sichuan pepper roasted duck

Whilst very briefly in Beijing recently, I was sent off to a wonderfully recommended Sichuan inspired restaurant. I have only just stopped glowing and my mouth no longer hums with the aftershock more commonly associated with a pretty severe session with a hardcore dentist. As absolutely delicious as it almost all was; the mouth numbing intensity that the sweet and innocent Sichuan peppercorn offers, in combination with the fried red chilli peppers which were in glorious abundance in the dishes, there is only so much a man can take.

Hoping to take the heat and intensity down a notch here, but try and retain the fragrant element of what this amazing cuisine does offer.

Sichuan pepper roasted duck with plum and star anise

Serves 4

4 duck legs

2 tblsp crushed Sichuan peppercorns

For the plum sauce

150g sugar

3 star anise

1 cinnamon stick

450g plums, halved and stoned

Juice of 1 lime

A dash of fish sauce, plus a little to taste if necessary

Steamed rice, to serve

Preheat the oven to its highest setting. Pierce the skin of the duck all over with a fork. Combine the peppercorns with a teaspoon of salt and rub all over the duck legs so they are nicely coated. Place on a wire rack (with a tray underneath to catch the fat) in the oven.

Immediately turn the temperature down to 350F/180C/Gas 4 and cook for two hours until the skin is golden and the meat begins to flake away from the bone easily.

Meanwhile, make the plum sauce by combining the sugar in a saucepan with 200ml water, the star anise and the cinnamon. Bring to the boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook for five minutes until slightly reduced. Add the plums and cook until they are soft and have broken down slightly (how long will depend on the size of your plums).

Take off the heat, squeeze in the lime juice and pour in the fish sauce. Taste and add a dash more fish sauce if you feel it. Spoon over the duck and serve immediately with steamed rice. Smother with a couple of dozen crispy red chillis here at your peril, this is absolutely optional.

potted crab or instant noodles?

When the sun shines, so does the desire to be close to the water, and by beautiful default closer and fresher to some of our most wonderful food supplies. This is a great prepare-ahead dish that you can simply take out of the fridge half an hour before serving. If preparing in advance, make sure the crab meat is completely covered with the butter mixture, and keep the pots well chilled for up to two days. Fancy it up with a bit of sliced avocado, green apple, some green leaves and a rip of bread and all is good in the world.

If this all sounds too perfect and the beach is either too far away or your needs to be beside the seaside isn't great enough then a 3.30am cup of instant noodles with extra shio konbu thrown is easily an acceptable substitution. Close your eyes and hold a seashell to your ear, everything will be just all right again.

Serves 4 on a sunny day  

2 dressed crab (or 300g white and brown crab meat)
1 banana shallot (or 2 regular ones), peeled and finely chopped
4 tblsp sherry
Pinch of cayenne pepper
Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
175g cold, unsalted butter, cut into cubes
1½ tsp Worcestershire sauce
Squeeze of lemon juice, according to taste
Handful of chives, finely chopped
 
Run your fingers through the crab meat to pick out any remaining bits of shell and cartilage. Wrap with cling film and chill.

Put the shallot, sherry, cayenne pepper and nutmeg in a small saucepan.

Season well. Bring to the boil and let it bubble vigorously for about 2 minutes until the liquid has reduced to half.

Turn the heat to low and gradually whisk in the butter, a few cubes at a time. Leave it to simmer very gently for a few minutes, then remove the pan from the heat and let the flavours infuse as the butter cools.

Pour the butter mixture into a fine sieve set over a measuring jug and press down to extract the juice from the shallots. Discard the solids.

Mix the crab meat with the Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste. Spoon the mixture into four individual pots of some description, each about 6cm wide. Place the pots on a tray and pour the butter mixture over the crab meat to cover. Cover them with a large piece of cling film and chill for about 2-3 hours until set.

Remove the potted crab from the fridge 30 minutes before serving with anything from the suggestions above in addition to buttered brown toasts, lemon wedges, chopped chives and a large glass of something very cold.

