Chinese Pancakes

What is nicer than a delicate warm pancakes stuffed with crispy sweet duck, crunchy cucumber, spring onions, all smothered in sweet hoisin sauce!

This is my all time favourite item on the take out menu, usually when I order take out I order extra pancakes, there can never be enough! Although sometimes I buy the ready to cook duck kit in the supermarket and once again there are never enough pancakes so this way allows me to have a many pancakes as I want, also the homemade ones taste so much better than shop bought!

Homemade Pizza with Garlic Crust Dip

What better than pizza, well I'll tell you what's better...homemade pizza! There is a certain satisfaction to making  your own pizza dough, not to mention adding as much or as little toppings as you like...even adding adding an unusual twist that makes pizza night special just for you!

Making pizza in our house is a family affair, my children love stretching the dough into a circle, mixing the easy tomato sauce and topping their pizza just the way they like it. What better weekend baking is there, no rising just lots of fun kneading and shaping. The garlic dipping sauce is just as easy to mix together as the tomato sauce and tastes as good as take out!

Mark my word, you'll think twice about ordering out after you've tried making your own...enjoy!

Oven Baked Chinese Spring Rolls

I love Chinese Takeout but some times it's really nice to make your own and for it to be just as tasty and lets face it much healthier. I favour these spring rolls because they are baked and also there is no Asian market locally so proper spring roll sheets are impossible to get, but Filo pastry is in every supermarket freezer cabinet. I also bought Blue Dragon Stir Fry Vegetable Mix  (or if you're in a real hurry 400g of frozen stir fry mix with 100g beansprouts) instead of the individual cans for the beansprouts etc. Beware hot cooking liquid, is the enemy of Filo pastry, it will disintegrate before your very eyes if the mix is too wet. To prepare in advance, make and bake the rolls up to a day ahead, then keep chilled. To serve, reheat them at 190°C/gas 5 for about 5 minutes.

Makes: 12

Ingredients
Filling:
1 tbsp Toasted sesame oil
300g Cooked chicken or cooked prawns, roughly chopped
100g Cubed ham
4 Spring onions, trimmed and thinly sliced
2 Carrots, peeled and coarsely grated
1 Large courgette, coarsely grated
150g Bean sprouts
220g Can water chestnuts, drained and coarsely chopped
220g Can bamboo shoots, drained and coarsely chopped
2 tbsp Soy sauce
1 tbsp Dry sherry

Rolls:
3 tbsp Vegetable oil
1 Packet 270g of frozen filo pastry

Method
Preheat the oven to 190ºC/375ºF/Gas Mark 5  and line a large baking tray with baking paper.



Place the filling ingredients into a large bowl and mix. Heat a large frying pan and cook off the filling (in two batches if necessary) for 6-8 minutes over a medium heat.



Season to taste and let cool slightly before draining off the cooking liquid. I usually use a colander over a large bowl. Allow the filling cool enough to handle.

Unroll the filo pastry, keeping the sheets in a stack. Then, using a sharp knife, cut the pastry in half creating 12 squares.



On a clean surface place one sheet of filo pastry with a corner facing you. Place 2 tbsp of filling as shown below. Place the vegetable oil in a small cup with a pastry brush.


Roll the mix away from you once, then bring the sides in towards the centre. Now continue to roll and seal with a brush of oil. Place on the prepared baking sheet and brush all over with oil. Bake the rolls for 12–15 minutes until golden and crisp. Transfer to a wire rack and allow the rolls to cool slightly before serving.

Serve with Sweet chilli dipping sauce or sweet and sour sauce.

Chicken and Sweetcorn Soup

 

This finishes out the Chinese take out at home meal series, assuming that you can make your favourite main meal. This is very quick and a tasty snack, real fast food! I personally like my soup thick so as a result I use a heaped tablespoon of cornflour (more like the way my own Chinese takeout serves it), that way everything is suspended and it looks very inviting. 

Serves 4 as a starter or 2 as a main

Ingredients
1 ltr Chicken stock
100g Chicken, cooked
165g Sweetcorn
1 Medium egg, lightly beaten
Spring onions or chives
1tsp - 1tbsp Cornflour
1tbsp Cold water
Seasoning

Method
In a large saucepan, heat the chicken stock, meanwhile roughly chop the chicken. Add the chicken and sweetcorn, bring to the boil. Mix the cornflour and cold water together and stir into the soup until it thickens. Beat the egg in a small jug or cup and pour it in slowly to the simmering soup. Stirring all the while, this create the strings of cooked egg. Garnish with the chopped spring onions or chives and serve immediately.

Egg Fried Rice Anyone Can Make

This is something that has eluded me for many years, I could never master fried rice that tasted and looked appealing. I buy the ready cooked rice because life's too short to cook and cool rice when you just want to get on with business of eating!

Serves 2 or (4 as a side)

Ingredients
250g Microwavable Long Grain rice or left over rice.
1 Medium egg, beaten
75g Cubed ham
100g Frozen peas
1/2 tsp Garlic paste or 1 clove of garlic crushed
1 Spring onion thinly sliced
1 tbsp Light soy sauce
1 tbsp Stir fry oil
1 tbsp Sherry

Method
In a large non stick frying pan, scramble the egg until almost cooked. Take of the heat and set aside.
Heat the oil in the pan and fry off the ham and garlic for 1-2 minutes, add the cold rice (break up if vacuum pack) and the peas. Cook for a further 5 minutes until everything is warmed through.
Add the sherry, bring up to the boil, reduce the heat and add the soy and egg. Warm everything through and garish with the chopped spring onion. If you wish you can add cooked prawns and cooked chicken along with the rice for a more substantial meal.

Speedy Naan Pizza

This is quicker than Take Out because it's ready to eat in 30 minutes and so that I can call on it at anytime I keep the grated cheese, Naan bread, Passata and ham in the freezer until required.

Serves 2

Ingredients

2 Naan Bread
3 tbsp Passata (sieve tomatoes)
200g grated mozzarella
100g cubed ham
2 sliced mushrooms

Method

Preheat the oven to 200C degrees. Spread the Passata on the Naan Bread, sprinkle the grated cheese, ham and sliced mushrooms on top and place the pizzas onto a hot baking and bake until golden.
Serve with a green salad and garlic Mayonnaise for dipping the crust into.