Chinese Food Made Easy: 100 simple, healthy recipes from easy-to-find ingredients. Ching-He Huang

AND SOUR SAUCE

       2 tablespoons light soy sauce

       2 tablespoons Chinkiang black rice vinegar or balsamic vinegar

       1 tablespoon soft light brown sugar

       2 tablespoons runny honey

       1 pinch each of sea salt and ground white pepper

      FORTHE CARAMELISED RED ONIONS

       1 tablespoon groundnut oil

       3 red onions, sliced

       1 tablespoon Chinkiang black rice vinegar or balsamic vinegar

       1 tablespoon soft light brown sugar

      TO SERVE

       8 large sesame-seeded buns

       green and red lollo salad leaves, washed and shredded

       some beef tomato slices (optional)

      1 Put the pork, garlic, yellow bean sauce and rice wine or sherry into a large bowl, add all the ingredients for the sweet and sour sauce and stir to combine. Cover and place in the fridge to marinate for as long as possible – overnight is ideal. When ready to cook, drain the pork, retaining the marinade, and cut into thin slices. Heat a wok over a high heat and add 2 tablespoons groundnut oil. Stir-fry the pork for 3–4 minutes until browned. Add the marinade, reduce the heat and cook for 2–3 minutes until the sauce has a sticky consistency.

      2 To make the caramelised onions, heat a small pan, add the groundnut oil and stir-fry the onions for 4–5 minutes until softened. Add the vinegar and sugar and cook for 1 minute to caramelise.

      3 Heat a griddle pan and add 1 tablespoon groundnut oil. Cut each bun in half, place in the pan, cut side down, and cook until slightly browned.

      4 To serve, stuff each bun with salad leaves, some sticky pork slices, caramelised onions and tomato slices, if you like, and serve immediately.

      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 onion 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. 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.

      This is a recipe my grandmother and my mother would make using sticky glutinous rice. I use jasmine rice and it is equally delicious.

      When cooked using glutinous rice (see Ching’s tip), this chicken fried rice dish can be quite like ‘You fan’ (oiled rice). This may also remind you of the rice wrapped in lotus leaf or bamboo leaf you get as a dim sum. Now you can recreate it at home.

      Grandmother’s chicken fried rice

      SERVES 4

       2 tablespoons groundnut oil

       1 tablespoon freshly grated

       root ginger

       3 shallots, finely chopped

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

       225g/8oz skinless chicken breast fillets, finely diced

       1 tablespoon Shaohsing rice wine or dry sherry

       1 teaspoon five-spice powder

       1 tablespoon dark soy sauce

       50g/2oz dry-roasted peanuts

       300g/11oz cooked jasmine rice or glutinous rice

       3–4 tablespoons light soy sauce

       1–2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil

       ground white pepper

       1 spring onion, finely chopped

      1 Heat a wok or pan over a high heat and add the groundnut oil. Add the ginger, shallots and Chinese mushrooms and cook for a few seconds.

      2 Add the chicken and cook for a minute or two, then add the rice wine or sherry followed by the five-spice powder. As the chicken starts to turn white, add the dark soy sauce.

      3 Add the peanuts and then the rice, mix well and stir-fry for 1 minute.

      4 Season with the light soy sauce, sesame oil and pepper to taste and stir to mix. Finally, stir in the spring onion, transfer to a serving dish and serve immediately.

      Ching’s tip

      The authentic version of this recipe with glutinous rice gives a wonderful sticky texture, but the rice