Sweet Chilli Prawns and Vegetable Cha Han

Sorry for the rubbish photo, taken quickly on my Blackberry.  This was a simple, quick and healthy supper.  Those of you who have eaten in Wagamama will be familiar with Cha han, or fried rice.  I love it, and use Basmati rice boiled for 10 minutes then cooled under a running cold tap.  The rice must be cold before you start frying or else the warm starches make it all gloopy, and we don't want that.  Use whatever veg you have, blanching the harder ones before frying.  I used finely chopped carrot, asparagus, courgette and fresh broad beans, blanched and slipped out of their skins.  Fry an onion in rape seed and sesame oil til turning golden, then add the drained rice and blanched veg, and fry, stirring occasionally, until piping hot and with some crusty bits.  Yum!  Season well with pepper and a good splosh of soy saucee, then mix through an omelette (made with one beaten egg) that you have rolled up and sliced.  Transfer to a dish in the oven and keep warm whilst you deal with the prawns.  Wipe the wok, then add a spoonful of rape seed oil and a splash of sesame.  Over a high heat, stir fry the de-veined prawns for a minute or so on each side until they are pink but still juicy.  Now add a tablespoon of sweet chilli sauce, a dash of soy and a squeeze of lime and stir to coat.  After just a few moments, spoon the prawns and their sticky glaze on top of the rice and devour, with more lime for squeezing over.  Totally scrummy.

Asian-style Ribs [#233]

A delicious marinade from Donna Hay of Hoisin sauce, soy sauce, Shaoxing wine, masses of grated ginger and a little sugar and five spice powder. However, as with Nigel last year, she suggests marinading raw pork ribs and then roasting them. This would be anathema to most Aisan cooks - I know - my great friend Gi makes a mean pork rib, and she ALWAYS cooks them before hand, in water, for about an hour. The meat is then already tender and much more receptive to the sticky marinade - a final blast in the oven for 20 minutes is enough to have them emerge glistening with the meat dropping off the bone - just delicious, and it is impossible to stop eating them! Do make these, but also, do follow my advice if you want tender succulent meat and a glaze that hasn't burnt.

Steamed Pak Choi with Sesame and Soy [#230]

Scarcely a recipe, yet I wouldn't have tried it this way if I hadn't come across it in Ching-He Huang's book. You simply steam pak choi, halved if large, for a couple of minutes, remove to a warm plate and drizzle the hot, vividly green veg with toasted sesame oil and light soy. Please be very delicate with both these, you need just a few drops of each sprinkled over the steaming hot vegetables, as too much overwhelms. But, with the right amount of judicious seasoning, this is a delicacy, and flatters the flavour and texture of this vegetable much better than stir-frying, in my opinion.