Recipes – Towards China

A good place to begin

Easy

Short ingredient lists, simple moves and plenty of confidence.

Easy20 min

Aubergine in plum sauce

A quick steam softens aubergine before it reaches the frying pan.

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Easy10 min

Blanched lettuce with oyster sauce

Lettuce can be cooked. A very brief dip in hot water softens the leaves without making them collapse, ready for a garlicky oyster-sauce topping.

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Easy22 min

Blistered tiger-skin peppers

Brown blisters on green peppers give this dish its tiger-skin name.

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Easy16 min

Broccoli in garlic sauce

A quick blanch cooks broccoli evenly before it meets a glossy garlic sauce. Sliced carrot adds colour, and even the peeled broccoli stalk gets used.

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Easy30 min

Cashew chicken stir-fry

Cashews go into the pan first so they turn golden without burning. Chicken, peppers and a savoury sauce follow, with the nuts returning right at the end.

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Easy27 min

Chicken and mushroom stir-fry

Thin chicken slices and mushrooms cook quickly in a glossy savoury sauce. Cutting across the meat’s grain helps each piece stay tender.

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Easy22 min

Chicken and sweetcorn soup

Tiny pieces of chicken and crushed sweetcorn make a quick soup, finished with fine ribbons of egg. Partly crushing the corn gives body without a tin of creamed corn.

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Easy1 hr 10 min

Chinese almond cookies

Ground almonds make these little Chinese cookies crumbly and nutty. Each gets a whole almond pressed into the centre before baking.

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Easy1 hr

Chinese chicken noodle soup

Chicken simmered with ginger and mushrooms gives this noodle soup its broth. Using fresh mushrooms keeps the recipe straightforward and avoids a separate soaking stage.

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Easy13 min

Chinese chives and eggs

Garlic chives and eggs cook together in soft, golden pieces.

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Easy33 min

Chinese courgette pancakes

Grated courgette supplies the moisture for these Chinese savoury pancakes. Eggs and flour hold the strands together, so there is no need to squeeze the vegetable dry.

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Easy15 min

Classic egg-drop soup

A thin stream of beaten egg turns into ribbons in hot broth.

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Every swap explains what changes. Some specialist ingredients are worth finding: plain flour cannot do the job of glutinous rice, and chilli sauce cannot recreate fermented bean paste.