Mapo Tofu

this is my version of mapo tofu savoury, spicy, delicious and easy!

500g firm tofu (drained well and cut into cubes)
150g extra lean pork mince
2 tsp sechaun peppercorns,
1tablespoon oyster sauce
3tbsp soy sauce
300ml chicken stock
1tablespoon cornflour (1syn)
2 large cloves garlic grated
4 large spring onions sliced thinly
1 heaped tsp grated ginger.

combine the chicken stock, oyster sauce, soy sauce, cornflour and sechaun peppercorns.
fry off the pork mince till crispy add the ginger and garlic and cook for 2 -3 minutes.
Add the tofu and cook until golden then pour over the sauce and cook until it reduces and thickens.

i hope you enjoy this recipe. if you dont like sechaun peppercorns you could always replace it with some chopped chilli or chilli paste.

sichaun prawns

This dish is good as part of a chinese meal or to serve as a starter.

200g raw, peeled tiger prawns
1/2 tsp sichaun pepper
generous pinch salt
1tsp 5 spice powder

for the sauce: 4 tbsp soy sauce, 1tsp sugar (1syn), 1 spring onion, finely chopped. (all mixed together)

toss the prawns in the 5 spice powder,sichaun pepper and salt.
Get a pan on a high heat.
add the prawns and stir fry.
when they are nearly cooked through add the sauce and toss until it thickens.
Serve hot or warm.
they are nice in lettuce leaf cups.

basic chinese mixed vegetables

Just like you get from the takeaway, although there isnt much flavour to them there is always something morishly comforting about the gravy on these vegetables!
(i sometimes add straw mushroom if i can get them, they come in a can just drain the liquid go through and cut them in half, they look odd, like little balls but when you cut them in half you can see the stalk, they are used a lot in chinese vegetable dishes)

Of course you could add meat to this.

1 large clove of garlic, grated.
2 tbsp soy sauce
300ml chicken (or veggie) stock,
1 tbsp cornflour (1 syn)
1/2 tsp sesame oil (1 syn - optional but the flavour makes it just like the chinese)
handful of bean sprouts,
1 small tin of mixed bamboo shoots and water chesnuts (just drain them and slice into bitesize pieces)
1 small carrot sliced then chopped into bitesize pieces
1 small onion in bitesize chunks
1/2 small green pepper in bitesize chunks
1tsp oyster sauce.

mix the oyster sauce, stock, soy sauce and cornflour with a generous pinch of black and white pepper.
get the pan hot then add the carrot and stir fry for 2-3 minutes. add the rest of the veg (but not the beansprouts) stir fry for 2-3 minutes then add your sauce mixture and stir constantly cooking until the sauce reduces and thickens and becomes gravy like. add your beansprouts. cook through for 1 minutes and you are done!

'General Tso chicken'

General tso is a popular american dish that is slowly spreading to the uk, a pungent dish with a good kick!

serves 4
4 skinless/fatless boneless chicken thighs in bitesize chunks
1/2 tsp baking powder (1/4 syn)
1tbsp cornflour (1syn)
2tbsp soy sauce
Sauce: 1 tbsp tomato puree, 2 tbsp soy sauce, 1tsp sesame oil (2syns), 2 tsp each grated ginger and garlic, 1 red chilli finely diced (more or less as much as you can handle),  1tbsp rice vinegar, 3 tbsp water, 1 tsp sweetener. - all mixed together.

mix the chicken, baking powder, cornflour and soy sauce and set aside for 20 minutes to let the baking powder tenderise the meat.
Any veg go well with this dish so you could add them to the chicken or on the side.
start by getting a pan nice and hot with a few sprays of low cal spray and spread the chicken on an even layer and let  sit for 1 minute before slipping, it should look nice and brown and crisp. leave to cook for another minute and keep turning until the chicken is crispy and you cant see any pink.
Add the sauce and toss, let the sauce reduce and keep tossing to coat the chicken thoroughly.
DONE!
if you aren't partial to chilli you could always leave it out but it doesn't give the same punch obviously!
i hope you enjoy!

