Chinese home cooking for the Year of the Horse: healthier, easy, indulgent & wallet-friendly

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At home or in Chinatown

Stone Lions watching over London’s Chinatown

Whatever the prevailing economic climate, celebrations for the new Chinese Lunar Year attract huge audiences across the UK.

In London, where events were once restricted to Chinatown’s Gerrard Street and increasingly the West End, huge demand means several satellite celebrations are taking place as far afield as Greenwich, Smithfield’s and Camden.

You’ll definitely need to book ahead for the satellite events  and, in some case, pay an entrance fee.

Back in Central London, dozens of food stalls will fill Trafalagar Square, selling carnivore and vegetarian treats.  Within Chinatown Central (off Shaftesbury Avenue including Gerrard & Lisle Street) restaurants will do a roaring business in dim sum lunch - steamed and deep fried maxi-appetisers.  

If you just want a reasonably priced savoury or sweet bun to tide you over until you get home for home-made or takeout Chinese, you can’t do better than the the Chinatown Bakery on the square at Newport Street near the former fire station.  Prepare to queue.

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The post this week focuses on home-cooked Chinese meals for those who want authentic Chinese food without the budget or yearning for restaurants or take outs.

Lower fat and salt are the name of the game for most of the recipes; many are surprisingly fast and east.

The first section offers healthier standards:‘unfried’ rice, spiced ribs, noodles. 

The second section offers a few dishes that don’t often appear in collections but offer a delightful twist on the usual. 

Standards

Un-fried Rice: 'skinnier', easy gorgeously plumped-up version of Fried Rice studded with peas and omelette strips

Sugar-free Chinese meat rub for that charred spicy sweet rib taste: low-fat, dairy free, easy, excellent with beef/lamb/pork ribs, chicken thighs/wings or any other cut of meat 

Chinese Ramen Noodles: quick, frugal & healthy: soup noodles, protein, veg and rich broth is hard to beat, suits carnivores, vegetarians/vegans  

7-minute Stir-fried Meat with Pineapple : great combo of flavours & textures

Almost-Instant Crispy Noodles with poultry, chilli, broccoli & gravy: a real treat, divine texture, cheap & cheerful, uses up leftovers

Mains for Impressing Guests

Roast Oriental Chicken: wallet-friendly, exotic, for the adventurous 

Peking Duck for Pancakes: rich authentic flavours, lower-fat, guilt-free, easy, wallet-friendly if using duck legs but whole duck is wonderful

Safe, simple & tasty
'Tastes like what I'd get in a nice Chinese restaurant!' 'Yum! Wonderful; meat just crispy enough; a great pick-me-up.'  Tasters

Exquisite Barbecued Pork: nearly fat-free; lower-sugar & salt, easy-peasy

Oriental Salmon: sugar-free, sassily simple, prepare-ahead, healthy

Lamb Mongolian Style: Lower-fat, gutsy crispy lamb; lettuce pancakes at the ready: exotic and fun

 Slow cooked in a cocktail of spices a & cooled overnight, the joint's (substantial) fat solidifies and is easily removed.  The meat is shredded, crisped and served wrapped in lettuce (a low-cal duck pancake) with the thick braising sauce and 67's low-sugar Sweet Chilli sauce. adding flavour and richness 

Vegan Tofu with Chillis & Broccoli - colourful and appetising

                          POMELO & LEMONGRASS FIZZ

easy, low-sugar with Champers, prosecco or alochol-free sparkling water

 Pomelo & Lemongrass is an enticing blend, unpretentious and nicely balanced. Mixed with champagne, it is ambrosial; even in fizzy water, it's delightful.  

BUDGET

Sweet Asian Chicken  with honey, sherry, soy & spices: dairy free; unusua moreish chicken with a twist....

Testers raved about the gorgeous sauce on this chicken...
and the chicken too, of course! 

Couple’s Kung Pao Chicken

Low-fat, high fibre, fodmap friendly; one of those wonderful healthy quick & tasty weeknight mains — the chicken is low-fat, the mixed veg gut-friendly and the sauce  flavourful without overwhelming. 

Who doesn't love authentic Chinese food that's easy to make at home!

Slow Cooked Asian Chicken Pittas: different and fun, easy-peasy meal of shredded exotically flavoured slow-cooked chicken, stuffed into fluffy round Middle Eastern pitta

Sweet Chilli & Ginger Salmon: lower sugar, Healthy, great for frozen fish 

'One of the finest fish dishes I have ever eaten; the chilli is subtle and doesn't overwhelm the salmon.  I wouldn't have guessed the fish was frozen."  Taster  

PORKUPINES 

(with Chicken/Beef option)

Minced pork/chicken with exotic spicing & crunchy water chestnuts rolled in rice are an intriguing Chinese ; they are  very Chinese-ey and easy to love

CHINESE CHICKEN NOODLE SALAD: Triple Duty, frugal, leftovers

Choc-a-block with protein and colourful vegetables; rings the changes from pasta but cooked rice and/or cold potatoes make an equally wonderful base.

Frugal, it travels well and much of it can be prepared in advance.  It has a base of egg noodles which easily could be replaced with brown rice in a dressing rich with sesame, garlic, ginger and hoisin.  And you could replace chicken with cooked beef or tofu, or cooked seafood. 

Chicken Legs/Thighs Braised with Sherry & Soy Sauce - Chinese comfort food: a little effort turns standard supermarket fare into something special.  M&S higher welfare chicken legs are a wonderful bargain at any time  

These recipes have been developed by B  Lee/ Bright Sun Enterprises.  They may not be reproduced, in any form, without the author's written permission.