How to make Chinese takeaway-style Crispy Chilli Beef

  I have been obsessing over perfecting this dish for a long time, partly because it's so good, and partly because I spend so much money buying it from a Chinese takeaway! I thought to myself, wouldn't it be amazing if I could make it exactly the same as a takeaway, and have it whenever I wanted?

  So after a long while of experimenting with what can only be described as really spice beef brittle, here's my foolproof recipe to get Chinese Crispy Chilli Beef perfect at home every time.

  Ingredients (serves 2);

1 Large sirloin steak
1 Large carrot
2 Large red chillies
3 Cloves of garlic
1 Thumb sized piece of ginger, peeled
Half of a large cup of white sugar
1 cup of cornflour
1 Large orange
A small saucepan half filled with oil
A third of a cup of light soy sauce
Half of a large cup of Chinese rice vinegar


  Firstly, lay the steak on a large chopping board and trim off the strip of fat that runs along one side of the steak. Now cover the meat with cling film and hit it with a heavy-bottomed saucepan until it is just under a centimetre thick.
  Now, cut the meat diagonally into half-centimetre thick slices and lay into a bowl with the cornflour, which has been seasoned generously with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, and the zest of the orange. Coat the slices of steak thoroughly and set aside to absorb more of the cornflour.

  Now for the sauce, finely chop the garlic and ginger, and gently fry in a small amount of olive oil in a large saucepan, next slice the red chillies and add them straight to the pan, then add the soy sauce, rice vinegar and sugar, and the juice of half of the orange.

  While the sauce is slowly reducing, deep fry the steak slices in the hot oil, and once they are dark brown and crispy, drain them on a piece of kitchen paper while you cut the carrot into thin batons and deep fry them in the same oil that you used for the steak.

  Next, add everything to the sauce and coat until sticky. Serve and enjoy with egg-fried rice and some steamed pak-choi.

Stuffed Pork Chops with Celeriac Mash and Black Pudding Fritters

  This recipe is a twist on something I tried at a restaurant called The Red Barn, near to Lingfield Park Racecourse. They had served a roulade of pork belly with mashed potatoes and some of these small black pudding fritters which were amazing. The chef had somehow managed to whip up the black pudding to an almost mousse-like consistency, which after many attempts, I think I've finally cracked.

Ingredients (serves two generously);

2 Large pork chops
1 Whole small black pudding (or a third of a large one as I have used here)
1 Large onion
2 Cloves of garlic
1 Lemon
1 Large Bramley apple
Half of a celeriac
Half of a box of Panko breadcrumbs (these are a type of extra-crispy Japanese breadcrumbs that are perfect for making Katsu Curry)
One large sprig of lemon thyme
1 Large Maris Piper potato
1 Pint of chicken stock
1 Small 200ml bottle of red wine
100ml Semi-skimmed milk
1 tbsp white sugar
1 tsp fennel seeds
2 Whole large eggs
150g Plain flour
The white of 1 large egg
A splash of cider or white wine vinegar

For the Gravy...

  Firstly finely chop the onion, one clove of garlic, two or three slices of the black pudding and 1 tsp of the lemon thyme and saute on a medium heat with a glug of olive oil until the onion starts to soften, then pour in the bottle of red wine, and reduce down by two thirds.
  Now add the chicken stock and reduce down by two thirds again. Once this is done, the gravy will have a lumpy and slightly watery consistency, so pass it through a fine sieve.
  Lastly, thicken the gravy with a roux. To do this, simply melt two teaspoons of butter in the saucepan, and once the butter gets hot, add 1 tsp of plain flour and cook until the flour goes slightly golden. This ensures that the raw, uncooked taste of the flour goes away. Once you have achieved this, simply whisk the strained gravy slowly back into the roux mixture, and you should be left with a smooth, silky, shiny gravy ready to be reheated later.


For the Celeriac Mash...

  To make the celeriac mash, just dice up the peeled potato into roughly 1 inch cubes, and dice the celeriac into roughly half an inch cubes (you do this as they cook at slightly different rates)
  Now boil everything together in boiling slightly salted water until tender (falling off of the fork), and drain. Once it has drained, mash the mixture all together with the milk and a small knob of butter, as well as a good pinch of sea salt and 1 tsp of freshly ground black pepper. Set aside to be reheated later.


For the Stuffing...

  Finely chop four or five slices of the black pudding, the last garlic clove, the whole apple and 1 tsp of fennel seeds, and fry with a glug of olive oil, and a splash of cider or white wine vinegar. Cook until everything has softened nicely, and season with sea salt, black pepper and 1 tbsp of white sugar. Set aside for now.

For the Black Pudding Fritters...

