Stir fry pork in yellow bean sauce

"Mummy, is that bean like in Mr Bean?! Is it Mr Bean sauce?"

The year of the Monkey kicked off on the 8th of February, but who said we cannot continue celebrating 10 days later?! Did I read somewhere that the celebrations go on for two weeks?! I fancied trying a Wing Yip Yellow Bean stir fry sauce which I received together with the other  Chinese foods recently. I have already cooked a chicken fried rice and sweet and sour chicken with Wing Yip sauces, and both meals were very tasty.

Pork in yellow bean sauce
Ingredients:
500g lean pork
3tbsp sesame oil
2 medium carrots
1 celery stalk
1 red onion
2 cloves of garlic
90g pak choi
1 jar of yellow bean stir fry sauce
spring onions for garnish

Add the sesame oil to the wok, once it's very hot and sizzling add the cubed pork. Stir it so that the pork is browned on all sides. Add the sliced carrot and celery, finely chopped onion and garlic, and white bits of pak choi. Cook for a few minutes until the onion is translucent. Pour the sauce over the pork and simmer until the pork is cooked well. Add the green parts of pak choi in the last minute of cooking.
Before serving add some chopped spring onions.

Serve with noodles or rice.

Wing Yip Yellow Bean stir fry sauce comes in a 185ml jar, this size is enough to prepare a meal for a family of 4. It helps create an authentic Chinese meal at home.
If pork is not your favourite meat, have a look at the recipe of Chicken with yellow bean sauce as created by Alison from Dragons and Fairy Dust.

For a full range of authentic Chinese products visit Wing Yip store.

Disclosure: I received the sauce as part of the Chinese New Year celebrations for the purposes of testing and reviewing. All opinions are mine.

Sweet and sour chicken

While I was cooking Sweet and sour chicken for lunch today, I thought of the times when I tried the sweet and sour sauce in a jar for the very first time. Chinese food was almost unheard of in my hometown in Russia (then the Soviet Union), probably until mid-to-late 1980s. I must have been at Uni, and when a famous American brand started selling their sauces in jars locally, we were very excited. Sweet and sour sauce sounded so exotic and so different. I remember actually eating the sauce straight from the jar or spooned on a slice of bread. At that time my friends and I thought it was simply heavenly.

These days I am perfectly capable of making my own sweet and sour sauce from scratch, with sweet peppers and pineapples, but I also buy jars of sauce to keep on the kitchen shelves for a quick and easy meal. 

I have already told you that Wing Yip asked if I would be interested in trying some of their products and getting creative during the festivities. Wing Yip is widely recognised as the UK's leading Oriental grocer with four sites in Birmingham, Manchester, Croydon and Cricklewood. They also have an online store, thus "bringing traditional Oriental cuisine one step closer to UK homes".
We absolutely loved Chicken fried rice, which I cooked with Wing Yip rice fried sauce.

Today I used a jar of Wing Yip Sweet & Sour Stir Fry Sauce. This is a classic Cantonese sauce from South Eastern China made with a unique and delicate blend of contrasting fruit flavours. It is perfect with pork, chicken or fried fish. This sauce is best used in stir-fry.
It's suitable for vegetarians, contains no hydragenated fat or added monosodium glutamate.

Sweet and sour chicken
Ingredients:
2 chicken breasts
80ml+ sparkling water
50g self-raising flour
35g cornflour
groundnut oil for stir-frying, about half a bottle
1 tin of pineapple slices in light syrup (227g tin, or 140g drained)
1 sweet pepper
1 medium onion, finely sliced
tender egg noodles, to serve with