Beef with ginger and spring onion

Quick, easy and delicious this stir fry is good on its own or with rice.
4-6
500g of steak thinly sliced
1 thinly sliced onion
1 thinly sliced green bell pepper
1tbsp grated ginger
4tbsp soy sauce
1tbsp oyster sauce
1tsp sesame oil (2 syns)
1tsp baking powder
generous pinch of salt and pepper
1 bunch of spring onions chopped into 1 inch pieces.

mix the steak with salt, pepper, baking powder, sesame oil, oyster sauce and soy sauce.
Get a pan nice and hot and add the onion and green pepper along with the white parts of the spring onion. toss and stir fry until they char and the spring onion is a little limp.
remove to the side and add the steak along with the ginger. let sit in the scorching pan for a minute or so then toss and let rest again.
when the steak is almost cooked add back in the vegetables including the green parts of the spring onion and toss through throughly and if needs be add a little more soy sauce.

quick, easy and delicious.

Chicken Dopiaza

This curry isn't exactly for the faint heart, lots of onion, garlic and a good kick of chilli, but is soothing and soul healing at the same time. This curry is especially brilliant if you have a cold as the garlic, ginger, onion and tumeric all contribute to a better immune system and tumeric is just an amazing spice although not much flavour has a large variety of medical properties! Enough warbling lets get on!

You will need: 4 large onions (2 quartered, 2 sliced)
1 large red and green bell pepper. (bite size chunks)
8 large boneless chicken thighs (skin and excess fat removed cut into bitesize pieces)
2 tsp grated ginger
3 large cloves of garlic
1 tbsp each of coriander and cumin seeds (lightly crushed)
1tsp tumeric
1 tsp chilli powder (or more if you like)
2 large tomatoes finely chopped
1tsp garam massala
1/2 tsp salt and pinch of white pepper
4 tbsp fat free yogurt (to finish the dish, but you can leave it out if you really want)

place the quartered onions, garlic and ginger into a food processor or mini chopper and blend till you get a paste.
meanwhile on a high heat stir fry the sliced onions and peppers until they char a little and the onions become sweeter. (remove to a plate)
on a medium heat stir fry the onion paste until it starts to turn golden brown.
Add in all the spices and stir cooking for 1 minute.
Add the chicken coating in the spice mix.
Add the tomatoes, pepper and salt and a little water, stir and cover letting cook for 20 minutes.
Uncover to let thicken. (this would be a perfect time to sort out your rice)
stir in the onion and bell pepper.
remove from the heat and stir through the yogurt.

This seems long winded but alternately.. you could brown the chicken, sliced onion and bell peppers together to get some colour and put it in a slow cooker, then you could stir fry the onion paste with the spices until it turns brown, add it to the slow cooker then add the tomatoes to the slow cooker, give it a stir and cook for 4 hours on high or 6-8 on low then stir through the yogurt before you serve.

Sweet and sour pork(or chicken)

So okay this has syns but the syns make this dish taste amazing..
you may think i am mad putting baking powder on meat, but, trust me! Its a traditional chinese method! The baking powder tenderises the meat in about 20 minutes and gives a silky smooth texture in your mouth!
The marinade doesn't look especially delicious but hey ho it tastes lush!

So the basics of this sauce has the meat, cubed green pepper and white onion. obviously you can add as much veggies as you like and serve with anything you like but today this is just a basic sweet and sour i hope you enjoy!

serves 4-6 people
400g bite size chicken breast or pork (i used pork loin chops and removed the fat)
1 tsp baking powder (0.5 syn you cannot replace this with anything else and is essential for this dish)
6 tbsp soy sauce
1tbsp cornflour (1syn)
1 grated clove of garlic
1tsp sesame oil (2syns)
4tbsp (i used morrisons which is 0.5 a syn) ketchup
splash of white vinegar
about 1/2 tsp sweetener
generous pinch of salt and pepper.
1 large white onion and green pepper in rough chunks.

mix together 4 tbsp soy sauce, cornflour, baking powder generous pinch of salt and pepper and the meat. leave to the side while you prep the sauce.
mix the ketchup, rest of the soy, sesame oil, garlic, sweetener and white vinegar and set aside.
Once the meat has marinaded for at least 20 minutes get a (preferably non stick) pan on high heat with a generous spritz of low cal spray.
mix the meat one more time then lay out in a single layer. Leave for 30 seconds then flip the pieces. they should be a lovely golden crispy brown colour.
leave for another 30 seconds then when you can see no more pink, (doesnt have to be cooked right through) remove from the pan and add your vegetables. leaving them to char a little before tossing to char the other side. add the pork back in and stir fry for 2-3 minutes before adding your sauce.
Toss throughly to make sure everything is coated and to make sure the sauce thickens.