  Place the rest of the black pudding into a large bowl, and season with sea salt and black pepper. Now, mash the black pudding up with a fork until it has a crumbly consistency. Now add the egg white and beat with a wooden spoon until smooth.
  Next, it's time to make the fritters out of this mixture. You will need to set out your bowls of plain flour, beaten egg and Panko breadcrumbs as shown below:

  Now, using a large serving spoon, take one ball of the black pudding mixture, roll it gently in your hands, trying not to over work it, and then roll it first in the plain flour, and then in the beaten egg, and then finally in the Panko breadcrumbs. Then press the breadcrumbs firmly into the mixture, and repeat the process once more to obtain a much thicker coating. Chill in the fridge until needed.


Now, bringing it all together...

  To stuff the pork chops, you will need a very sharp boning or filleting knife. Slowly insert the knife's tip into the thicker end or the pork chop, and slide the length of the knife in, moving it from side to side, to open up a large pocket inside the eye of the meat, with a slightly narrower opening to stop all of the stuffing from falling out while cooking.
  Now stuff the pork chops both with as much of the stuffing mixture as you can fit inside, and rub all over with olive oil, sea salt, and freshly ground black pepper.

  Now, fry the pork chops on a very high heat until browned on the outside, along with the black pudding fritters, which should only be cooked until slightly golden brown, and then place everything into the oven together at around 180C for approximately 10-15 minutes. Take out and rest for 5 minutes covered with foil.

  Serve the pork chops on a bed of the mash, with two of the black pudding fritters and the gravy, with some of the thyme tips sprinkled over for decoration.

How to make Spanish Roast Chicken

Spanish Roast Chicken and Parsley Smashed Potatoes

  This is a recipe inspired by the Roast Chicken cooked by Jamie Oliver which can be found here. It is however, my version which creates a much richer sauce and has a stronger Chorizo flavour.

To make this recipe, you will need:

For the chicken

• 1 whole chicken (approx. 1.2Kg)
• 1 medium sized chorizo
• 2 onions
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 2 handfuls of green olives (pitted)
• 1 small bottle of Spanish red wine
• 3 bay leaves
• 1 medium sized lemon
• Sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper

For the Potatoes

• Approx 20 baby new potatoes
• 1 small handful of coursely chopped parsley
• 1 clove of garlic
• 1 tbsp butter
• Sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper

  Firstly, place the chicken, the bay leaves and around 1 tablespoon of salt in a large bowl (don't worry, none of the salt goes in the end product!). Next, fill up the bowl with cold water until the chicken is completely submerged. This technique is called brining, and it uses a salt solution to tenderise the meat, and allow any flavours to penetrate much more deeply. Brining also keeps the meat nice and tender once it's cooked.

  Next, roughly slice the chorizo into around 1cm slices, and place into a non-stick saucepan over an extremely low heat with a generous glug of olive oil. Cook the chorizo this way for around 20 minutes. This method of slow cooking the chorizo over a low heat enables more of the spicy juices to be rendered out, meaning that the spices don't burn before you can use them to impart flavour to the chicken. After about 20 minutes you should see a marked difference in the colour of the olive oil.

  Once the chorizo has rendered out most of its incredible oils, add the onions and garlic, and sweat down until translucent. Then remove about two thirds of the onion, garlic and chorizo mixture and roughly chop with one handful of the green olives ready to stuff the chicken later.

  Now you can add the wine and the other handful of the olives, and simmer until the wine has reduced by half.

  It's now time to roast the chicken. Firstly, remove it from the brine, and pat dry with kitchen paper. Next, stuff with about a large handful of the chopped stuffing mixture, and seal the cavity with the lemon, which you have rolled on the sideboard to release the juices and oils, and pricked all over with a sharp knife.

  Place the chicken in a roasting tray and pour over the sauce, topping with the rest of the stuffing mixture.

  Put the chicken into a preheated oven at 240C, and immediately reduce the heat to 200C, and roast for approximately 1 hour, or until the juices run clear.

  At this point, you may want to put the potatoes on. Simply rub the potatoes with olive oil, salt and freshly cracked black pepper, and place into the same oven as the chicken.

  While the potatoes are cooking, mix the butter, garlic, parsley, salt and pepper in a bowl and microwave for approximately 1 minute.

  Once the potatoes have been in the oven for approximately 45 minutes, remove from the oven, and roughly smash them up with a potato masher. Then mix in the parsley and garlic butter, and place back in the oven for the last 15 minutes, reducing the heat to 160C.

  Once the chicken and potatoes have finished cooking, remove from the oven, cover with foil, and rest the chicken for around 15 minutes, then carve, and serve with the potatoes and some steamed broccoli.

Enjoy.