Those noodles on the other hand need nothing more than a generous imagination, 

Wagyu weekend treat

It's the day of rest, and no better time for a deserved weekend treat this evening. Don't hold back on ordering the roast chicken, or pork even, but save any beef urges for later tonight, I certainly will be. This is utterly Cantonese in its inspiration, fun and fresh. Steam a bit of rice, and some greens, then whack this together in your wok. Perfectly comfortable and of course you don't need to go the whole wagyu hog, but it isn't really a treat if you don't.

Pan-fried diced wagyu beef in teriyaki sauce 

Serves 4

600g wagyu beef (cut into dice)

12 stalks of fresh asparagus (peeled and trimmed) cut into 4cm lengths

2 tblsp teriyaki sauce

½ tsp cornstarch, dissolved in a tblsp water

300ml chicken stock

Heat a splash of vegetable oil in a wok and sauté the asparagus for a few seconds, remove with a wire mesh skimmer and drain well

Heat the wok with water, when boiling blanch the asparagus again for a few seconds (remove excess oil) drain well, clean the wok and pour the chicken stock to cook the asparagus for a further 3 minutes. Remove from wok and place on a plate.

Reheat the wok with another splodge of vegetable oil, just enough to coat the surface, place the diced beef in the wok and fry hard until golden brown all over, remove from wok and place on plate.

Pour teriyaki sauce into the wok, add chicken stock and seasoning when boiling, adjust the fire and stir in the dissolved cornstarch to thicken the sauce then spoon over the beef and asparagus and serve.

Barbecued rib eye steaks and summer vegetable skewers with a tangy lemon dipping sauce

On a recent weekend get away to New York City it was staggering to stumble about Chinatown and see with my very own senses of sight and smell just how authentic it all is. Having lived and breathed Asia myself I was in love the moment I made ground out of the Subway and ventured up Canal Street, this is a must on anybody's go to list if in the city and in need of something reminiscent of South East Asia. Manhattan's Chinatown is one of the oldest ethnic Chinese enclaves outside of Asia. The char siu bao was phenomenal as were some near damn perfect sui mai, but today we shall leave them to the experts I think.

Here's a barbecued steak idea for home, nothing whatsoever like the char siu of a good bbq shop, but easily something to brighten a cold late Winter night at home...

Serves 4

4 x 200g rib eye beef steaks

Olive oil, to drizzle

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 large garlic cloves, peeled and crushed

2 tsp ground cumin

2 tsp ground coriander

Large handful of lemon thyme sprigs

1 glass of dry white wine

1 large courgette, trimmed

1 medium aubergine, trimmed

1 large red onion, peeled
4 globe artichoke hearts, cooked

For the dipping sauce
4 tblsp mayonnaise
3 tblsp Greek yoghurt
Pinch of cayenne powder
Zest and juice of 1 large lemon

Put the steaks in a bowl or food bag with a generous drizzle of olive oil, some freshly ground black pepper, the garlic, spices, a few sprigs of lemon thyme and the white wine. Toss everything together, then leave to marinate at room temperature for one hour.

For the vegetable skewers, slice the courgette in half lengthwise, then cut into 1.5cm thick half-moons. Slice the aubergine into quarters lengthwise, then cut across each quarter into 1.5cm thick wedges. Chop the red onion into small chunks or wedges and the globe artichoke hearts into quarters.

If using wooden skewers, soak them in a bowl of cold water. Put all the vegetables into a bowl. Pick the leaves from the lemon thyme and toss through the vegetables with some freshly ground pepper and a generous glug of olive oil. Thread the vegetables alternately on to the skewers.

Season the beef and vegetables with salt just before you start barbecuing. Allow 10-15 minutes for the vegetable skewers on the barbecue, turning them regularly until the vegetables are tender and golden. Cook the steaks over a high heat, allowing 3-5 minutes on each side, then allow them to rest on a warm plate for 5 minutes.

