Chinese New Year fell on January 23 this year, but the celebrations continue for up to two weeks, so if you fancy getting involved why not try making an oriental feast at home?
Invite friends or family round for this delicious feast, which includes wontons, vegetable chow mein, barbecue spare ribs, whole steamed black bean fish, stir fried pak choi with Chinese mushroom sauce, and fried rice.
If you fancy trying any of the dishes out, the recipes can be found below.
1. Wontons
Wonton ingredients:
• 150g raw tiger prawns (optional)
• Chinese chives
• 3 Chinese mushrooms (soaked in hot water overnight)
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 handful of coriander
• 2 spring onions
• 2 leaves of Chinese leaf
• 15-20 wonton pastries
Marinade ingredients:
• 2 tbsp light soy sauce
• Pinch of sugar
• Sesame oil to cover
Plus sweet chilli sauce to dip
Preparation:
The filling:
1. Finely chop the vegetables and place in a large prep bowl
2. Finely dice the prawns (if using) and add to the prep bowl
3. Season with soy sauce, a pinch of sugar and cover with sesame oil
4. Mix well
The folding:
1. Place 1 tsp filling in the centre of the pastry
2. Using the tip of your finger wet all sides of the pastry with cold water
3. Fold bottom corner over the filling to the top corner and press pastry down to seal all sides (to form a triangle)
4. Holding the base of the filling with your thumbs, pull the 2 corners of the triangle towards each other, overlap the ends and then press together to form a ‘trough’ shape
5. Place aside and fold all wontons the same way
Cooking:
1. Deep fry the wontons at 180°C until golden brown. They usually start to float once cooked as there will be air inside the parcels
2. Serve with sweet chilli sauce on the side
2. Chinese barbecue spare ribs
Ingredients:
• 8 Spare Ribs
• 1 jar Blue Dragon Chinese BBQ Sticky Sauce
Cooking:
1. Preheat the oven to 200°C
2. Place the ribs in a large pan of water, bring to the boil and simmer for 40 minutes
3. Drain the ribs and place in a resealable freezer bag, pour over a jar of Blue Dragon Chinese BBQ Sticky Sauce and leave to marinate for 1 hour.
4. Place the ribs and sauce on a baking tray and cook at 200°C for approx 20 minutes or until dark and sticky.
Serving:
1. Serve with a spoonful of sauce over the top of the meat
2. Place the remaining sauce in a small bowl on the side – Finely chopped fresh spring onion is an optional addition
3. Fried rice
Ingredients:
• 1 cup cooked rice
• 1 egg
• ½ cup petit pois
• 2 spring onions
• Light soy sauce
• Sesame oil
• Salt and pepper to taste
Preparation:
1. Finely chop the spring onions and place the rings into a small prep bowl
Cooking:
1. Heat 2 tablespoons vegetable oil in a wok on high heat
2. Crack the egg into the wok and fry
3. Once the egg is half cooked, break the yolk and cut into the white with your spatula
4. Now push the egg to one side of the wok to allow space for your rice
5. Separate the rice as much as possible using a wooden spoon / spatula
6. Add 1 tbsp vegetable oil to the wok
7. Once smoking hot, add the rice to the wok and mix well, trying to separate rice so as to remove any large clumps
8. Once the rice is well mixed, add the peas and continue to stir-fry
9. Pour a substantial amount of light soy sauce over the rice and stir-fry
10. Add salt and pepper to taste
11. Finally add a dash of sesame oil and stir
Serving:
1. Serve in a large bowl with spring onion scattered on top
4. Vegetable chow mein
Ingredients:
• Egg noodles
• Handful bean sprouts
• 1 bag Chinese greens (Choi Sum, Kai Lan or even Chinese Leaf)
• 2 spring onions
• Dark Soy Sauce
• Sesame Oil
Preparation
1. Soak the egg noodles in hot water for 5-10 minutes
