Chinese New Year - Kung Hei Fat Choi

Kung Hei Fat Choi! Once again it is time for the Chinese New Year and this year is the Year of The Rooster!

I wanted to show how easy it is to make some really good Chinese food at home.  You don't need loads of special equipment (although a wok style frying pan does help) or really specialist ingredients.

We often have a stir fry during the week.  By using a lot of ingredients but just a small amount of each you will have a huge feast to feed the family.

The secret is in the prep.  I like to get everything chopped and sliced in advance so that when the time comes to stir fry it all together nothing overcooks because I am taking too long to prepare the next ingredient.

I use onion, celery, mushrooms, red peppers, ginger and garlic as standard and then like to add mange tout (the thin little peas that you cook the whole thing), sugar snap peas, baby sweetcorn and a leafy green vegetable like Chinese Bok Choi (available in most supermarkets) or a baby spinach.  I also like to add some 'straight to wok' noodles again there is a selection in most supermarkets.

Over the years I have gathered a collection of Chinese style platters, plates and bowls however these are not essential so don't let not having them put you off a good stir fry!

Every good stir fry has some sort of rice as an accompaniment.  For speed I usually use the microwave basmati or long grain rice and whilst it is in the microwave I will mix up 3-4 eggs and have some frozen peas and chopped spring onion ready.

Add some vegetable oil to the hot pan, add the rice and mix around to avoid it sticking

When it is hot add the beaten egg and continue to mix to avoid sticking. Add the frozen peas until warmed through.

Serve on a platter drizzled with a thin drizzle of sesame oil and top with the chopped spring onions and you are good to go!

For the main dishes I will stir fry the onion, peppers, celery, garlic and ginger then add sliced chicken breast however you could add thinly sliced strips of beef or prawns.

When the chicken (meat/fish) has cooked I add the other vegetable and the straight to wok noodles. 

You can buy really good and authentic oyster sauce or black bean sauces which go into the wok and mix through until all of the ingredients have been coated and the sauce has warmed through.  Serve immediately with the Egg Fried Rice.

Alternatively, after a recent trip to Chinatown in London's SoHo area I went into one of the Chinese supermarkets and bought a bag of little bok choi

which I stir fried with onion and sliced garlic and served with a drizzle of Oyster Sauce.  Quick and easy and really delicious.

For oils you can use any vegetable or rapeseed oil to stir fry and a sesame oil for drizzling over the top to bring out the flavour.  Sesame oil is too strong to use as a stir fry oil on it own but you can add some to the rapeseed oil.

I like to serve my stir-fries and egg fried rice on the table and let everyone help themselves.

Do you ever cook a Chinese inspired meal at home.  Please leave a comment below to say which is your favourite food to cook. 

Perhaps you prefer to eat out and get someone else to cook it for you so you can relax and enjoy a lovely meal.  Which type of restaurant is your favourite?

Here are a couple of other Chinese New Year posts written by blogger friends - hope you enjoy them.

http://www.kaveyeats.com/2014/01/kung-hei-fat-choy-happy-chinese-new-year.html 

http://www.fabfood4all.co.uk/mid-autumn-festival-feast-amoy/

All opinions and photos are my own. No photos may be reproduced in any form without my written permission.

Borderfields Cold Pressed Rapeseed Oils

I get excited when I see the produce I am growing in my allotment (half plot size) so try to imagine the sight of the 15 acre Innovation Garden on the Hammond Food Oils and Hammond Produce's trial garden!

I was taken to a marquee in the middle of this 15 acres thinking this was a sort of Great British Bake Off but with veggies! I was there to learn about their cold pressed rapeseed oil branded as Borderfields.

At their Innovation Gardens, a 15 acre site they grow vegetables on a small scale trial basis to see if they are the sort of plant they want to grow commercially.  We were shown around the rows of beautiful and colourful vegetables.

But we were really there to learn all about their range of cold pressed rapeseed oils.

Rapeseed oil can be used instead of any oil for any purpose such as frying, baking, stir frying except deep fat frying.  It has a high smoke point allowing its use with higher heats before it burns.  It has half the saturated fat than olive oils, is high in Omega 3 & 6 (vital for good health and brain function) and high in Vitamin E.

You can easily trade across and use cold pressed rapeseed oil instead of olive oil and trade up replacing vegetable or sunflower oils for cold pressed rapeseed oil.

Borderfields currently have 25% of the cold pressed rapeseed oil market but there is scope for a lot of growth in this area. They currently produce 1,500 bottles per hour and are enlarging their range of flavour infused oils which currently includes Chili, garlic, lemon, garlic and ginger (a stir fry's best friend!), basil and original, pure cold pressed rapeseed oil.

I have rainbow chard on my allotment but these were amazing and beautiful.  Chef Philippe Wavrin demonstrated three recipes each using the Borderfields cold pressed rapeseed oil.

This mayonnaise was so easy to make that I will definitely be giving it a try.  Note the beautiful golden colour that comes from the oil.  You can add fresh herbs, lemon zest or other subtle flavourings.

I tried a vegetable I had seen but never tried before called kohlrabi.  It is a relative of the turnip family and I naturally assummed it would be bitter. It is really mild with a slightly sweet taste and perfect to cut into thin match sticks and dress with the rapeseed oil mayo above.

The winds were howling and the skies were grey but between showers we got out into the fields to find out just exactly what was growing.

Even the weather couldn't keep us from the vegetable patch.

Wish my cabbages had grown so beautifully! I think the wind in the fields blew all the bugs away!

Phil the head gardener of this project picked samples and told us all about them before slicing thin strips for is to taste.  You cannot beat the taste of a radish just pulled from the soil!

The only rainbow wasn't in the sky but the different collections of vegetables and in ths case the beetroot.

Or the cauliflower collection!!

After our brisk walk around the rows of vegetables we went inside the marquee for a colourful, healthy and delicious lunch all based on the vegetables growing outside and using Borderfields cold pressed rapeseed oil.

Jaipur Slaw

Baked Beets with Pomegranate, Orange, Basil & Feta

Fennel Risotto with Ricotta & Dried Chilli

Lemon & Garlic Rainbow Chard

Mixed Cauliflower Rice

Even the serviettes had vegetable on them!

After a delicious and healthy lunch we had Purple Carrot Cheesecakes! There is not a child on this planet that could detect this was made with carrots!  It was really creamy, tasty and beautiful.

A cup of coffee, wellies off and we were ready to get our trains home.  Armed with some fresh veg and a range of the rapeseed oils we left planning to switch to a healthier oil!

I was a guest of Borderfields and Hammond Food Oils to visit their Innovation Garden outside Nottingham.  I was not required to write a positive review.  All opinions and photos are my own.