For the dipping sauce, mix all the ingredients together in a small bowl, adding lemon juice and seasoning to taste. Serve the steaks on warmed plates with two vegetable skewers per person and the dipping sauce in small bowls on the side

Grilled honey prawns with noodle salad

Serves 4

When I go comfort at home, there's often noodles in the mix somewhere. Now Christmas and New Year's out of the way, it's time to get the diet back on track as best as possible, and this dish (or variations of it) I could easily eat a couple of times a week without any hint of boredom setting in. The arame seaweed in the noodle salad adds a subtle texture and a depth of flavour. I've done this recipe with chicken before too, but I had it with some fat prawns yesterday and it was the business.

1 tblsp honey
6 tblsp soy sauce
6 tblsp sake
1 fat clove of garlic, finely chopped
Zest of 1 lemon, finely grated
4-6 big prawns per person, shelled and cleaned
2 tblsp sesame oil
30g dried arame, shredded
240g vermicelli rice noodles
2 large carrots, peeled
4 inner celery stems, trimmed
2 bunches of chives, roughly snipped
1 large handful of coriander leaves

Place the honey, soy, sake, garlic and lemon zest in a small saucepan. Simmer gently for 3 minutes or until the honey has melted. Leave to cool until tepid.

Place the prawns in a bowl and mix in one-third of the marinade. Add 1 tblsp sesame oil and leave to marinate while you prepare the salad.

Soak the arame in plenty of cold water for 10 minutes. Drain and place in a mixing bowl with the remaining marinade.

In the meantime, prepare the noodles according to the packet instructions — usually by soaking in boiling water for 5 minutes. Drain and shake dry. Mix into the seaweed with 1 tblsp sesame oil. Slice the carrot and celery into matchsticks, about 5cm in length, and mix into the noodles along with the snipped chives and coriander leaves.

Preheat an oven-top griddle pan or non stick frying pan over a medium-high heat. Remove the prawns from the marinade and cook in the pan for barely a minute on each side, or until cooked through with no hint of pinkness. Put the noodles on a plate and top with the prawns.

Hainan chicken rice

Serves 4

A local specialty from the island of Hainan off the coast of China but revered through all of South East Asia, and my kitchen last night... The chicken should be just cooked, something we in the West can be totally paranoid about, but should the meat be at all dry, it is a complete failure. I could eat this for hours, and often go back, as I did quite late last night, for another couple of chunks of chicken and some cold rice - my garlic breath this morning told me a good evening was had...

Chicken

1 whole chicken, about 2kg

1 tsp salt

2 cloves garlic, peeled

4 slices fresh ginger, peeled

4 spring onions, trimmed

3 litres water

2 tblsp sesame oil

Sliced tomatoes for garnish

Sliced cucumbers for garnish

Coriander sprigs for garnish

Chicken rice

400g long grain rice

2 tblsp peanut oil

5 shallots, peeled and minced

5 cloves garlic, minced

1 litre reserved stock from cooking Hainan chicken

1/2 tsp salt

Wash chicken and remove excess fat. Rub the inside of the cavity with salt. Smash garlic and ginger slightly with the flat of a knife. Tie spring onions into a knot. Place garlic, ginger, and spring onions inside the chicken cavity.
Bring the water to a boil in a pot large enough to hold the chicken.

Add the chicken, breast-side down. Simmer, covered, 30-40 minutes, turning chicken halfway through the cooking process, until chicken tests done (juices from thigh should just run clear when pricked with a fork).

Carefully remove chicken, draining liquid from body cavity back into the pot. Reserve the stock to make chicken rice. Plunge the chicken into ice water for 5 minutes to stop the cooking process and tighten the skin. Drain, rub with sesame oil, and let cool to room temperature.

To serve, chop chicken into bite-size pieces (the Chinese do this bone and all) and arrange on a platter. Garnish with sliced tomatoes, cucumbers, and coriander sprigs.