2. Once the noodles have separated, drain the water and allow to dry (preferably overnight for best results)
3. Wash the bean sprouts and place in a prep bowl
4. Wash the Chinese greens and slice into strips. Place in a prep bowl
5. Finely slice the spring onions and place in a small prep bowl
Cooking
1. Heat 2 tablespoons vegetable oil in a wok to high heat
2. Add the Chinese greens, turn down to medium heat and stir-fry for 1-2 minutes before pushing the vegetables to the side of the wok
3. Turn heat back up to high and add the bean sprouts. Stir-fry for a further minute
4. If space is needed, empty the cooked ingredients from the wok back into a large prep bowl
5. Heat 2 new tablespoons vegetable oil in the wok to high heat
6. Add the noodles and stir-fry for 2-3 minutes
7. Add the cooked ingredients back into the wok and now add the dark soy sauce and stir-fry until noodles become a consistent colour (1-2 minutes)
8. Add the spring onion and a dash of sesame oil
Serving
1. Serve in a large bowl
5. Whole steamed black bean fish
Ingredients:
• 1 whole seasonal white fish
• 1 cube fresh ginger
• 2 spring onions
• 2 tsp preserved black beans
• 1-2 cloves garlic (finely chopped)
• Light soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
Preparation:
1. Make sure the fish is gutted, de-scaled and the gills removed
2. Place the fish in a suitable steaming dish
3. Peel and finely slice the fresh ginger and place on top of the fish and inside it’s cavity
4. Slice the spring onions into thin strips and place in a small prep bowl
5. Mix the black beans with the finely chopped garlic and a pinch of salt and lightly crush in a small bowl using a teaspoon
6. Place the black bean mixture on top of the fish and spread across the length of the fish
Cooking:
1. Bring a large steaming pan to boil on high heat
2. Once the water is boiling vigorously, place the fish on the steamer and cover
3. Allow 7-12 minutes depending on the size of the fish (small fish [<300g] 7-8 minutes, medium fish [300g-500g] 9-10 minutes and large fish [500g-750g]10-12 minutes)
4. Once the fish is cooked, take immediately off the heat (the meat should just fall off the bone once cooked)
Serving:
1. Heat 2 tablespoons vegetable oil in frying pan until smoking hot
2. Spread the spring onion over the top of the cooked fish
3. Carefully pour the smoking hot oil over the top of the fish and serve
4. Add a good dash of soy sauce
5. Stir-fried pak choi with Chinese mushroom sauce
Ingredients:
• 1 Bag pak choi
• 6 Dried Shitake mushrooms (soaked in hot water overnight)
• 3-5 slices ginger
• Corn flour paste (optional)
• 2 tablespoons oyster sauce
• 2 capfuls rice wine
• Sesame oil
• Salt to taste
• Pepper to taste
• Coriander garnish
Preparation:
1. Soak the mushrooms overnight and keep the soaking water to use as stock
2. Wash the pak choi thoroughly and cut lengthways into quarters
3. Finely slice the ginger
4. Mix the oyster sauce and rice wine together
Cooking
The mushroom sauce:
1. Place the mushrooms in a clay pot / medium sized sauce pan
2. Add the sauce/wine mixture and ½ the bowl of mushroom stock from the overnight soaking
3. Bring to boil on low heat
4. Cook for 30 minutes. If the sauce begins to dry up, add a little more mushroom stock to keep moist
5. 5 minutes before serving, stir in the corn flour paste to thicken
The stir fry:
1. Heat 1 tablespoon vegetable oil in a wok until smoking hot
2. Add the ginger and change heat to medium heat
3. Immediately add the pak choi and stir fry
4. Cover with a lid for 4-5 minutes
5. Season well with salt and pepper
6. Add a drop of sesame oil before serving
Serving:
1. Arrange the pak choi in layers on a large plate
2. Carefully place the mushrooms head side up on top and pour the sauce all over
3. Garnish with coriander
