Chicken chow mein recipe

There was a time when fresh egg noodles were the provenance of specialist stores, however they can now be found in the fridge compartment of most supermarkets. If your supermarket hasn’t quite caught up then use the dried version, following the package instructions for rehydrating. Use this recipe as a template; it works just as well with pork or prawns as it does with chicken. Also feel free to add other vegetables, such as peppers, green beans or pak choi.

Serves 4
chicken breasts 2 large, cut into 1cm strips
light soy sauce 4 tbsp
sunflower or vegetable oil 2 tbsp
garlic 3 cloves, finely sliced
red onion 1 large, cut into about 8 thin wedges
fresh ginger 2cm piece, peeled and finely chopped
mangetout 100g, cut in half widthways
fresh egg noodles 400g
Shaoxing rice wine or dry sherry 3 tbsp
sesame oil 2 tsp
spring onions 4, trimmed and finely sliced

Place the chicken breasts in a small bowl and pour in 2 tablespoons of the soy sauce, mix and leave to sit for 5 minutes.

When ready to cook, heat the oil in a large frying pan or wok over a high heat. When hot add the garlic, red onion and ginger. Fry for 2 minutes, stirring almost constantly.

Add the chicken slices, pouring in any of the soy sauce that is in the bowl too. Continue to fry, stirring regularly for 3-4 minutes. Tip in the mangetout and stir-fry for a further minute before adding the egg noodles. Mix everything together: it may be useful to use a combination of two wooden spoons for this. Pour in the rice wine and let it bubble up and steam, until it almost completely evaporates. Mix again using the two wooden spoons, then remove the pan from the heat and stir in the remaining soy sauce and the sesame oil.

Scatter the noodles with the spring onions before serving.

Chicken tikka masala recipe

 

Tikka masala is a ubiquitous dish, so much so that nobody is quite sure where the concept and recipe originated. Whether it was India or the UK, there’s no denying that it is a delicious curry.

Serves 4
natural yogurt 250g
garam masala 3 tbsp
ground coriander 2 tbsp
ground ginger 2 tbsp
ground cumin 1 tbsp
smoked paprika 2 tsp
garlic 6 cloves, crushed to a paste
fresh ginger 5cm piece, peeled and grated
salt and freshly ground black pepper
chicken breasts 6, chopped into 4cm pieces
sunflower or vegetable oil 4 tbsp
onions 2, peeled and pureed in a food processor or grated
cloves 6
tomato puree 2 heaped tbsp
chopped tomatoes 1 x 400g tin
double cream 100ml
flaked almonds 75g, toasted, to serve
coriander 1 small bunch, chopped, to serve

Place half the yogurt in a large bowl along with half the ground spices and half the garlic and ginger. Add a generous pinch of salt and grind of pepper. Mix well with a spoon until you reach a smooth consistency.

Add the chicken pieces to the marinade coating them well, then cover and leave in the fridge to marinate for a minimum of 4 hours but preferably overnight.

When ready to cook, heat the oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat. Add the pureed onion to the oil along with a large pinch of salt. Leave to cook, stirring regularly for 12-15 minutes, by which time the onions should have taken on some colour and become very soft. Add the cloves and the remaining ground spices, garlic and ginger. Continue to fry for a further 2 minutes, stirring almost constantly.

Add the tomato puree and cook for a further 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Increase the heat and add the tinned tomatoes and marinated chicken. Stir all the ingredients while bringing them to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 10-12 minutes, until the chicken is fully cooked through. If unsure, pick out the thickest piece and cut it open to check. It’s cooked when the flesh is white throughout.

Stir in the double cream for a little luxury before serving topped with the toasted almonds and chopped coriander.

Anna Jones’ recipes for Easy pickled veg

I use this basic brine to pickle any vegetable. My favourites are cauliflower (with mustard seed), carrots (with coriander seed), red cabbage (with caraway seed), and radishes (with slices of fresh ginger). Harder, crunchier vegetables are best cut thinly.

Prep 20 min
Cook 10 min
Makes 2 jars

500g veg of your choice (see intro)
250ml white-wine vinegar
50ml water
1 tbsp salt
1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp whole spices (fennel seed, coriander seed, mustard seed, caraway seed, cumin seed, star anise)

Prepare and finely chop the veg. Put the vinegar and water into a pan with the salt and sugar and bring to a boil. Once at a rolling boil, turn off the heat and add the sliced vegetables and spices.

While still hot, carefully spoon the veg into sterilised jars and top with the brine. Store in a cool place until needed; once open, keep in the fridge.

Nigel Slater’s recipe for spinach, coconut, tomato and brown rice

 

The recipe

Peel 3 medium-sized onions, cut them in half from root end to tip, then slice each half into 6. Heat 2 tbsp of olive oil in a deep pan over a moderate heat. Add the onions and let them cook, stirring regularly for 12-15 minutes, until they start to soften.

Peel 35g of ginger, slice lengthwise into thin pieces, then slice each into matchsticks. Add the ginger to the onions, then stir in 2 tsp each of ground cumin and turmeric, and continue cooking for a minute or so, then stir in 50ml of water. Finely chop a large, moderately hot red chilli. Halve 300g of cherry tomatoes and stir them and the chilli into the onions. Continue cooking for 5 minutes. Stir in 200ml of thick coconut cream. Leave to simmer for 5 minutes.

Put 150g of brown basmati rice in a small pan covered by 3cm of water. Add 6 cardamom pods, 4 cloves, ½ tsp of salt and 6 black peppercorns and bring to the boil. As soon as the water starts to boil, cover tightly with a lid, turn the heat down to a simmer and leave to steam over a moderate heat for 15 minutes. Remove from the heat and leave for 5 minutes before lifting the lid.

Wash 200g of young spinach leaves and stir them into the tomato sauce. Cover with a lid and leave for a couple of minutes, then turn them over in the sauce, cover again and leave to simmer for a further 2-3 minutes until the leaves have softened and relaxed. Divide the rice between 2 plates and spoon over the spinach and coconut sauce. Serves 2

The trick

Use small, delicate spinach leaves and don’t be tempted to skip washing them. You wouldn’t believe the amount of grit that can turn up in a bag of “washed” spinach. Make the sauce first, then cook the rice. The sauce will stay warm in its pan, covered by a lid. Give it a final blast of heat before serving, if necessary.
The twist

You could take advantage of the other greens around at the moment, using them to replace the spinach. Purple kale, cavolo nero, spring cabbage or mustard greens, should be lightly cooked before being drained and added to the tomato sauce. Rather than basmati, you could use quinoa or couscous, the latter forked through with chopped coriander.