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

      mixed salad leaves to serve

      FOR THE PASTE

      1 tablespoon yellow bean paste (see Ching’s Tips)

      1 teaspoon freshly grated root ginger

      1 pinch of brown sugar

      1 tablespoon Shaohsing rice wine or dry sherry

      1 teaspoon light soy sauce

      1 teaspoon dark soy sauce

      1 teaspoon clear rice vinegar or cider vinegar

      1 Remove the scallops from their shells, then remove and discard the hard muscle on the side. Leave the coral on, if you like, or remove it. Trim and rinse the scallops and pat dry.

      2 Put all the ingredients for the paste into a bowl and mix well. Place the scallops in the paste and leave to marinate for 10 minutes.

      3 Heat a wok over a high heat and add the groundnut oil. When the oil starts to smoke, add the scallops (retaining the marinade) and cook for 1 minute, then toss the wok to turn the scallops and cook for a further 1 minute. Transfer the scallops onto a serving plate.

      4 Add the reserved marinade to the wok and cook until thick and slightly sticky. Pour over the scallops, garnish with the chives and serve with mixed salad leaves.

      Ching’s Tips

       Yellow bean paste is made from salted yellow beans that have been preserved in salt, spices and sometimes chilli too. You can also buy fermented whole yellow beans (soya beans), then blitz them in a blender and add your own spices to make a paste.

       This dish is also delicious served with a small portion of the Spicy Wild Rice Salad on page 146, and washed down with a glass of cold bubbly.

      READY TO EAT IN 30 MINUTES

      Prep time: 15 minutes, cook in: 15 minutes

      Wok-fried crispy scallops

      This is one of my favourite starters to serve when I have VIP guests! It is quick to make and tastes wonderful. The crunchy-crisp topping with the tender scallops is a delight.

      SERVES 2

      10 raw scallops on the shell

      1 tablespoon groundnut oil

      ¹/₂ teaspoon Sichuan peppercorns

      1 tablespoon Shaohsing rice wine or dry sherry

      1 teaspoon light soy sauce

      1 pinch of brown sugar

      ¹/₂ lemon

      1 medium red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped

      2 tablespoons vegetable stock

      mixed fresh herbs to garnish

      mixed salad leaves to serve

      FOR THE CRISPY ‘SEAWEED’ AND CRISPY LEEK

      1 small baby leek, diced and dried thoroughly

      potato flour or cornflour

      300ml/10fl oz groundnut oil

      1 head of green pak choy, leaf part only, finely shredded and dried thoroughly

      coarse sea salt

      light brown sugar

      1 First make the crispy ‘seaweed’ and leek. Lightly coat the leek in potato flour or cornflour (no need to coat the pak choy). Heat the groundnut oil in a large pan to 180°C/350°F or until a cube of bread dropped in turns golden brown in 15 seconds and floats to the surface. Using a slotted spoon, lower the leek and pak choy pieces into the oil and deep-fry for 5 minutes until they turn golden brown. Lift out and drain on absorbent kitchen paper, then add some sea salt and brown sugar and toss gently with your fingers so the seasoning lightly coats the crispy ‘seaweed’ and leek.

      2 Remove the scallops from their shells, then remove and discard the hard muscle on the side. Leave the coral on, if you like, or remove it. Trim and rinse the scallops and pat dry.

      3 Heat a wok over a high heat and add the groundnut oil, then add the Sichuan peppercorns and heat for a few seconds to release their aroma. Add the scallops to the wok and leave to settle for 1 minute, then toss the wok and the scallops. As the scallops start to turn opaque, add the rice wine or sherry, followed by the soy sauce. Cook for a further minute, then add the sugar and a squeeze of fresh lemon juice (catch the pips in your hands) and sprinkle the chilli into the wok. Transfer the scallops into a dish. Add the stock to the wok and heat through, then turn off the heat.

      4 To serve, put the scallops onto serving plates and drizzle with the remaining juices from the wok. Sprinkle with the crispy garnish and chopped chilli from the wok, dress with fresh mixed herbs and serve immediately with mixed salad leaves.

      Ching’s Tip

       The crispy ‘seaweed’ is incredibly easy to make and you can also garnish this dish with some fine mixed Oriental herbs such as shisho and mustard cress for an elegant finish.

      READY TO EAT IN 22MINUTES

      Prep time: 10 minutes, cook in: 12 minutes

      Butter batter prawns

      This is so tasty. You can prepare most of the ingredients in advance, except the batter, which should be made just before cooking. Then the dish can be on the table in less than 15 minutes.

      SERVES 2

      groundnut oil for deep-frying

      8 large raw tiger prawns, shelled, tail on and deveined

      200g/7oz mung bean noodles

      sea salt and ground white pepper

      FOR THE BATTER

      3 tablespoons plain flour

      1 teaspoon baking powder

      8 tablespoons water

      1 egg, beaten

      1 teaspoon cornflour

      FOR THE GARLIC BUTTER SAUCE

      30g/1¹/₄oz unsalted butter

      1 garlic clove, finely chopped

      FOR THE GARNISH

      1 large spring onion, finely chopped

      coriander sprigs

      lime wedges

      1 Place all the ingredients for the batter in a bowl, add a pinch of salt and white pepper and mix well.

      2 Heat a wok or pan over a high heat and fill to one-third of its depth with groundnut oil. Heat the oil to 180°C/350°F or until a cube of bread dropped in turns golden brown in 15 seconds and floats to the surface.

      3 Dip each prawn into the batter, then carefully lower one by one into the oil and fry until they turn golden. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on absorbent kitchen paper. Once all the prawns have been cooked, add the mung bean noodles to the oil—they will expand and turn opaque white when fried. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on absorbent kitchen paper.

      4 While