in the sauce and coat all the ingredients with the sauce.
8. Then add in the cashew nuts and pineapple pieces and stir continuously until the chicken meat is cooked through. Add salt to taste, dish out and serve the Cashew Chicken hot with steamed white rice.

Notes & Tips

If using chicken thigh fillets, it is not necessary to add baking soda to tenderise it as this cut of chicken retains its moisture during the cooking process, unlike chicken breast which can "dry out" when cooked.

Stir Fried Vegetables

This is a Malaysian style vegetable stir-fry. It's super easy to make and you'll enjoy eating it even if you're not a vegetarian!

Ingredients

1 brown onion, sliced
1 cucumber, peeled, seeded, cut into 2.5cm pieces
125g green beans, cut into 2.5cm pieces
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 carrot, peeled & sliced
2 teaspoons turmeric
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 tablespoons white vinegar
2 tablespoons sugar
1 ripe mango, sliced
¾ cup vegetable or chicken stock
1 tablespoon roasted unsalted peanuts, roughly chopped

Method

1. Heat oil in wok over medium high heat. Add onion, garlic and carrot, stir-fry until lightly browned.
2. Add turmeric, vinegar and sugar, stir-fry for 1 minute.
3. Add mango, cucumber, beans and vegetable stock. Stir-fry for 5 minutes or until vegetables are just tender. 
4. Sprinkle peanuts over vegetables, serve with rice.
   

Chinese Green Beans

Ingredients

450g fresh green beans (washed and ends trimmed)
1 teaspoon fresh ginger, grated
1 garlic clove, minced
2 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon corn flour
½ teaspoon brown sugar
½ teaspoon sesame oil
¼  teaspoon red chilli flakes
1-2 tablespoon vegetable oil

Method

1. Place beans in a bowl or dish. Put a steamer rack in the wok, add water to cover the rack. Bring the water to boil then place the dish on the rack. Cover wok and steam on high heat for 5 minutes. Then transfer to an ice bath immediately to stop the cooking process and to keep the beans crisp.
2. Meanwhile, combine the water, corn flour, soy sauce, brown sugar, red chilli flakes and sesame oil in a small jug. Drain the beans into a colander.
3. Heat the oil in a wok over high heat, then add garlic and ginger and stir fry for 30 seconds. Add beans and stir fry for about 3-5 minutes.
4. Pour the sauce mixture onto the beans and stir fry for 30 seconds to 1 minute, ensuring beans are thoroughly coated with the sauce. Turn off the heat and serve immediately.

Chilli Fried Rice Noodles

Here's a simple Asian stir-fry recipe, that's on the spicy side! You might want to have a glass of water nearby when eating this dish :P

Ingredients

1kg fresh rice noodles
2 tablespoons oil
1-2 onions, sliced
4 small fresh red chillies, finely chopped
2 tablespoons Chinese rice wine
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 cups bean sprouts, firmly packed
2 sticks celery, sliced
4 green shallots, chopped
2 tablespoons oil, extra
2 tablespoons light soy sauce
2 tablespoons dark soy sauce

Method

1. Heat oil in wok over medium high heat. Add oinons and stir fry until they are lightly browned.
2. Add chilli, Chinese rice wine and garlic. Stir-fry for about 30 seconds.
3. Add bean sprouts, celery and shallots into wok. Stir-fry until vegetables are just tender, then remove them from the wok and onto a plate.
4. Heat the extra oil in wok, add noodles and stir gently until heated through. Add the vegetable mixture and soy sauces, stir-fry until heated through and all ingredients are mixed together well.

Notes & Tips

Halve the amount of chilli in this dish if you prefer a milder and less spicy dish

Black Pepper Steak

If you've ever wondered how to achieve that soft, tender meat that you get from your local Chinese restaurant at home, then wonder no more. The Chinese method of tenderising meat is to marinate thinly sliced meat for a couple of hours and to use ½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda (baking soda) for each 500g of meat. I've used fillet steak for the following recipe, however you can use a cheaper cut of meat when using this form of marinating since it will tenderise the meat so much, you wouldn't be able to tell the difference! Great tip for home cooks especially when watching the budget :)

Ingredients

750g beef eye fillet (in one piece)
1-2 onions, sliced
½ teaspoon sesame oil
2 tablespoons Chinese rice wine (Shao Hsing wine)
2 teaspoons sugar
2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
½ tsp baking soda
1-2 tablespoons whole black peppercorns, crushed
1-2 shallots, sliced

Method

1. Partly freeze steak, cut into thin slices. 
2. Combine steak, onions, sesame oil, Chinese rice wine, sugar, ginger, soy sauce and baking soda in bowl. Cover, marinate several hours or refrigerate overnight.
3. Stir peppercorns through steak mixture.
4. Barbecue steak and onions over high heat (or stir fry in wok) until steak is cooked as desired.
5. Sprinkle shallots over beef. Serve with rice

Chinese Cabbage Stir Fry

Smell the wonderful aroma of the vegetables cooking in hot garlic oil as you stir fry this quick and easy Asian meal.

Serves 2

Ingredients

4-5 cups Chinese cabbage, sliced into 1 inch lengths
1 cup carrots, julienned or cut into thin strips
3 cloves garlic, chopped finely
2 tbsp oyster sauce
½ tsp sugar
½ cup water
Salt and pepper, to taste
2 tbsp oil

Method

1. Pour oil into wok and heat it over high heat until it starts to smoke slightly.
2. Put in the garlic and stir until slightly golden
3. Put in the cabbage and carrot and hear the loud sizzle in your wok.
4. Stir fry quickly for about 2 minutes.
5. Add water, give the vegetables a good stir and cover the wok for about 2 minutes.
6. Remove cover and put in the rest of the seasoning. Turn off the heat and serve immediately.
   

Notes & Tips

Vegetarians: Substitute oyster sauce with vegetarian oyster sauce 

Sichuan Beef Stir Fry

A simple stir-fry with typically hot, spicy, peppery Sichuan flavours. You can leave out the chilli oil and adjust the amount of chilli bean sauce in this recipe to suit how hot and spicy you want your dish to be :)

Serves 4 as part of a multi-course meal

Ingredients

400g lean beef
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp Chinese rice wine
1 tsp cornflour
3 celery stalks
1 small cucumber, halved lengthwise
3 tbsp vegetable or peanut oil
1 tbsp ginger, cut into fine matchsticks
1 fresh red chilli, seeded and cut into matchsticks
2 tbsp chilli bean sauce or chilli sauce
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp chilli oil, optional
½ tsp ground Sichuan peppercorns

Method

Cut the meat against the grain into strips and toss with the soy, rice wine and cornflour. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes to marinate.

Meanwhile, de-string the celery, trim the ends and cut into five-centimetre lengths, then into matchsticks. Cut the cucumber into one-centimetre slices.

Heat the oil in a wok until hot and stir-fry the ginger, chilli and celery for 10 seconds.

Add the beef and cook over high heat for two minutes. Add the cucumber, chilli bean sauce and sugar tossing well for one minute. Add the sesame oil and chilli oil (if using). Scatter with ground Sichuan peppercorns and serve with jasmine rice.