Yellow Bean Chicken

There are many types of bean paste available in Chinese cooking: chilli bean paste for instance (made from broad beans) as well as, of course, black bean paste. This recipe uses the most common type of bean paste made from soy beans - sometimes called yellow bean (although it isn’t actually yellow) or fermented bean paste it can, confusingly be sweet, salty or hot making it important to know which you're getting!

This recipe is adapted from one in Ching’s Fast Food, with changed made to quantities as well as the velveting method.


Yellow Bean Chicken
serves 2-3

500g skinless chicken thigh fillets, trimmed of fat & sliced
1 tbsp groundnut oil
150g green beans, trimmed & cut in half
5 shiitake mushrooms, sliced
sea salt & freshly ground pepper
2 spring onions, finely chopped
For the marinade
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
2 tbsp Shaoxing rice wine
2 tbsp yellow bean paste
4 tbsp light soy sauce
2 tbsp runny honey
1 tbsp potato (or corn) flour
1 tbsp water

Mix together the marinade ingredients and the chicken in a bowl then cover with cling and set aside for around 20 minutes.

Heat a wok over high heat until it starts to smoke then add the oil and swirl around to coat the sides of the wok. Add the chicken (and marinade) and stirfry for 4 minutes and then add the beans and keep stirring around briskly for another minute.

Tip in the mushrooms and keep stirfrying for another couple of minutes.

Check the seasoning and adjust carefully to taste if necessary then sprinkle over the spring onions.

Serve immediately with plain rice.

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Spicy Sichuan Pork Noodles

I think it is safe to say that this is not a pretty looking dish: in all honesty it looks beige and bland, and well, gloopy & bleurgh. But it tastes pretty good: of course I love pretty much all things Sichuan (well, maybe not intestines and the stranger bits of offal. I’ll give those a miss) so I would think that.

These are all things that are classed as store-cupboard to me but a trip to a Chinese supermarket (or an online shop) will sort you out. I think most larger normal supermarkets will stock most of the ingredients these days, with just the chilli bean paste possibly causing some problems. Speaking of which, what you are looking for contains broad beans: the 'beans' of the chilli 'beans'.

This is adapted from a recipe I saw on Good Food, an Australian food website.


Spicy Sichuan Pork Noodles
Serves 2

1 tsp garlic paste
1 tsp ginger paste
2 tsp Sichuan peppercorns, toasted & ground
½ tbsp chilli bean paste
1½ tbsp sesame paste
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp Shaoxing wine
1 tbsp groundnut oil
a handful of fine green beans, trimmed & cut in half if particularly long
250g pork mince
1 tsp castor sugar
75ml water
2 spring onions, finely sliced on the diagonal
200g rice noodles, soaked in v hot water for 5-10 mins until soft & pliable

In a small bowl mix together the chilli bean and sesame pastes, Shaoxing and soy.

Heat a wok until very hot. Add the oil and swirl around and then add the ginger & garlic pastes. Cook, stirring all the time, for about 30 seconds before adding the beans.

Cook the beans until just tender then add the pork mince.

Stir constantly and once the pork has lost its pinkness add about ⅔ of the Sichuan pepper as well as the sesame/soy sauce mixture and the sugar. Mix well and add the water, stirring well to combine.

Finally stir in the spring onions and rice noodles.

Serve immediately with the remaining Sichuan pepper sprinkled over.

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Dukkah Dusted Lamb Cutlets with Quinoa & Aubergine Salad

I saw this recipe at www.britishlarder.co.uk which lassifies itself as an “inspirational recipe diary designed to inspire creativity and passion among likeminded foodies”. Fair enough although I actually hate the term foodie. But anyway, I had in fact stumbled upon this recipe by mistake as I’d actually been looking for the website of the restaurant so-named in Suffolk as I wanted to eat there.

The website is very good though and I would recommend checking it out as it has a wealth of really interesting recipes for when one is up for a bit more of a culinary challenge: perfect dinner party stuff.

Dukkah itself, by the way, is an Egyptian side dish, typically a dip, made up of a mixture of herbs, nuts, and spices. The word itself is derived from the Arabic for "to pound" since the mixture of spices and nuts are usually pounded together after being dry roasted to a texture that is neither a powder nor paste. As ever with these sorts of things the actual ingredients can vary wildly: it is reasonably easy to get hold of readymade blends these days (I know both Tesco & Waitrose sell it) or of course you can make your own, as here.

