Chinese food ideas to take away
SALT & PEPPER TIGER PRAWNS (pictured above)
Serves 24 raw large tiger prawns in their shells
vegetable oil, for deep-frying, plus 1 tbsp
white parts of 2 spring onions, finely sliced
green part of 1 spring onion, finely sliced
2 red chillies, finely sliced
1 tbsp Shaoxing rice wine
drizzle of sesame oil
½ tsp five-spice salt (below)
Five-spice salt (makes 150g)
100g Chinese five-spice powder
50g salt Mix ingredients together and store in an airtight jar in a cool, dry place, for up to a month.
The only prep you need to do to the prawns is to remove the (usually) black thread, which is the intestinal tract. Use a pair of kitchen scissors to cut through the shell down the back of each prawn, then use a sharp knife to make an incision 1mm deep down the spine. Pull out the thread. Heat the oil for deepfrying in a deep-fat fryer to 180C.
Deep-fry the prawns until the internal temperature reaches 45C, when they will be 80% cooked and will have just turned pink. Remove from the oil and drain on kitchen paper.
Add the 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil to a hot wok, and when the pan starts to smoke a little, add the spring onion whites and greens, and chillies, which will begin to sizzle vigorously.
Add the prawns, followed by the wine and mix well in the wok. This won’t take longer than a minute. Finish with the fivespice salt and sesame oil and serve immediately.
CRISPY AROMATIC DUCK
Serves 8
4 duck legs
6 star anise
1 tbsp Sichuan peppercorns
1 tsp cloves
2 cinnamon sticks
4 tsp salt
white parts of 4 spring onions
4 thumb-sized pieces of peeled fresh root ginger
6 tbsp Shaoxing rice wine
2 litres chicken stock
vegetable oil, for deep-frying
To serve
12 Chinese pancakes, steamed (you don’t need to make your own, as there are some fantastic ones available from Chinese supermarkets)
1 bunch of spring onions, finely sliced
1 cucumber, finely sliced
hoisin sauce (use ready-made but temper the sweetness and add some citrus notes by either stirring in a little lemon juice or grating in some preserved plums)
five-spice salt (see left)
ginger and spring onion sesame oil (below)
Ginger & spring onion sesame oil (makes about 280ml)
1 tbsp peeled and very finely chopped fresh root ginger
225ml vegetable oil
1 tbsp sesame oil
2 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
3 tbsp finely chopped spring onion greens
Mix all the ingredients except the spring onion greens together in a bowl until well combined.
Store in a sterilised airtight container in a cool, dark place for up to a month, adding the spring onion greens to the oil just before serving. For the duck, run a knife around the bottom of each duck leg to free the skin from the bone. This allows for shrinkage during cooking.
Use a pestle and mortar to crush the whole spices, then dust lightly over the duck legs with the salt.
Lay the legs flat on a tray and refrigerate for 6 hours.
Dust off the excess salt, keeping the spices in place, and transfer the duck legs to a saucepan with the remaining ingredients except the oil. Bring to a gentle simmer – the secret is not to boil the duck for it to remain moist.
Transfer the legs and cooking liquor to a steamer and steam over a low heat for 4 hours or until the meat is tender and falls off the bone. Or, keep the legs in the saucepan and braise over a low heat for 3 hours. Leave to cool in the cooking liquor.
Lift the duck legs out of the cooking liquor and remove the thigh bone only from each leg by gently teasing it away with your hands, then pat dry with kitchen paper. Chill the duck until needed – it helps the deepfrying process if left to dry out overnight. The liquor can be stored in the freezer until you next cook up a batch.
When ready to serve, heat the oil for deep-frying in a deepfat fryer to 180C. Dry the legs again to minimise spitting, then deep-fry, in 2 batches, until crisp – place skin-side down in the oil, then turn once when the underside is crisp. Remove from oil and drain on kitchen paper.
To serve, scrape the meat off the bone and serve with the accompaniments.
DRY-FRIED FRENCH BEANS WITH MINCED PORK
Serves 2
vegetable oil, for deep-frying, plus a drizzle
300g French beans
100g minced pork
1 tsp fermented chilli bean paste
1 tbsp Shaoxing rice wine
15g preserved vegetables
pinch of salt
drizzle of sesame oil
1g ground toasted Sichuan peppercorns, or more if you like the mouth-numbing sensation
Heat the oil for deep-frying in a deep-fat fryer to 190C.
Meanwhile, top and tail the beans. Deep-fry the beans until they are 80% cooked – when the surface of the beans just starts to wrinkle. Remove them from the oil and drain on kitchen paper.
Add a drizzle of vegetable oil to a hot wok and stir-fry the minced pork until brown and dry, then stir in the chilli bean paste.
Add the wine and then the beans and mix through before adding the preserved vegetables and salt.
Finish with a drizzle of sesame oil and the ground Sichuan pepper before serving immediately.
A Wong: The Cookbook, by Andrew Wong, with photography by Yuki Sugiura, is published by Mitchell Beazley, priced £25.