Grab Your Chopsticks!

Preparation Time: 20 mins
Cooking Time: 5 mins
Difficulty: Easy
Serves: 4

Five Peppercorn Beef

Ingredients

500g beef steak
1 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tbsp rice wine
2 tsp cornflour
oil
2 tbsp five pepper mixture
1/2 tsp salt
250ml chicken stock
2 tbsp butter

Method

1. Cut the beef in to slices. Add the beef to a bowl with the soy sauce, rice wine and cornflour and marinate for 15 minutes.
2. Heat some oil in a wok and add the marinated beef to the pan. Stir fry for about 2 minutes. Don’t worry if it isn’t cooked!
3. Remove the beef and drain the wok. Add a little more oil.
4. Add the stock, salt and peppercorns and reduce by half.
5. Add the butter and when melted return the beef to the pan and stir fry for one minute or until the beef is cooked.
6. Serve with rice or noodles.

Result

Yum Yum? I think so!

Sorry about the picture. I had already half eaten the meal when I remembered that I hadn’t taken a photo!

Preparation Time: 5 mins
Cooking Time: 15 mins
Difficulty: Easy
Serves: 6

Marbled Soy Eggs

Ingredients

6 eggs
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup water
1 star anise
2 thin slices ginger
1 tablespoon black tea leaves

Method

1. Boil the eggs as normal, simmer for 5 minutes.
2. Refresh the water, and add the remaining ingredients.
3. Crack the eggs with a spoon and replace in the water and gently simmer for 15 minutes.
4. Cut into quarters and serve as a salad on top of rice.

Result

This is an extremely easy dish to prepare, however I was disappointed at the taste of the finished product. It tasted exactly like boiled egg. Not that there is anything wrong with that, I just thought that the ingredients would give it a different taste.

Unless I’m wrong, it seems that the marbled effect is actually only for effect.

Preparation Time: 30 mins
Cooking Time: 1 hour 15 mins
Difficulty: Moderate
Serves: 4

Rich Pork Curry

Ingredients

750g pork leg or shoulder
1 tablespoon oil
5 curry leaves
1 large onion, finely chooped
3 teaspoons finely chopped garlic
1 teaspoon grated ginger
1/2 teaspoon chilli powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
1 teaspoon cumin
3 teaspoons ground coriander
2 tablespoons lemon juice, malt vinegar or tamarind liquid
1/2 cup hot water
1/2 cup coconut milk

Method

1. Trim the rind from the pork, if any, and cut into 3cm cubes.
2. Heat the oil in a pan, add the curry leaves, onion and garlic and cook until the onion is soft. Add ginger, chilli, salt and spices and cook for a few more minutes.
3. Add the pork and mix with the spice mixture, add the lemon juice and cook for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until the moisture has evaporated.
4. Cook for a further 5 minutes stirring, the colour will darken. Add the water and coconut milk and simmer for 10 minutes.

Result

A very nice taste. The photo was taken from a magazine…