A few words on the recipe itself (the original is here). I actually forgot to use zest in the dukkah wet rub which was a bit of a shame but probably not the end of the world as there are quite a lot of acidic flavours anyway and rather than the pomegranate & apple blossom vinegar of the original I used a mix of verjus and apple balsamic vinegar. I also used a red & white quinoa with bulgar wheat mix. Standard white quinoa is fine.

Unfortunately I managed misread my own version of the dukkah recipe when I had scaled it down and it was rather too clove-pungent but luckily when it was cooked it mellowed somewhat. And as for the dukkah cooking: don’t be afraid of it getting very “toasty” - it may look as though it is burning but it will actually taste divine.

The lamb by the way was probably a little underdone for my tastes (I generally prefer lamb cutlets and the like more cooked than steak) so if you’re like minded do cook it for a little longer (and heed my point about the dukkah, above).

I would definitely use this rub again, perhaps on some chicken or even pork chops, as it really is delicious so do give it a try. All quantities below are for two people.


Dukkah Spice and Nut Blend

¼ tsp whole cloves

½ tsp whole fennel seeds
½ tsp coriander seeds
½ tsp cumin seeds
½ tsp paprika
¼ tsp salt
pinch ground turmeric
pinch crushed dried chillies
freshly cracked black pepper
15g chopped roasted hazelnuts
20g chopped pistachio nuts
15g roasted white sesame seeds

In a pestle and mortar crush the cloves, fennel, coriander, cumin, paprika, salt, pepper, turmeric and dried chillies to a powder.

Add the hazelnuts, pistachio nuts and sesame seeds and mix lightly. Store in an airtight container until needed.

Dukkah Crusted Lamb Cutlets

4 lamb cutlets
50g dukkah
1 tbsp toasted sesame oil
1 tbsp honey
zest and juice of 1/2 lemon
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

In a small mixing bowl mix the dukkah with the oil, honey, lemon juice and zest.

Season the lamb cutlets with salt and black pepper then dip each cutlet into the dukkah mixture and rub the mix in, ensuring that the cutlets are evenly coated on both sides.

Set the cutlets aside for 10 minutes to marinate.

Heat a griddle pan and cook the cutlets 3 minutes on each side (as I mention above this will be pretty rare). Leave to rest for 5 minutes before serving.

Quinoa and Grilled Aubergine Salad

100g quinoa

1 tsp turmeric
sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper
1 tbsp honey
1 tbsp olive oil
10ml apple balsamic vinegar
15ml verjus
1 aubergine, sliced into ½ cm thick rounds
100g green beans, blanched and halved
1 tbsp parsley, finely chopped
1 tbsp fresh chives, finely chopped

In a medium saucepan place the quinoa, turmeric, salt and pepper and cover with twice as much cold water. Bring to the boil, reduce the heat to a gentle simmer and cook until the quinoa is tender to the bite. Once cooked, drain the quinoa in a sieve . Refresh under cold running water, drain again and put to one side.

Measure the honey, olive oil, verjus and apple balsamic vinegar into a small bowl and whisk together to make a vinaigrette. Season to taste and set aside.

Meanwhile heat a griddle pan. Season the aubergine rounds with salt and black pepper on both sides and then griddle the aubergines on the hot griddle pan, without oil, for approximately 2 minutes on either sides so that you have dark griddle marks.

Place the hot aubergines on a large plate and pour the vinaigrette over. Leave to soak and absorb the vinaigrette for 20 minutes, turning after 10.

Now mix the drained quinoa, green beans and chopped herbs together, season to taste and then drizzle the vinaigrette from the plate over to bind it all together, add further vinaigrette to taste.

Saffron Yoghurt

100ml natural yoghurt

pinch of saffron strands
juice and zest of half a lemon
sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper

In a small bowl whisk together the yoghurt, saffron, lemon juice and zest, season to taste and leave the mixture to infuse for 20 minutes before serving.

