I don’t pretend that this is an authentic Chinese recipe, but the flavours used always reminds me of Chinese food.
I use ready roll puff pastry which makes these quick and easy to make. They also freeze really well.
I sometimes dip these into sweet chilli sauce which is sublime but they are also pretty fabulous on their own.
Makes between 8 and 10
Ingredients
1 Large sheet ready rolled puff pastry
500 Grams Lean pork mince
50 Grams Breadcrumbs
1 Tbsp Ginger (grated)
2-3 Cloves of garlic (finely chopped)
2-3 Scallions/spring onions (finely sliced)
1/2 Tbsp Sesame oil
1 Tsp Chinese 5 spice powder
1 Tsp Chilli powder
1 Tsp Salt
1 Egg yolk
Sesame seeds (optional)
Method
Preheat your oven to 180 degrees
Add the pork, garlic, ginger, breadcrumbs, scallions, spices, and sesame oil to a large bowl and mix with your hands until well combined
Unroll the puff pastry, and evenly spread the pork mix in an even line down the centre of the pastry
Brush the long edges of the pastry with egg yolk. Bring the long edges of the pastry together and together by crimping with your fingers or a fork.
Brush the long log created with egg yolk (and sprinkle with sesame seeds if you are using them). Divide the long roll into 8 or 10 pieces and transfer to a baking sheet
Bake for 40 minutes or until the pastry is a deep golden brown
On the days when I’m not in the mood for cooking I enjoy a good Chinese take away.
This can be expensive, and not especially healthy. One of the dishes I enjoy is orange chicken. Sometimes it can be overly sweet and the chicken is deep fried, making it high in calories.
My version is a bit healthier, but still delicious. It’s perfect for a week night dinner if you want something a bit different and is pretty quick to make. I don’t like this dish too sweet (I think there is enough sweetness from the orange), but if you prefer you can add a tablespoon of honey to the sauce if you have a sweet tooth.
Ingredients
500 Grams Chicken breast (cut into bite sized pieces)
2 Oranges (finely grated zest and juice)
250 ml Chicken stock
1 Tbsp Rice wine or cider vinegar
1 Tbsp Garlic (finely chopped)
1 Tbsp Ginger (finely chopped, or 1 Tsp of ground ginger if you don’t have any fresh)
1 Tsp Salt
1 Tbsp Oil
1 – 2 Tbsps Cornflower (mixed with a small amount of water until its a smooth thick liquid)
Seseme seeds and finely sliced scallions/spring onions (optional) to garnish
Method
Heat the oil in a large frying pan and add the chicken. Cook for 5-10 minutes until nearly cooked
Remove the chicken from the pan and add the garlic and ginger, cooking for 1-2 minutes
Add the stock, salt orange juice and zest and the chicken to the pan and simmer
When the liquid has reduced by about a third, add your cornflour mix to the pan stir well.
Simmer for a further 5 minutes until the sauce has thickened
Garnish with toasted sesame seeds and thinly sliced spring onion and serve with rice or noodles
I’m seriously missing being able to travel. With this in mind I decided to recreate one of my favourite dishes. I first ate this in Hong Kong. I first ate this in a hole in the wall cafe. It was a revelation and probably the best thing I ate the whole time was there.
Food in Hong Kong is amazing but this just hit the spot. If chicken soup is the ultimate Jewish comfort food, this is probably Hong Kong’s version.
Wet two sides of the wonton wrapper to the wrappers stick
You can find wonton wrappers in the freezer section of most Asian supermarkets, or larger supermarkets. This may seem like a lot of wontons, but I also freeze half so I can pull them out of the freezer without any fuss.
First fold the wonton into a triangle
These are also great to make with kids, (a little bit of child labour never does any harm). But I also like to stick the music on and switch off, making these can be quite therapeutic. For the soup I usually use shop bought good quality chicken stock. So if you have some wontons in the freezer and some ready made chicken stock this can be a really quick meal.
Dab the the longest edges of the triangle with water and fold into the centre
Ingredients
For the dumplings
500 Grams Pork Mince
4-5cm Piece of ginger (finely grated)
2 Cloves of garlic (minced)
2 Scallions/spring onions (finely chopped)
1tsp Cornflour
1tsp Sesame oil
1tsp Soy sauce
1 Red chilli (finely chopped)
1 Pack of wonton wrappers
For the broth
1 Tbsp Sesame oil
1 Litre Chicken stock
1 Tbsp Rice wine vinegar (I didn’t have this and used cider vinegar and it was fine)
2 Scallions/spring onions (ends removed and cut in half)
3-4 cm Piece of ginger (cut into 3-4 pieces)
1 Red chilli (cut on half, and seeds removed)
2 Cloves of garlic (cut in half)
Garnish with finely chopped scallions and coriander
Stock infused with garlic, chilli, ginger and scallions
Method
Put all the ingredients for the filling of the wonton filling in a bowl, and get your hands in and mix well until all ingredients are combined. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes
Open your pack of wonton wrappers and like filo pastry, you’ll need to cover it with a damp cloth to prevent it drying out. Keep a small bowl of water beside you, as you’ll need to wet the edges of the wonton so they stick
Take a square and put a small teaspoon of the filling in the centre. Wet the edges of two sides of the wonton and fold over to make a triangle. Make sure to press the edges together well (or else water will get in when you cook them). Dab the two long edges of triangle with water and fold the edge together and press (it should look like a tortellini). Place on a tray and continue doing this until you have either run out of filling or wrappers
Add 7-8 wontons at a time to a pot simmering water, and cook for 5 minutes or until the wontons float to the top. Drain and set aside, I usually freeze half the batch. If you’re going to freeze these, let them cool first and spread them out on a tray lined with cling film that you have rubbed lightly with oil to prevent them sticking. When they are frozen, split into batches and transfer into freezer bags
For the broth, add all the ingredients to a pot and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove the ginger, garlic, and scallions from the both and discard
Add the wontons to the broth and sprinkle with finely sliced scallion and coriander
I love pork belly. If I go to a restaurant (remember those). I’m really predictable, if pork belly is on the menu that’s what I’m ordering.
If you haven’t tried it before, it’s pretty rich and can be fatty, but it’s also really tasty. I enjoy it, cooked long and slow, and then crisped up in the pan.
Pork belly lends itself particularly to Asian flavours. I like to marinade the pork, usually over night but at least for an hour.
This is really versatile, and freezes well. It’s great served with salad (if you’re following a keto or low carb diet), or sliced in sandwiches with coleslaw. Its also really good sliced and served with noodles. You can crisp it up on a barbecue instead of the pan for a delicious smokey flavour.
Marinade the pork for at least 1 hour
Ingredients
500 Grams Pork belly strips
2 Tbsp Soy sauce
1 Tbsp Sesame oil
2 Tsp Chinese five spice powder
1 Tsp White wine vinegar (or what ever vinegar you have, just not something really strong like malt vinegar)
1 Tbsp Sesame seeds (optional)
Method
Cut the pork belly into 2-3cm thick strips
Add the oil, soy sauce, vinegar, and five spice powder, to an oven proof dish and mix.
Coat the pork strips with the marinade. Cover the dish and refrigerate overnight (or for an hour at least)
Preheat your oven to 160 degrees, put the covered dish in to cook for 90 minutes,
Remove from the oven. Heat a frying, and add the pork to pan.
Crisp for a few minutes on each side, and then sprinkle with sesame seeds
Seaneen's Sunnyside Kitchen 