Ta da.. done! the prep is the longest it only took me about 5-7 minutes in total to cook the sweet and sour (but i did have a lot of other mixed veggies in my stir fry!)

i hope you guys like it!!

Peking duck

What? you can have this on slimming world too?!
well of course you can my friend! Just in the right way!
So i usually serve this with my 'fried rice' and garlic greens or sometimes it's just as good in a lettuce wrapper!
i don't usually have these with pancakes so i don't know the syns of those but i know blue dragon hoi sin sauce is currently at 1 syn per tbsp (i usually water it down with a little soy sauce or water and toss it with my duck.

This recipe is purely for the duck. i don't know how many syns it would be for cooking it with the skin on but we boil off the majority of the fat first!!

Where to get a duck? usually in the freezer section. I know aldi have had duck in their frozen section for the past 6 months so you must be able to find them in normal supermarkets too :)

So first off, if using a frozen duck i cannot stress the important of defrosting properly before use! DO NOT just sit it in hot water because there is more chance of you getting food poisoning! Get your duck out of the freezer 24 hours before you need it.. put it on a tray and leave it to do its thing.

Now. Get a big pot of boiling water. stab your duck all over with a fork and boil for 45 minutes.
Preheat your oven to 200oC. After the duck is boiled remove it from the oily water and place directly onto a wire rack. (make sure you have a tray with foil underneath the rack!) cook in the oven for 45 minutes. turn off the oven 10 minutes before removing and have your windows open as there will be smoke!

Remove to a chopping board, remove the skin (yes i know its easy to eat crispy duck and chicken skin but think how well you are doing) grab 2 forks and start shredding!
Done!
How easy?!
I hope you give this recipe a try, it will save you a lot of money from the chinese and a lot of syns!

crispy chilli beef

Okay, so it may not be JUST like the takeaway version but tastes just as damn good! low fat, low syn.. good for a chinese dinner party whats not to love?
wrapped in lettuce leaves or served with rice and steamed greens this low syn delight is too good not to try!
depending how you serve can serve 4-6 people or it will serve as a brilliant chinese buffet dish if you have a get together.

you will need: 500g beef mince (extra lean/less than 5%)
1 tbsp cornflour ( 1 syn)
2 tbsp light sweet chilli sauce ( 2 syns: if you like spice you can always add some fresh chopped chillies to this too! but i am a wimp!)
1/2 tsp sesame oil (1 syn)
1tsp grated ginger
1 very large clove grated garlic
1tbsp soy sauce
pinch of salt and pepper

Start by frying off your mince you want it to start to turn nice and crispy (you will hear it start to crack and start to turn a lovely brown colour)
meanwhile mix the sweet chilli sauce, salt, pepper, sesame oil, soy sauce and 2 tbsp of water.
Sprinkle the cornflour over the beef evenly. Toss to coat and leave for a little then toss again so the other side gets crispy. do this a couple of times so the cornflour coating the beef turns crisp. (not only will it help it to be crisp but keeps moisture in!)
toss in the garlic and ginger tossing or stirring for a minute or 2 until the smell of garlic and ginger aromatics smacks you in the face like a cold winters day!
pour in your sauce constantly tossing to make sure all the beef is coated. keep cooking until the sauce reduces and completely coats your beef and you are ready to serve!

i hope you guys like my recipes :) i would love to know if you give them a go!

