Szechuan Chicken Stir-Fry

Take a look at that yummy Szechuan stir-fry. It looks pretty appealing, huh? I love the mix of bright colours, and the lure of sweat-inducing chillis.

Well, if you are like me, and you've indulged a little too much over the Christmas and New Year period, perhaps it's time to introduce some new, healthy recipes to your repertoire. Stir-fry is always a winner in the health stakes, and this is an idea that is simple, easy and a bit different.

For this recipe, I employ the use of a packet spice mix. I often turn my nose up at such things, but this one is actually pretty good and I wouldn't know how to make it from scratch. So, get your hands on this little baby and you're only a few easy steps away from chowing down some Szechuan goodness.

All you have to do is chop up some chicken breast and put it into a plastic zip-lock bag or freezer bag. Then, add the spice paste, about a teaspoon of cornstarch and a little oil, and seal the bag shut. Then, make sure everything is evenly coated in leave it to marinate for about 20 minutes or so.

Then, just stir fry the chicken along with your choice of vegies, add a splash of dry sherry or Chinese cooking wine, and perhaps a bit of water or chicken stock if you want it a bit more saucy. Also, you might like to add some extra chilli because the spice mix isn't all that hot. I don't mind a few nuts thrown in, too.

Serve it on some rice and dig in to some guilt-free deliciousness!

Faux Lasagna

So, you made a gigantic batch of bolognaise sauce, and you don't want to eat spaghetti bolognaise for breakfast, lunch and dinner for two weeks, so what should you do with it? Well, my recommendation is to freeze it in small batches so you can make meals quickly and easily on those lazy days. But if you want a change from the old spag bol, here's something you can try with the sauce.


I like to call it a "faux lasagna". I can't make a real lasagna because I don't have an oven. So here's what I do.

I boil up some regular pasta, such as a penne or spirals.

While that is boiling, I make the bechamel sauce. To do this, I melt one tablespoon of butter in a small saucepan, and add one tablespoon (or slightly less) of flour, mixing it in and cooking for about a minute, making sure it doesn't burn. Then I turn off the heat and slowly add one cup of slightly warmed (in the microwave) milk, whisking as I go. Once that's all added, I add salt, pepper and nutmeg and return it to the heat, stirring all the while as it heats up. It needs to continue cooking and being stirred for about 5 minutes. Then, I turn of the heat, add some grated cheese to melt in there, and a little more nutmeg.

Once the pasta has cooked, I drain it and add my leftover bolognaise sauce, heating it through briefly to make sure everything is hot.

Then, I load the sauce covered pasta into small ramekin dishes, or otherwise, one large casserole dish. I top it with the bechamel sauce, and a little extra grated cheese. I let this grill in the toaster oven until the cheese is all golden and melty.

This is such a quick and easy way to use your leftovers and get that yummy lasagna taste with minimal effort!

An oldie but a goodie

Sometimes, when it comes to cooking, I think there is too much emphasis on being "original" and "different". Taking something delicious, then ruining it by adding quirky and unexpected ingredients, does not a good meal make. There's a whole cult of people out there who want to turn food creation into a pretentious, arty-farty elitist club, trying so hard to impress those around them by their ingenuity. I'm all for trying new recipes and mixing things up, but there are those times when you just want to get back to the basics.

And that's where the good, old-fashioned spag bol comes in. This is a dish that I've been happily enjoying since I was a wee child, so why fix what aint broken?

My mother is not exactly a whiz in the kitchen, but her tip for tasty spag bol that she passed on to me has been invaluable - add a can of tomato soup. That's right, tomato soup makes the yummiest spag bol!

So here's what you do:

First, saute a diced onion, a diced stalk of celery, a diced carrot and a crushed clove of garlic in some olive oil for about 5 minutes.

Then, add about 500g of beef mince and cook, breaking up the mince, until brown.

At this point, depending on how fatty the mince is, I may drain off some fat.

Then, add a can of tomoto soup, a can of diced tomatoes, 2tbs tomato paste/puree, a tsp of sugar, two bay leaves, salt, pepper and some mixed dried herbs (I use oregano and basil).

Simmer for about 20 minutes, then serve it on some al dente spaghetti.





And don't forget the garlic bread! I mince some fresh garlic into some butter and keep it in the fridge, so that I can make tasty garlic bread quickly and easily by popping some garlicky buttered bread into the toaster oven. Delish!

Vegetable soup fit for a Belgian king!

