Ching’s Chinese Food in Minutes

Make sure the food is dry, as this prevents spitting.

For best results, avoid re-using oil whenever possible.

Use a large, long pair of bamboo chopsticks to help you turn food over if necessary (not plastic chopsticks, as they melt).

Serve fried food immediately as it will start to lose its crunch and crispness. However, if unavoidable, keep the food hot in a preheated oven before serving.

Other cooking utensils (#ulink_73429071-7c2e-5928-af16-1fd6abfa2cdc)

The following would also be useful to have in the kitchen:

Wok cover

Invest in a wok cover; this will allow you to stew, steam, boil and smoke food using your wok. It should have a small top handle to allow you to lift it off, and it should fit snug and firm on the wok.

Wok brush

This is a wooden brush with long hard bristles that is used with hot water to clean the wok. It’s not essential but can take the hard work out of cleaning.

Chinese spatula /wooden spoon

Traditionally, the metal spatula is used in the Chinese kitchen to allow you to manoeuvre the food and scoop it out of the wok. This is okay for seasoned woks, but you may end up scratching off the non-stick coating if you use a non-stick coated wok. I would suggest a wooden spoon as an alternative.

Ladle

The Chinese ladle is small and bowl-shaped to allow you to collect soups and sauces from the wok, but I use a normal ladle, and not necessarily made from carbon steel as they can rust easily. Mine is made from stainless steel.

Chinese cleaver/good knife

It is essential to invest in a good knife. I usually use a medium stainless steel chef’s knife that is made from one continuous piece of metal. However, I also have a stainless steel Chinese cleaver with a wooden handle. Cleavers are particularly useful for hacking meat with bones, such as ribs, chopping up chicken, or chopping through roast duck. They are also useful for slicing, shredding, dicing, mincing and mashing (by using the side of the blade and mashing the ingredient between the blade and the chopping board). Of course, you can use a food processor but I find it is good therapy to use the cleaver.

Cutting board

Choose a solid, large wooden chopping board and make sure you clean it well after use. I usually keep three different boards: one for meat, one for seafood, and one for fruit and vegetables.

Soups & Starters (#ulink_072486cf-6487-5e12-bec9-662cbd703330)

READY TO EAT IN 30 MINUTES

Prep time: 10 minutes, cook in: 20 minutes (plus 20 minutes soaking)

Traditional-style hot & sour soup

This is warming on a cold winter’s day and is delightfully crunchy, full of texture and flavour. To turn this into a snack, add more stock and some pre-soaked rice noodles before seasoning.

SERVES 4

1 litre/1

/

pints water

1 tablespoon vegetable bouillon powder or stock powder

1 tablespoon freshly grated root ginger

2 medium red chillies, deseeded and finely chopped

300g/11oz cooked chicken breast, shredded

1 teaspoon Shaohsing rice wine or dry sherry

2 tablespoons dark soy sauce

1 x 220g tin of bamboo shoots, drained

10g dried wood ear mushrooms, pre-soaked in hot water for 20 minutes, then drained and finely sliced

100g/3

/

oz fresh firm dofu (bean curd), cut into 5cm/2 inch long x 1cm/

/

inch wide strips

50g/2oz Sichuan preserved vegetables, rinsed and sliced, or pickled cornichons with a little fresh chopped chilli added

2 tablespoons light soy sauce

3 tablespoons Chinkiang black rice vinegar or balsamic vinegar

1 tablespoon chilli oil

a few pinches of ground white pepper

1 egg, lightly beaten

1 tablespoon cornflour blended with 2 tablespoons cold water

1 large spring onion, finely sliced

freshly chopped coriander to garnish (optional)

1 Pour the water into a pan and bring to the boil. Add the bouillon powder and stir to dissolve. Bring back to the boil, then add all the ingredients up to and including the wood ear mushrooms. Turn the heat down to medium, then add the dofu, Sichuan vegetables or cornichons, soy sauce, vinegar, chilli oil and white pepper and simmer for 10 minutes.