Ching’s Chinese Food in Minutes. Ching-He Huang

Traditional-style hot & sour soup	30 minutes (plus 20 minutes soaking)
Sea bass & dofu clear soup	30 minutes (plus 20 minutes soaking)
Grandma’s pork & golden needle soup	25 minutes (plus 20 minutes soaking)
Crabmeat sweetcorn soup with black truffle	20 minutes
Shrimp, crabmeat, dofu & spinach soup	15 minutes
Grandfather’s egg, mixed mushroom & celery broth	15 minutes
Yellow bean scallops & chives	20 minutes (plus 10 minutes marinating)
Wok-fried crispy scallops	30 minutes
Butter batter prawns	22 minutes
Century duck eggs with coriander &mushroom sauce	5 minutes
Sweet & sour Wuxi ribs	15 minutes (plus 20 minutes marinating)

      READY TO EAT IN 30 MINUTES

      Prep time: 10 minutes, cook in: 20 minutes (plus 20 minutes soaking)

      Traditional-style hot & sour soup

      This is warming on a cold winter’s day and is delightfully crunchy, full of texture and flavour. To turn this into a snack, add more stock and some pre-soaked rice noodles before seasoning.

      SERVES 4

      1 litre/1³/₄ pints water

      1 tablespoon vegetable bouillon powder or stock powder

      1 tablespoon freshly grated root ginger

      2 medium red chillies, deseeded and finely chopped

      300g/11oz cooked chicken breast, shredded

      1 teaspoon Shaohsing rice wine or dry sherry

      2 tablespoons dark soy sauce

      1 x 220g tin of bamboo shoots, drained

      10g dried wood ear mushrooms, pre-soaked in hot water for 20 minutes, then drained and finely sliced

      100g/3¹/₂oz fresh firm dofu (bean curd), cut into 5cm/2 inch long x 1cm/¹/₂ inch wide strips

      50g/2oz Sichuan preserved vegetables, rinsed and sliced, or pickled cornichons with a little fresh chopped chilli added

      2 tablespoons light soy sauce

      3 tablespoons Chinkiang black rice vinegar or balsamic vinegar

      1 tablespoon chilli oil

      a few pinches of ground white pepper

      1 egg, lightly beaten

      1 tablespoon cornflour blended with 2 tablespoons cold water

      1 large spring onion, finely sliced

      freshly chopped coriander to garnish (optional)

      1 Pour the water into a pan and bring to the boil. Add the bouillon powder and stir to dissolve. Bring back to the boil, then add all the ingredients up to and including the wood ear mushrooms. Turn the heat down to medium, then add the dofu, Sichuan vegetables or cornichons, soy sauce, vinegar, chilli oil and white pepper and simmer for 10 minutes.

      2 Stir in the egg, then add the blended cornflour and stir to thicken the soup (add more if you like a thicker consistency).

      3 Add the spring onion, garnish with coriander, if you like, and serve immediately.

      Ching’s Tip

       You can vary this recipe to your taste and adjust the amount of chillies to your preference. You could also omit the chicken strips if you are vegetarian. My mother changes it all the time by adding different Chinese leaves.

      READY TO EAT IN 30 MINUTES

      Prep time: 10 minutes, cook in: 20 minutes (plus 20 minutes soaking)

      Sea bass & dofu clear soup

      Fish is so quick to cook and this broth makes a delicious, comforting and nutritious dinner. It can be served as a starter or as a main if you’re after something light.

      SERVES 2 AS A MAIN OR 4 AS A STARTER

      about 250g/9oz sea bass fillets (skin on), each fillet cut into 4 pieces (you can ask the fishmonger to do all this)

      800ml/1 pint 7fl oz water

      2.5cm/1 inch piece of fresh root ginger, peeled and sliced

      1 tablespoon Shaohsing rice wine or dry sherry

      3 dried Chinese mushrooms, pre-soaked in hot water for 20 minutes, then drained and sliced

      1 tablespoon dried shrimps, pre-soaked in hot water for 20 minutes, then drained

      3 large spring onions, sliced at an angle into 5cm/2 inch strips

      200g/7oz fresh firm dofu (bean curd), cut into 1.5cm/²/₃ inch squares

      1 teaspoon vegetable bouillon powder or stock powder

      a dash of toasted sesame oil

      salt and ground white pepper

      finely chopped fresh coriander to serve (optional)

      1 Rinse the fish in cold running water and pat dry with absorbent kitchen paper. Pour the water into a pan or wok and bring to the boil. Add the fish and all the ingredients up to and including the dofu. Turn the heat down to medium and cook for 15 minutes, or until the fish is cooked and the dofu has absorbed all the flavours in the broth.

      2 Season with the bouillon powder and salt and white pepper to taste and add a dash of toasted sesame oil. Garnish with chopped coriander, if you like, and serve immediately.

      READY TO EAT IN 25 MINUTES

      Prep time: 5 minutes, cook in: 20 minutes (plus 20 minutes soaking)

      Grandma’s pork & golden needle soup

      My grandmother was the best cook in our family, incredibly creative and inspiring, and she used to make a soup similar to this, quite often with the addition of crunchy freshly boiled and sliced bamboo shoots.

      SERVES 4

      1 tablespoon groundnut oil

      2cm/³/₄ inch piece of fresh root ginger, peeled and sliced

      6 large pork spare ribs, each cut into thirds and rinsed in cold water

      1 tablespoon Shaohsing rice wine or dry sherry

      1 small carrot, diced