Grab Your Chopsticks!

Preparation Time: 30 mins
Cooking Time: 10 mins
Difficulty: Easy
Serves: 4

Scallop with Vegetables

Ingredients

500g scallops
30g mushrooms
2 onions
200g snow peas
carrots
spring onion
1/4 cup oil
2 teaspoons ginger
1 clove garlic
1 tablespoon cornflour
1 cup water
2 tablespoons dry sherry
2 chicken stock cubes
salt
1 tablespoon soy sauce
baby corn

Method

1. Clean the scallops, and pat dry.
2. Slice onions into quarters. slice other vegetables diagonally.
3. Heat oil in a wok, add onions, and ginger, mix cornflour and water until smooth annd remaining water, sherry, stock cubes, salt and soy sauce. Add sauce to wok and stir until it boils. Add scallops and remaining vegetables. Cook for a further three minutes or until scallops are tender.

Result

Not bad. The result was pretty good actually, however, I discovered that I am not too fond of scallops! Maybe the same dish with prawns…

Preparation Time: 30 mins
Cooking Time: 10 mins
Difficulty: Medium
Serves: 6

Spring Rolls

Ingredients

500g minced pork / prawns / chicken (or a combination)
1 red pepper
8 spring onions
125g mushrooms
2.5cm piece ginger
250g water chestnuts or bamboo shoots
1/2 cabbage (preferably Chinese cabbage)
3 tablespoons dry sherry
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon oil
500g packet spring roll wrappers
2 teaspoons cornflour
1/2 cup water
oil for frying

Method

1. Chop the pork/prawn/chicken into small pieces, chop pepper & onion, slice mushrooms and grate the ginger, chop the chestnuts or bamboo and shred the cabbage.
2. Put all the prepared ingredients into a bowl. Add sherry, soy sauce, sugar and salt, mix well, cook in pan for 3 to 4 minutes and let cool.
3. Mix the cornflour and water. Spoon tablespoonfuls of the mixture evenly across one corner of the wapper, roll up in an envelope shape making sure that the edges have been brushed with the cornflour mixture.
4. Put into hot oil and fry until golder brown.

Result

What a mess! The picture above does too much justice! The taste of the actual filling was very nice and authentic, but something went wrong during the frying process and most of them seemed to fall apart! Maybe you’ll have better luck…

Preparation Time: 1 hour
Cooking Time: 20 mins
Difficulty: Easy
Serves: 6

Steamed Beefballs in Long Soup

Ingredients

500g lean beef mince
2 egg whites, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon iced water
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon cornflour
2 spring onions, chopped finely
1/4 teaspoon ground pepper
1/4 teaspoon five spice powder

Long Soup

4 cups beef stock
Assorted chinese vegetables, chopped finely)
375g thin egg noodles

Method

1. Blend the beef mixture to a paste.
2. Roll tablespoonfulls into balls with wet hands, half fill wok with water and bring to the boil. Place meat balls in the steamer and steam covered for 20 mins.
3. To make the soup, bring the stock to a boil, add the vegetables and cook for two minutes. Add the noodles and wait until they are soft, then add the beef balls. If you wanted you could also add prawns, barbecued pork or cooked chicken for an interesting combination.

Result

One of the better dishes that we have made. A great authentic chinese taste.

Preparation Time: 30 mins
Cooking Time: 10 mins
Difficulty: Easy
Serves: 2

Barbecue Prawns

Ingredients

500g prawns
2 teaspoons cornflour
1 teaspoon salt
1 egg white
1 teaspoon curry powder
1 large onion
1/4 teaspoon sugar
2 teaspoons satay sauce
3 tablespoons cream
1/2 red pepper
1 cup oil

Method

1. Shell and de-vein the prawns. Make a deep slit down the back of each prawn.
2. Heat oil in a pan and fry the prawns for 2 mins or until cooked, remove from pan & drain.
3. Add 1/4 cup of oil to the pan and add peeled and chopped onion and fry for 2 minutes. Add curry powder and sugar and stir for 1 min. Add the prawns back to the pan, stir for 1 more min. Add the satay sauce and cream, bring to the boil and then reduce the heat stirring constantly. Add the sliced red pepper and remove from the heat.
4. Serve as you wish or on a bed of lettuce leaves.

Result

Very nice! This had a really good taste, but I have to admit I prefer my prawns cooked plain!

Preparation Time: 30 mins
Cooking Time: 10 mins
Difficulty: Easy
Serves: 3 – 4

Prawn Toast Uncooked

Prawn Toast Cooked

Ingredients

500g prawns
1 egg
2 tablespoons cornflour
salt
pepper
thick slices of bread
1 hard boiled egg yolk
sliced mushrooms
1 spring onion
oil for frying

Method

1. Shell and de-vein the prawns. Make a deep slit down the back of each prawn. Combine the lightly beaten egg with cornflour, salt and pepper, add prawns and mix well.
2. Remove the crusts from the bread and place one prawn coated in the cornflour mixture onto the bread.
3. Chop the egg yolk, mushrooms and onion and place a piece of each on each prawn.
4. With the remaining cornflour mixture coat the bread/prawns (this will help the prawn stick to the bread)
5. Fry the prawn toasts in hot oil. Cook until the bread is golden brown. Drain well.

Result

Excellent! I don’t really like fried bread, and yet again, I would have preferred the prawns on their own! But over all this was a good snack and it had a great taste!