Fried Rice

The essential thing for fried rice? precooked rice. when i make my fried rice i use a brand called veetee as they are only 1 syn. depending on what you get.
Another crucial thing? add what YOU like. this is just my basic fried rice.
the only things you keep the same is the garlic, ginger, soy, sesame, salt and pepper and of course the rice!

you will need
1 pack of veetee precooked rice. (do not cook it in the microwave!!)
1 small shallot finely diced
1 carrot finely diced
handful of thawed (prefrozen) peas
1tbsp soy sauce
1tsp sesame oil (2syns)
1 egg
1 grated garlic clove and the same amount of grated ginger
pinch of salt and pepper.

break up the rice (no we are not cooking as per packet instructions!) so all grains are seperate, coat in the sesame oil and spray and mix through fry light. (this helps if you do not have a non stick pan!)
bring a pan to a very high heat.
add some fry light and the carrot and onion, stir fry for a couple of minutes and add the garlic and ginger.
stir fry for 1 minute or until fragrant and add the rice.
stir fry for 5 minutes,
toss through the peas, salt, pepper and soy sauce.
toss to coat evenly.
push the rice to one side, spray the pan with fry light and add the egg. let it cook till almost set.
break up the yolk and put the rice on top
break up the egg in the rice. (bigger or smaller chunks, completely your preference)
serve while hot.

Indian salad/curry topping

yum yum yum
So, that indian salad with tomatoes, onions and aromatic coriander? its very very easy to make at home.
Its delicious to top off salads, or ontop of curries for another dimension, i went through a phase when i first started slimmingworld where the only salad i would eat was this indian salad wrapped in lettuce leaves!!

Another good thing you can adjust it to how you like it!! If you don't like lots of coriander reduce it or remove it completely! you only have limes and not lemons? use them!

1 large red onion, as finely diced as you can get it!
2 large tomatoes finely diced (with all its juiced)
1/4 cucumber finely diced
As much coriander as you want (for this amount i usually go for a handful finely chopped)
juice of half a lemon

Chuck it all in a bowl, toss it together and you are done!!

If you want to remove some of the onion taste soak the onion in a bowl of water with a splash of lemon juice in for 30 minutes, drain them add to your salad!

I hope you guys love this recipe as much as i do. :) (delicious with poppadom, the size you get in the shops are 2.5 each the indian takeaway are 4 each, and for 25 g of mini poppadoms are 6 syns as of 2/12/2015)

Garlic greens

This recipe is versatile as really it goes with most greens, just use whatever you have to hand.

I use frozen green beans because why not! (just defrost half a bag)
1 large onion (chopped into bitesized pieces)
1 small red and green pepper (into bit size pieces)
3 large garlic cloves finely chopped or 3 tsp of garlic paste
2 tbsp soy sauce
1tsp sesame oil (2 syns)

get a pan nice and hot
add the onion and green pepper, toss regularly till slightly charred and onion is just turning translucent.
add your garlic, green beans and sesame oil.
Toss the pan or stur the garlic and beans witht he rest of the ingredients until the garlic becomes fragrant.
Add the soy sauce and toss. cook for a further 2 minutes.

Done :D delicious garlicky green beans, like i said use what you have to hand whether it be brocolli, spring greens or cabbage!

I would love some feedback so leave a comment below!

Vietnamese beef stew (my version)

Not long ago i became unhealthily obsessed with asian, vietnamese and thai food!
I came across this aromatic soothing beef stew, full of the herbs and spices needed to cure a cold!
Perfect for a cold evening!
It really is a slow cooked dish so if you dont have a slow cooker use a dutch oven!

4-6 people
1kg stewing steak.
4tbsp soy sauce
1tbsp fish sauce (yes i know it smells but trust me!)
3 lrge garlic cloves grated
1tsp grated ginger
1 tin of tomatoes
2 tbsp romato puree
200ml beef stock
1 bay leaf
6 carrots peeled and in bitesize pieces
3 spring onions in chunks.
2 star anise and 1 cinnamon stick
1 tsp 5 spice
generous amount of black pepper
2 large white onions (in bitesized chunks)
2 large green pepper (in bitesized chunks)
1tsp sesame oil (2syns)

Marinate the beef with the garlic, ginger, soy sauce, fish sauce and 5 spice over night. or 2 days in advance!
put all of the ingredients (just not the green pepper or onion and sesame oil) in the slow cooker.
Let it cook until you are ready to eat (i serve with rice)
Before you cook the rice, get a frying pan EXTREMELY hot and chuck in the onions and peppers let it sit for 20 seconds, flip it, let it sit again for another 20 seconds. Repeat and add to the stew with the sesame oil and stir through.
Serve whilst hot, sprinkle with spring onions (optional but adds another dimension)