Ching-He Huang is one of the brightest stars in modern Chinese cooking in the UK. Each week in her new BBC2 series she re-invents the nation's favourite Chinese dishes, modernising them with fresh, easy to buy ingredients, and offering simple practical tips and techniques. These are brought together in this beautiful book to accompany the series. Drawing on the experiences of top chefs, her family and friends, growers and producers and celebrity enthusiasts Ching sets out to discover the best Chinese cooking in the UK today, introducing easy-to-make Chinese food to sometimes resistant Brits, and painting a picture of modern Anglo-Chinese life in the UK as she goes. Chinese Food Made Easy begins with some of the most familiar dishes from a Chinese takeaway menu - Sweet & Sour Prawns, Chicken with Cashew Nuts, Chop Suey and Cantonese Vegetable Stir Fry, each with Ching's special and imaginative twist. Later we explore spicy Szechuan food: Noodles, Dumplings and Dim sum; Seafood; Fast Food; Desserts and finally Celebratory Food, where Ching presents a complete banquet of dishes to celebrate the Chinese New Year.Ching's knowledge, charm and enthusiasm shine through as she shares the 'basic principles' of Chinese cooking including some of the simple techniques and tips taught by her Grandparents for tasty results.Using ingredients from high-street supermarkets and some imaginative suggestions for alternative ingredients, these classic Chinese dishes are updated, fresh and healthily prepared so that anyone can make and enjoy them.Is the Typical Chinese Takeaway menu really Chinese?
It’s certainly not Chinese home cooking. Some of these dishes do come from Canton – that’s because of the British connection with Hong Kong – but they’ve been westernised. Wherever Chinese food has gone in the world, it’s been adapted to use healthy dishes at home that are not laden with monosodium glutamate.
So what should I keep in my Chinese store cupboard?
You may already have corn flour and good-quality stocks. Add dark and light soy sauces, five-spice powder, black rice vinegar, a good chilli sauce to get you going and toasted sesame oil for dressing – for cooking I use groundnut oil. Some olive oils are too strongly flavoured and conflict with the Chinese flavours. Then the rest is fresh, including the typical flavourings: ginger, garlic, spring onion, chilli and coriander.
What about Stir-fry sauces that you can buy in jars?
I hate those. The only sauces that are OK in jars, if they are good quality, are oyster sauce and chilli bean sauce. They’re both proper preserved sauces. For sweet and sour sauce, use pineapple juice, brown sugar and ketchup for colour.
Should I be looking for Chinese Supermarkets?
I’m surprised and pleased to see authentic Asian products on some supermarket shelves. In general I’d say you have to experiment. You often find that even good brands do only one excellent product. I can recommend Kikkoman soy sauce, for example. That’s my honest opinion – they don’t pay me!
Can you give an example of the sort of thing you cook?
When I cook dinner at home, I’ll make a one-pot meal, chao mian, meaning "stir noodle" or chow main as you probably call it. Marinate some sliced chicken in five-spice powder and minced garlic for a few minutes. Cook noodles in boiling water – buy dried, long wheat-flour noodles; don’t bother with ready cooked. Drain and put to one side; you can toss in a bit of sesame oil to stop them sticking. Chop red pepper, bok choi and spring onion. Mince some ginger. Get your wok nice and hot. Cook the chicken until it’s fully opaque. Put to one side. Add the other ingredients, stir then and add a splash of water to create steam to help cook the veg. After about 40 seconds return the chicken to the wok, season with soy sauce, sesame oil, and add the noodles. And that’s it a modern, one-pot dish.
Ching-He Huang, the new face of Chinese cooking on TV, re-invents the nation's favourite Chinese dishes, modernising them with fresh, easy to buy ingredients to demonstrate how healthy, light and simple Chinese cooking can be.
The recipes from the TV series are included in eight chapters, ranging from Takeaway Favourites, Spicy Sichuan dishes, and Dumplings, Dim Sum and Noodles to Fish and Seafood dishes, Street Food, Celebration Food, Desserts and Drinks and Side dishes. Throughout the book there are cooking tips and basic techniques, including all you need to know about using a wok, as Ching shares her passion not only for Chinese food but also for Chinese culture. Finally, her handy menu planner will make it easy to put together an authentic Chinese meal.
Ching provides the inspiration to cook delicious Chinese meals with a modern twist. Discover the real food of China and make these authentic, hassle-free dishes easily in your own kitchen.
An exciting new star on the home-cooking front, Ching-He Huang was born in Taiwan to Chinese parents. Taught from an early age the basic philosophy behind Chinese cooking, she was exposed to a wholly different diet and climate when she moved with her family to South Africa and then to London when she was 11.Ching's passion for healthy, delicious Chinese food and her elegant touch have ensured her a popular following during her regular TV appearances. At the beginning of 2005 she presented her own television series, Ching's Kitchen, on UKTV Food, and she has also appeared on BBC's Saturday Kitchen with James Martin, ITV's Saturday Cooks and ITV's Daily Cooks with Antony Worrall Thompson. In 2008 she presented her second television series, Ching's Chinese Kitchen, on BBC2. She has written for food magazines including Olive, delicious, BBC Good Food and Sainsbury's Magazine.
Her first cookbook, China Modern, was published in 2006.
The secret to making the chicken extra tasty is to coat it in egg white and cornflour and then shallow-fry it to give it a crispy coating. However, if you are pushed for time, just add the raw chicken after the ginger in the stir-fry and fry until it turns opaque, and then add the rest of the ingredients.
Chicken and cashew nut stir-fry
Serves 4 to share
1 egg white
1 tablespoon cornflour
1 pinch of sea salt
500g/1lb 2oz skinless chicken breast fillets, sliced
300ml/10fl oz groundnut oil
FOR THE STIR-FRY
1 onion, sliced
1 yellow pepper, deseeded and sliced into strips
1 red pepper, deseeded and sliced into strips
3 tablespoons chicken stock
2-3 tablespoons light soy sauce
2 large spring onions, sliced
4 tablespoons roasted cashew nuts (or toast in a pan)
Sea salt and ground white pepper
Steamed jasmine rice to serve
1. Place the egg white in a bowl, add the cornflour and a pinch of salt and stir to combine. Add the chicken to the mixture and coat the chicken well.
2. Heat a wok over a high heat and add the groundnut oil. Fry the chicken until golden brown and crispy, then remove with a slotted spoon and drain on absorbent kitchen paper.
3. Pour off all but 1 tablespoon of oil from the wok. Reheat the oil over a high heat, add the onion and stir-fry for a few seconds. Add the yellow and red pepper slices and stir-fry for 1 minute until they have softened a little. Add the chicken pieces and stir-fry for 1 minute, then add the stock, soy sauce, salt and pepper.
4. Finally add the spring onions and cashew nuts and stir well. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer to a serving dish and serve immediately with steamed rice.
Ching's tip
For an alternative, add some cooked egg noodles with the cashew nuts in step 4 and mix through for a chicken and cashew nut chow mein.