To make the chicken rice, wash the rice and drain in a colander. Let stand 1/2 hour to dry.

Heat oil in a wok. Add the shallots and garlic. Stir-fry until fragrant. Add rice grains and stir-fry 3-4 minutes, until glossy and fragrant.

Transfer to a saucepan. Add the chicken broth and salt. Bring to a boil over high heat and boil until the liquid level evaporates to the level of the rice and steam holes appear. Turn heat to low. Cover and simmer for barely 10 minutes.

Serve the chicken with the rice, with chilli and garlic oil, dark soy sauce and chilli sauce, and a bowl of the remaining broth finished with a little chopped coriander.

Hot and sour scallop soup

Serves 4

Don’t let the long list of ingredients discourage you from trying out this delicious hot, sweet and sour soup, to which I’ve added fresh scallops as an elegant treat. As with most Chinese cooking, you will need to spend a little more time preparing the ingredients, but the actual cooking time is quite short.

1 litre fish or chicken stock

3 tblsp rice vinegar

3 tblsp light soy sauce

1 tblsp sweet chilli sauce

2 tsp caster sugar

5 shiitake mushrooms, stems removed and thinly sliced

1 small carrot, peeled and cut into thin strips

2.5cm fresh ginger, peeled and cut into thin strips

1 garlic clove, peeled and chopped

300g pack firm tofu, cut into small cubes

4 scallops, halved diagonally

225g tin bamboo shoots, rinsed and drained

2 tblsp cornflour, dissolved in 3 tbsp water

1 large free range egg, beaten

2 spring onions, trimmed and thinly sliced on the diagonal

Place the stock, vinegar, soy sauce, sweet chilli sauce and sugar in a pan and bring to a boil over high heat. Add the mushrooms, carrot, ginger and garlic, and adjust the heat to a gentle simmer. Cook for 5 minutes, or until the mushrooms and carrots are just tender.

Add the tofu, scallops and bamboo shoots. Stir in the cornflour mixture. Simmer until the soup is lightly thickened and the scallops are just cooked through, about 2-3 minutes. Slowly pour the beaten egg into the soup, gently stirring in a circular motion to create small ribbons of egg.

Ladle the soup into bowls, sprinkle with the spring onions and serve at once.

The old colony did us proud (part one)

What a difference a week makes? While there are still a few places on our fine earth where the culinary diversity on offer never fails to amaze, a city where wonder and delight is almost expected, Hong Kong always does it so well.
Having just returned from a 7 day whirlwind trip, where amongst many other things, I dined in a collection of eateries from simple dai pai dongs to Michelin starred joints, and everything in between - revisited two favourite restaurants I'd been to before, and had I think 8 meals in places for the first time. No two the same, all utterly fantastic, so many flavours, so much inspiration....

The week kicked off in a restaurant I had been to before, in fact where I've eaten quite possibly the best crabs in my life (possibly until Tuesday that is) but this time round all I wanted was steamed rice, steamed fish and vegetables. Anyhow, these amazing black bean and chilli clams weren't on the original agenda, but thank heaven they made it in there due to this place doing Chiu Chow style food so so well. It was great to have properly steamed fish, rice that held together in a way that it can be dragged through a little sauce on the end of your chopsticks without losing its way en route to your mouth, and great steamed green vegetables to balance it all off, but the clams stole the show.

Day two went from a great but simple dim sum lunch, to an amazing 10 course Michelin starred Chinese dinner, one of the highlights if I had to choose one was the very first course of thinly shredded chicken leg mushrooms fried with chilli, and devoured with great champagne - awesome, and may have been eclipsed by the curried crabs which were inspired by the sikh cooks the chef used to allow to take over his kitchen once a week back in the good old days. I could write about this meal for way longer, and would love to show photographs but sadly none that night - although here was the 'simple little lunch' from earlier in the day - lovely fresh har gau, pork filled cheong fun, turnip and dried shrimp cake (lo bak go) Chazhou dumplings with peanut, pork and chives, braised squid, more vegetables and a great meaty fried rice, which was as delicious as it was unnecessary...

