Cook Book Challenge Number One

One of my New Year resolutions (there are a few!) was to start making use of all those cook books I have managed to collect over the last few years. The lion's share of them sit in my book shelf and, apart from a casual flick through the pages every now and then, really don't get to see the light of day. Thus the 2010 Cook Book Challenge (CBC) was born and last night's dinner saw Kylie Kwong's 'Simple Chinese Cooking' make it all the way from the bookshelf to the kitchen bench.

Kylie is a fourth generation Australian-Chinese currently living in Sydney. She has her own restaurant there and also has several cookbooks and TV series under her belt too, you may have seen her on the Good Food Channel when it was still called UKTV Food. Her cookbook is very easy to read and the pictures are mouthwatering, the only thing I would complain about is the amount of oil that she uses. Next time I make these dishes, for there will certainly be a next time, I think I'll substitute the fry lite spray for the oil. Delish!

Stir Fried Chicken Fillets with Honey and Ginger

800g chicken thigh fillets, cut into 2cm slices (I used breast cause that's what we had handy!)

2 tbsp veg oil

1 tbsp light soy sauce

Marinade

1/4 cup honey

2 tbsp light soy sauce

2 tbsp shao hsing wine or dry sherry

2 tbsp finely diced ginger (I grated it)

1 tbsp oyster sauce

2 tsp dark soy sauce

2 tsp five spice powder (I didn't have any handy so I substitute a pinch of crushed dried chillies)

1/2 tsp sesame oil

Combine chicken with marinade ingredients in a large bowl, cover, and leave to marinate in the refrigerator overnight.

Heat oil in a hot wok until surface seems to shimmer slightly. Add half the marinated chicken with the marinade and stir fry for 1 min. Remove from the wok with a slotted spoon and set aside. Add remaining chicken and stir fry for 1 min. Return reserved chicken to the wok with soy sauce and stir fry for a further 2 mins or until chicken is just cooked through and slightly caramelised.

Arrange chicken on a platter and serve.

Serve as a meal for 4 with steamed rice or as part of a banquet for 4-6

This was very, very yummy. Hubby had a second helping which is always a good sign!

Steamed Rice

1 1/3 cups uncooked jasmine rice

2 2/3 cups water

Place uncooked rice in a sieve and rinse under running water until water runs clear. Combine water and rice in a medium sized heavy based saucepan. Bring to the boil, immediately cover with a tight fitting lid and reduce heat to as low as possible. Cook, covered, for 10 mins. Do not remove lid during cooking.

Remove saucepan from the stove and stand, covered, for 10 mins. Fluff the rice with a fork before serving.

Serves 4 (makes about 4 cups of cooked rice)

This is the easiest way I have ever found of making perfectly cooked fluffy rice without a rice cooker. I will be using this method from now on.

Stir Fried Snow Peas with Garlic

2 tbsp veg oil

1/2 tsp sea salt

250g mange-tout (snow peas), trimmed (I used sugar snap peas as that is what we had)

4 garlic cloves, crushed

1/4 tsp white sugar

1/2 cup water

1/4 tsp sesame oil

Heat veg oil in a hot wok until surface seems to shimmer slightly. Add salt and mange-tout and stir fry for 2 mins. Immediately add crushed garlic and stir fry for 1 min, stirring constantly to ensure garlic does not burn. Add sugar and stir fry for 10 seconds. Pour in water and simmer for 2 mins or until the mange-tout are tender. Lastly, add sesame oil and serve immediately.

Serves 2 as a side dish (or 4 for a banquet)

Who would have thought a bit of sugar and water along with some garlic and a stir fry could make these even tastier than they normally are. I could have eaten the whole lot on my own, only they were a touch too oily when cooked following the instructions above. Next time I'll replace the veg oil with a few sprays of the fry lite.

I loved this meal, Hubby not so much but then he isn't a fan of rice. He has asked that he has noddles with it next time instead. I will of course be happy to oblige ;0)