When everything is ready and rested or infused as necessary arrange the quinoa salad with the aubergines on two plates, place the lamb cutlets on the opposite side and spoon the saffron yoghurt into a small dipping pot and serve.

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Black Bean Chicken & Dry-Fried Green Beans

Once again some Fuchsia Dunlop recipes here: slightly adapted in both cases and from “Every Grain of Rice” rather than Sichuan Cookery.

The black bean chicken is of Hunanese origin and employs two of its most distinctive seasonings: fermented black beans and chillies. On the other hand the dryfried green beans are from the Sichuan province and one that I have cooked many times before although from the aforementioned Sichuan Cookery. This is the vegetarian version from Every Grain of Rice where ya cai or preserved vegetable are used in place of minced pork for a savoury kick.


Black Bean Chicken
serves 2 with one other dish & rice

2 boneless chicken thighs, cut into 1-2cm cubes
1 small green pepper, cut into 1-2cm squares (to match the chicken)
2 tbsp groundnut oil
3 garlic cloves, peeled & sliced
20g ginger, peeled & sliced
2 tbsp fermented black beans, rinsed & drained
1 tsp ground chillies
salt
2 spring onions, green parts only, finely sliced
1 tsp sesame oil
For the marinade
1 tbsp Shaoxing wine
¼ tsp salt
1½ tsp potato flour
1 tsp light soy sauce
1 tsp dark soy sauce

Put the chicken pieces in a bowl with the marinade ingredients, mix well and set aside.

Heat a wok over a high flame and add ½ tbsp oil. Add the peppers and stir-fry until slightly cooked but still crisp. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.

Reheat the wok over a high flame and add the remaining groundnut oil. Swirl it around to coat the sides of the wok then add the marinated chicken and stir-fry until the pieces have separated.

Add the garlic and ginger and continue to stir-fry until they smell fragrant.

Add the black beans and stir around a few times.

Add the ground chillies and also return the peppers to the wok.

Continue to stir-fry until the chicken is just cooked through. Season to taste if necessary with a little salt then stir in the spring onion greens. Remove from the heat and stir in the sesame oil before serving.

Sichuanese Dry-Fried Green Beans
serves 2 with one other dish & rice

300g green beans, trimmed & halved
4 dried Facing Heaven (or other red chilli), snipped in half and seeds discarded
2 spring onions, white parts only, finely sliced
3 garlic cloves, finely sliced
20g ginger, peeled & finely sliced
2 tbsp Sichuan preserved vegetable, rinsed, drained & chopped (optional)
salt
1½ tbsp groundnut oil
½ tsp Sichuan pepper

1 tsp sesame oil

Blanch the beans until just tender in a pan of salted, boiling water. Drain thoroughly.

Heat a wok over a high flame and add the groundnut oil then the chillies and Sichuan pepper. Let them sizzle until the chillies have darkened (be very careful not to let them burn) and it all smells very fragrant.

Add the spring onion, garlic & ginger and stir-fry for a minute then add the preserved vegetable and stir a few times.

Add the blanched beans and stir-fry for a few minutes more over a fairly high heat until they are coated in the fragrant oil and puckered and browning in places.

Add salt to taste then stir in the sesame oil and serve.

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Pork, Thyme, Mustard & Mushrooms with Lemony Beans & Hasselback Potatoes

I feel terrible but I can’t remember at all where the inspiration came from for the pork chops - so if anyone recognises this as an adaptation of one of their own, I do apologise.

What I do remember is that I used quark but in hindsight - and what I would suggest - would be to use double cream or even creme fraiche.

This is very simple really for what comes out as a visually pleasing and utterly delicious main. Definitely fit for a dinner party. Just do the shallots slowly at the back of the hob while you do the chops, or do them in advance if you like.

The potatoes are simply put, amazing: tender slices of potatoey buttery goodness with a delicious crisp bottom. They are definitely my new favourite way of doing the humble spud and once you get into the groove of the slicing method (which is excellent and comes courtesy of Nigella), really a piece of.. um, really easy to prepare!

The beans are also inspired by Nigella and a way of cooking them that I turn to often.