The third day began with one of the best macaroons I've had in an age, then on to noodles, and it still staggers me how I held off till the 3rd day for noodles... Proper, hot, busy and noisy - at the peak of the lunchtime demand, no better place to be, and queuing outside for a table not only confirms you're in good company, but gets the appetite turning cartwheels in anticipation. These noodles were just perfect, bouncy and resistant with a hand mashed fish ball, some gorgeous tender braised beef and a super fresh prawn wonton - a splash of red vinegar and touch of red chilli oil fire, and I'm in lip smacking heaven.

I'm stuffed just recalling a few bits and pieces... more to follow soon...

Salt and chilli squid

Serves 6

Deep frying for me is a flash back home when I was younger. If it wasn't deep fried, then it was cooked to within an inch of its life in a pot, and that's where it all began. If squid isn't your thing, and I'm constantly surprised by how many say it isn't due to one previous average experience, then try this with strips of white fish instead. It's equally delicious.
You could eat this on a bed of rocket, with lime to squeeze over definitely not a throwback to the fish suppers of my childhood) Nowadays I like the squid best eaten really piping hot from the pan, as an informal stand up first course for a kitchen supper with friends while the rest of the meal is being assembled.

1kg squid, cleaned and cut into rings, tentacles left whole
2 tblsp fish sauce
1 lemon, juiced
1 tsp dried chilli flakes
1 tsp crushed coriander seeds
2 tblsp salt flakes, crushed
1 tblsp crushed white peppercorns
250g cornflour
Vegetable oil, for frying

Place the squid, fish sauce and lemon juice in a bowl and marinate for up to 30 minutes. Drain and pat dry.

Place the chilli, coriander, salt, peppercorns and cornflour in a large freezer bag, add the squid and shake well to coat.

Pour vegetable oil into a frying pan to the depth of about only 2cm. The pan should be no more than half full. Fry the squid a few pieces at a time, for about a minute, until crisp and light gold. Drain on kitchen paper and eat straight away

Five spice quail

Serves 2

Quail, one of the most underrated birds we can roast, which needs to be eaten with your fingers to be honest as there's no way a knife and fork can scrape off the meat from those little bones the same way our teeth can. It is difficult to know exactly what to serve on the side with something you eat in this manner; baked rice, cous cous or lentils all work here

4 oven ready quail
1 large clove garlic
1 tsp hot ground chilli powder
2 heaped tsp Chinese five spice powder
juice of 1 lemon
2 tblsp groundnut oil

Set the oven at 200°c/gas mark 6. Peel and mash the garlic. Put it in a bowl then stir in the ground chilli, the five spice powder, lemon juice and the oil.

Season generously with sea salt - a good half teaspoon. Dip the quail in and toss them gently round. You can leave it like this for several hours if it suits you, though just one will do.

Put the birds and any marinating juices into a small roasting tin. They should be close, but not actually touching. Roast them for 15 to 20 minutes, depending on their size, turning once.

The little birds will look quite dark after the full cooking time, but this is fine. Serve them piping hot with orange or lemon wedges to squeeze and some crusty bread.

Dumplings (Jiaozi)

Makes 100

Now this, I have to agree is a hell of a recipe, and only to be undertaken when sticking pins in your eyes to relieve intense periods of boredom has proven to be no longer fun or painfully addictive. Easier to go somewhere and have them made, cooked and served to our tables, but for some that journey may be a tad too far - so we must all have a decent dumpling recipe in the back pocket - and here it is...

