I think I’ve mentioned before that we a blessed with a superb local Cantonese restaurant in Haxby. Many times I’ve tried to cook Chinese food but although it’s usually good, it regularly fail to meet the standards I’ve come to expect from Paddyfields. Their Kung Poa Chicken is one of my favourites, and yet again…
Category: Asian
Quick Chilli Beef Noodle Stir Fry
A wonderful Thai inspired stir fry which makes the most of our lovely locally sourced beef. Any frying steak will do – I choose a small piece of rump. I used thick rice ribbon noodles, which I soaked for 8 minutes in boiling water to cook, then drained and refreshed in cold water until they…
How to Make… Black Bean Sauce
Black Bean sauce can be a wonderful rich fullness to an Asian meal, or bring with it an overbearing saltiness which destroys it. Why not take all of the guesswork out and make your own? It’s really not that hard, and you know exactly what’s in it. All you need is a source of tinned…
Hot & Sticky Chicken
A great use for some left over cooked chicken with a great spicy kick. A pleasant change from the usual Christmas fare! Serves 2 Cook & Prep time – 35 minutes Ingredients 2 cooked Chicken breasts, chopped into chunks 2 cloves Garlic, chopped 2 tbsp Runny Honey 2 tbsp Dark Soy Sauce 1…
Sweet Chilli Sauce
This is a ‘Thai style’ sweet chilli dipping sauce – once you’ve made this, you’ll never fork out for a bottle in the supermarket again. again, another simple sauce which keeps for a very long time. I enjoy stirring a couple of spoons of this into my Chilli con Carne just before serving… Note: I…
Coming Soon – Chilli Pepper Sauces
Have you just finished harvesting your summer crops in anticipatation of that first frost? Do you have a bucket full of chilli peppers and just don’t know what to do with them? Coming soon – 3 chilli sauces which will meet your needs for every occasion:- Sweet Chilli Sauce – the ‘Thai-style’ dipping sauce Chilli…
Hong Shao Chicken
‘Hong shao’ apparently comes from the Mandarin, and means ‘red cooked’, describing the deep brown colour that comes from combining soy, sugar and spices in the sauce ingredients. This uses a velveting technique to keep the chicken tender, and with careful planning can be managed with a single wok. This would be great with firm…
Stir-Fried Pak Choi & Beansprouts
Intro… Cooking Time – approx 5 minutes Serves 2-3 Ingredients fresh Root Ginger, finely sliced 1 tbsp Vegetable Oil 2 Pak Shoi, shreded 1 handful Beansprouts 1 tbsp Dark Soy Sauce 1 tsp Sugar 75ml Water 1 tsp Seseme Oil Method Heat the oil in a pan and fry the ginger for a few seconds…
Chilli Dipping Sauce
A quick dipping sauce for chinese dishes. Try this with the Guo Tie. You can vary the heat by adding more or less chilli flakes. Alternatively add some grated ginger and chopped spring onions Cooking Time – approx 2minutes Serves4 Ingredients Generous pinch of Dried Chilli Flakes 1 tbsp Bioling Water 1 tbsp White Wine…
Guo Tie
Gong Xi Fa Cai!!! I’ve been celebrating the Chinese New Year with a number of new recipes. Gui Tie, or ‘Pot Stickers’ are dumplings which are both fried and steamed, to provide a superb texture & flavour combination. A traditional dish for New Year celebration, they are often served as appetisers with a soy and…
Gaeng Kua Sapparod
This is a simple Thai Pineapple Curry, but be warned, is VERY HOT! I’ve used 7 dried red chillies and knocked out lots of the seeds, but next time I’ll be cutting this down to just 4. The pork could be replaced with beef of chicken, or alternatively throw in some prawns towards the en…
Quick Chicken Noodle Soup
What a great soup – the balsamic gives a rich,sour effect. You can use fresh chicken and poach this in the stock – obviously you’ll need to increase the cooking time. Cooking Time – approx 30 minutes Serves 2-3 Ingredients 200g Egg Noodles 1 tbsp Vegetable Oil 1 tbsp Ginger, grated 4 Mushrooms, cleaned &…
Chicken Chow Mein with Black Bean Sauce
I’m blessed with living only 5 minutes away from the best Cantonese restaurant. Their restaurant food is exceptionally good and what’s more, it’s all available to take away. I thought I’d had great Chinese and Cantonese food before (there are some superb places in Glasgow…), but they pale into insignificance alongside Paddyfields in Haxby. Their…
Spicy Pork Meatballs in Masaman Sauce
This is a nice alternative to spicy beef meatballs. The Masaman sauce has a great creamy but full flavour and works really well – that classic Thai mix of sweet, spice, heat and salt in the sauce really makes this dish a classic. I make my own Masaman curry paste for this dish, but you…
Thai Chicken Soup
This was discovered quite by accident in one of those supermarket recipe leaflets. A bit of tweaking later, and voila! Try and use the heart of a fresh kale – a great winter vegetable. Failing this, use pok choi, spring greens, brocolli, beansprouts, anything to give a bit of crunch. You can use a shop…
Thai Rice
A nice rice dish for Thai food. Adjust the chilli, salt and lime to taste. Cooking Time – approx 30 minutes Serves 2 -3 Ingredients 1 1/2 Mugs Boiling Water 100 ml Coconut Milk 3 cloves Garlic 1 cube Ginger, chopped 1 handful Coriander leaves & stalks 1 tsp Salt 1 Lime, juice & zest…
Chicken Chow Mein
A chinese classic. Ensure that you use the fine egg noodles which cook in 3-4 minutes rather than the thicker noodles which take as long as 20. Cooking Time – approx ## minutes Serves 2 Ingredients 200g fine Egg Noodles 2 tbsp Vegetable Oil 2 Chicken Breasts, very thinly sliced 75g Sugarsnap Peas, trimmed &…
Zanzibar Chicken
There I was, dreaming of suitable holiday locations, and it came to me in a flash of inspiration – Zanzibar. The island of spice. Perfect. except that with a 2 year old daughter, probably something that’s not going to materialise for a few more years. at least it gives me time to save up… This…
Egg Fried Rice
An excellent way to use up some pre-cooked rice. If you are cooking fresh rice for this dish, rinse under cold running water when cooked to cool and destarchify the grains.Use one or two medium eggs, depending on personal preference. This works well with Chinese and Thai food. With Thai, replace the soy with a…
Sweet & Sour Pork
If there’s one thing I just haven’t got the hang of, it’s cooking chinese-style food. In the past it’s always been bland, yet overpowering with spice. Not a great a combination. However, with this one I think I may have cracked it. It seems that when it comes to Chinese style food and spices, the…
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