Pork in a Creamy Mustard Thyme Sauce with Mushrooms and Caramelized Shallots
serves 2

2 pork loin chops
olive oil
sea salt & freshly ground black pepper
large handful mushrooms (I used a mix of organic brown button & forestiere)
1 shallot, thinly sliced & slowly caramelised in a little oil & a pinch of sugar
½ tsp soft brown sugar
100 ml chicken stock
1 tbsp grain mustard
2 tbsp quark (or double cream)
a few sprigs fresh thyme, leaves picked + couple extra sprigs to finish

Season the chops all over with salt and pepper and then brown them in heavy based sauté pan over a medium/high heat with a splash of olive oil.

Remove the chops and set aside on a plate.

Add another splash of oil to the pan and turn up the heat then sauté the mushrooms: again, set aside when tender.

Add enough chicken stock enough to cover the bottom of the pan and let it bubble to deglaze.

Remove from the heat and then add the grain mustard, the thyme leaves and Quark. Stir constantly until the quark has incorporated back into the sauce then put back onto a low heat and place the chops back in along with the mushrooms and simmer until the meat is cooked through.

Serve garnished with the caramelized shallots and sprigs of thyme.

Hasselback Potatoes 

serves 2

12 fairly small (but not tiny) new or salad potatoes
15 grams butter
1 tbsp olive oil
Halen Mon salt

Preheat the oven to 200C.

Put each potato, in turn, in the bowl of a wooden spoon and cut across with a very sharp knife at about 3mm intervals.

Once prepared, put the baking tin on the hob with the butter and oil and heat up until the butter is bubbling. Add the potatoes turning them well, putting them in upside down (ie, cut side down) first, then the right side up, and spoon the fat over them.

Sprinkle each potato well with salt and put in the oven to cook for about 40 minutes.

Serve immediately.


Lemony beans
serves 2

200g fine green beans, topped & tailed
15 grams unsalted butter
a splash (barely) of olive oil
½ lemon, juiced
sea salt
freshly ground white pepper

Cook the beans in a big pot of salted boiling water for about 6 minutes until they are al dente.

Drain and then put back on the hob over a low heat with the butter, olive oil and lemon juice.

Stir around to coat the beans in the lemony butter then add lots of freshly ground white pepper and a little salt to taste.

Serve immediately.

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First time post - Stir fried pork with green beans & peppercorns!

OK, so I should really be going to bed now as have to be up for work bright & early in the morning, but, well I've been thinking about doing a blog talking about the things I cook and eat on a daily basis (yes yes I know, like the 10,000 other food bloggers) for years now. And tonight I thought "well there's no time like the present".

So that first rambling paragraph out of the way I'll now attempt to post some photos of tonight's dinner.. Stir fried pork with beans and green peppercorns.  As a lot of people will recognise, this is taken from David Thompson's "pink book" (although sadly my copy isn't pink).  I made a few changes...

Pounding the paste, so to speak.  I couldn't seem to get the chillis any more "pastey" as such but I could definitely smell the difference in the paste - I usually use my mini electric grinder.  You can see a few dried shrimp eyes if you look closely ;) 

Most of the rest of the ingredients - just the limes leaves, thai basil and white sugar missing I think. Also the little pile on the left is a mixture of krachai & ginger as I didn't have quite enough of the former.  Mmmm I love fresh green peppercorns.  I'm quite partial to fish sauce as well.

What Jack & Polly, two of the laziest cats in the world, were doing the whole time I was cooking - not even the smell of dried shrimp could rouse them.

Frying the curry paste!

The rest of the ingredients added - I included some sliced babycorn as I had some in the fridge.

Served with some brown rice - not the greatest photo in the world but it will do.

I've cooked a few othe things from the pink book which have all been excellent and this didn't disappoint.  Was a little apprehensive in using the dried shrimp, particularly as the recipe seemed to call for an awful lot (4 tbsp!) but it certainly helped give the dish depth.  I loved it with the brown rice as well - the nuttiness of the rice worked really well with the relative lack of sauce and oiliness of the stir fry / dry curry.

So there we have my first attempt at posting! :-)

My intention in the future is to write up my take on the recipes I take on but as I said, it really is time for bed... I've recently cooked some fairly interesting meals so I'll try and post some photos of those over the next few days as well as what I cook up each evening (you can probably expect some random photos as well)... in the meantime - Good Night!

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