First prepare the batter. And turn the oven on, it has to be warm.
Whisk together the flour, cornflour and sparkling water until you get a batter of smooth consistency. Slice the chicken breast, dip in the batter in batches. Pour half a bottle of oil in a wok. It has to be very hot when you put chicken pieces in it. Cook in two batches for about 7-8 minutes, turning pieces over while you cook. Once the batter is lightly golden, take the pieces carefully out with a slotted spoon and put on a paper kitchen towel to get rid of the excess oil.
While you are cooking the veg, keep the chicken (without paper) in the oven.
Finely slice the onion, and cut the sweet pepper in about 10 pieces. Fry in the wok with about 3tbsp of oil. Once the onion has nicely browned, add the pineapple chunks (or slices), pour the light syrup too. Take the chicken out of the oven and mix with the vegetables and noodles. Pour the sauce over, and stir fry for a minute. Serve hot.
It was a tasty Chinese meal. The sauce is smooth, so if you prefer yours chunky, add the pineapple like I did.

And if you're adventurous in cooking and like trying new ingredients, how about a Sweet and sour chicken with goji berries, as cooked by Cheryl from Madhouse Family Reviews? That's an inspired twist on a classic dish.

What are you planning to cook tomorrow to celebrate the Chinese New Year?

Chicken fried rice

Chinese New Year is just a few days away.
Will you be celebrating it by ordering a takeaway or buying ready-made meals? There are lots of promotions in supermarkets at the moment. But cooking your own Chinese feast could be a great fun, throwing together delicious meals, where you know exactly what goes inside the dish.
Chicken fried rice is absolutely delicious, yet so easy to prepare. You can always double the quantities if you are cooking for a bigger family.
A couple of days ago I had an email from Wing Yip, asking if I would be interested in trying some of their products and getting creative during the festivities. Wing Yip is widely recognised as the UK's leading Oriental grocer with four sites in Birmingham, Manchester, Croydon and Cricklewood. They also have an online store, thus "bringing traditional Oriental cuisine one step closer to UK homes".

I was already planning to do a feast for the Chinese New Year. The year of the Monkey is coming, and being a Monkey according to the Chinese horoscope, I consider it my year, and a good occasion to celebrate.

I googled for fried rice dishes, and came across a tasty recipe for Chicken fried rice on The Telegraph site. I have adapted the recipe, changing some of the quantities and adding mixed mushrooms. The author of the recipe starts by cooking rice. I used pre-cooked rice. Basically it is a glamorised version of an egg-fried rice, but while the egg fried rice is more of a side dish, this recipe is a meal in itself.

Chicken fried rice
Ingredients:
3tbsp groundnut oil
1/2 medium onion, finely chopped
3 spring onions
2 cloves of garlic
fresh ginger, about half a finger long
250g chicken breast
100g fresh peas (or frozen)
300g mixed exotic mushrooms (shiro-shimeji, shiitake, golden enoki and eryngii)
2tbsp Chinese fried rice sauce
300g cooked rice
2 medium eggs, scrambled with 1tsp of oil

Heat the wok really well, add the groundnut oil. Finely chop the onion, white bits of spring onions and grate the ginger, put all the ingredients in the wok and stir fry for a couple of minutes. Then add the cubed chicken and sliced mushrooms (smaller ones should be left whole). Season with a bit of salt. Cook for 5 minutes or longer.
In a smaller pan cook scrambled eggs with a teaspoon of oil, or make the flat omelette and then slice it. You will add it later to the rice, just before serving.
Add the rice to the chicken, as well as the Chinese fried rice sauce. Add the peas and sliced mushrooms (smaller ones should be left whole) and stir fry for another 5 minutes, make sure the chicken is cooked through.
Chop the green part of spring onions, scatter over the rice and serve it hot.

Wing Yip Chinese Fried Rice sauce made this recipe more authentic. This sauce is a flavoured soy sauce, with added garlic, black pepper, ginger and other ingredients. It is suitable for vegetarians and has no added monosodium glutamate.

I buy mixed exotic mushrooms in Waitrose, it is a 300g box with a variety of mushrooms. If you cannot find these mushrooms, use shiitake and oyster mushrooms which are available more widely.

Disclosure: I received a selection of Wing Yip products for the purposes of testing and reviewing. All opinions are mine.