My good friends Gert and Elies (who are Belgian) gave me this great cookbook a while back:

And it's true! Everybody really DOES eat well in Belgium! I spent a blissful week in Gert and Elies' home in Meldert, Belgium, stuffing my face with pastries, rich hearty meals, waffles, to-die-for beers and delicious coffee. From that time, I vowed that I would learn the culinary ways of the Belgians.

Since my resources are limited in my little Japanese apartment, I'm yet to try a lot of the recipes. But one recipe I was able to follow (adapted, mind you) is the one for "Hearty Vegetable Soup", which has apparently been keeping the common Belgian man warm through centuries of frosty winters.

So here is what you need to eat vegie soup like a Belgian (serves four):

3 rashers of bacon, thinly sliced

an onion, finely diced

about 3 small potatoes, peeled and cut into large chunks

one small sweet potato, peeled and cut into small-ish chunks

one stalk of celery, diced

one carrot, diced

a hefty handful of beans, trimmed and sliced diagonally

about 6 cups (or thereabouts) of chicken stock

fresh parsely and good bread, to serve

First thing's first: get yourself a large non-stick pot. Fry up the bacon in this, in a little olive oil, for a few minutes. Then, add the onion and cook for about 5 minutes, until soft and lightly coloured. Then, add all the other vegies and the stock and season with black pepper and a little salt (but don't go nuts with the salt - the stock is usually salty enough). Simmer until the vegies are tender - about 15 to 20 minutes. Be careful! Mashed potatoes in your vegie soup is not cool! So don't overcook.

Sprinkle with plenty of fresh parsely just before serving, and don't even think about NOT serving this with the best crusty bread you can get your hands on.

Pork with Spiced Apple

There is something about pork and apples that makes them just made for each other. Here's a little twist on the old apple sauce: spiced apples, cooked quickly and easily and served on juicy pork steaks.


I got the recipe from this trusty website, always a failproof! I served it with steamed baby potatoes and greens. I omitted the cayenne pepper because I don't have any, and used a little Japanese seven-spice powder instead.

This is an excellent and satisfying mid-week meal.

Hearty Beef Stew

As the weather becomes colder and colder, I crave hearty and filling meals that remind me of my childhood. Here is a good old classic: beef stew. Of course, anyone can cook a stew, and you don't need a recipe. It's just meat in a broth, cooked slowly until tender. But I want to share my tips to make a stew that's thick, tasty and very economical.

First, I use some stewing beef, such as chuck steak. I get about a kilo of it, and cut it into roughly one inch chunks. I brown the beef in a little oil in batches - no more than about 6 cubes of beef browning at one time. After it's all browned, I season the whole lot with salt and pepper and set it aside.

Then, after adding a little more oil to the pan, I gently saute one roughly chopped onion, a stalk of chopped celery, a diced carrot and 2 cloves of chopped garlic until soft (about 5 mintues).

Next, I sprinkle over about one tablespoon of plain flour and cook, stirring, for about one minute.

Now, I add the liquid: one cup of beef stock, half a cup of red wine and one can of chopped tomatoes. I also add a couple of dried bay leaves and some dried parsley. At this stage, I return the beef to the stew and bring the whole thing to a gentle simmer, then turn the heat to it's lowest setting and let it gently simmer (very gently!) for about 2 hours, with the lid on.

During that 2 hours, I might occasionally go in and give it a quick stir. Also, I taste to check if it needs any extra seasoning.

After 2 hours, it should be quite tender. Usually, I find it's a little runny, so I take one tablespoon of Gravox (gravy mix) and make it into a paste with a little cold water, then add it to the stew and stir. This thickens the whole thing and adds some extra beefy flavour.

Now, it's ready to serve! I like to serve it with mashed potatoes, peas and crusty bread with butter. Eat the leftovers the next day for lunch (I like to eat it with brown rice). Delicious, even if I say so myself!

Italian Chicken - The Hunters' Way

This is one-pot-wonder I cooked up, loosely based on Nigella's recipe for Pollo alla Cacciatora from her wonderful book, Nigella Express.




I made a few changes, and here they are:

1. I used regular olive oil instead of garlic oil, and added a clove of crushed garlic.

2. I used smoked bacon instead of pancetta.

3. I ommitted the rosemary and added a little dried basil instead.

4. I used chicken breast instead of thigh.

5. I used regular salt instead of celery salt.

6. I used soy beans instead of cannellini beans, and doubled the quantity.

Many changes! But when you get right down to it, it's the same basic idea. That's the beauty of home cooking, you can just do your own thing!

This is quite a nice meal, very fast and easy. I thought it was quite nice served on rice. I think it would also be nice to eat it with some good crusty bread. Another winner from Nigella!