670g plain flour

330ml cold water

1 pak choi, very finely chopped, sprinkled with salt, left for 30 mins then squeezed dry

225g lean minced pork

10-12 tiger prawns, peeled and finely chopped

4 spring onions, using both the white and green parts, very finely chopped

15g ginger, peeled and very finely chopped

sunflower oil

2 eggs, beaten

soy sauce

Chinese cooking rice wine

sea salt

sesame oil

Suan zhi (garlic sauce)
5 cloves garlic

Chinese dark rice vinegar

sesame oil

Put the flour in a large bowl and drizzle water onto it, mixing the flour. Then use your hands to form a large ball. Leave to rest for 30 mins. For the stuffing add the bai-cai to the pork, prawns, spring onion and ginger. Heat 2 1⁄2 tblsp of oil in a wok and when the oil is smoking add the eggs, moving briskly until they are golden and crispy. Add to the pork mixture with 2 tblsp of soy sauce, 7 tblsp of sunflower oil, 3⁄4 tblsp of rice wine, three pinches of salt and a drizzle of sesame oil.

To make the skins take a handful of dough, make it into a sausage 2.5 cm in diameter and cut into pieces 2.5 cm long. Form each piece into a ball, then flatten, making a disc about 3.5 cm in diameter. Then roll them (all 100) into circular dumpling skins about 7-8 cm in diameter (you can buy these if you must). Put 1 1⁄2 tsp of stuffing mix into the centre of each skin and press the edges together to form a half moon shape with the middle pushed together and the ends open.

Seal the corners by creating little concertina-like folds as you press the edges together: it is crucial they don't open during the cooking process.
To make suan zhi chop the garlic and add to the dark rice vinegar with a drizzle of sesame oil. I also add a tsp of brown sugar, 1 tblsp of soy sauce and 1⁄2 tsp of chilli oil.

To cook the dumplings boil a pan of water and carefully add 20 at a time - they will sink. Using a spoon stir the water (not the dumplings) to create a whirlpool which will encourage the dumplings to float. When they are floating put the lid on and let them cook for 2 minutes. When the water is really boiling add a little cold water and bring it back to the boil. Do this twice more then add a final drop of water. Remove the dumplings with a slotted spoon. Eat with the sauce - pick up your dumplings with chopsticks and bite off the end to let out the steam.

Roast pork belly with five spice rub

Serves 4

As much as I'm bursting to tell about the last 6 days in Hong Kong (I'm 4 hours off the plane as we speak) thought I ought to get the ball rolling with this little number seeing as I've been off line for all that time. When you shop for your pork, ask your butcher to score the skin of the pork for you - it is his job, not the cook's. This hatching of narrow lines through the skin not only helps the crackling to crisp nicely but makes carving a little easier. There is no gravy or even pan juices with this, so the oyster sauce greens are essential, but the crispy edged pork dipped in a tiny bit of mustard will make up for any lack of side distractions. So much more to come, so many old favourites and new discoveries to write about... once the jetlag's worn off...!

1.75kg pork belly, bones left in, scored

For the spice rub

3 juicy cloves garlic

1 tsp black peppercorns

1 tblsp sea salt flakes

2 tsp five spice powder

For the greens
4 handfuls purple-sprouting broccoli, bok choi or mustard greens

1 tblsp groundnut oil

2 tblsp oyster sauce

steamed rice to serve

Wipe the meat with a piece of kitchen paper to remove any moisture. Dry skinned pork cooks crisper than wet. Peel the garlic, then pound it, together with the peppercorns, salt and five-spice powder, using a pestle and mortar.

Lay the pork, skin-side down, in a stainless steel or glass dish, and then rub the spice mixture into the flesh. Cover and leave in a cool place for four hours.

Set the oven at 220°c/gas mark 7. Put the pork, skin-side up, into a roasting tin. Leave in the oven for 30 minutes, then turn the heat down to 180°c/gas mark 4 and continue roasting for a further 50 to 60 minutes.

Test the meat for tenderness with a knife and check the juices that emerge. They should be clear and pale with no trace of blood. If they are not, then let the meat roast a little longer. If the fat isn't quite as crisp as you would like it, move the meat to the top shelf of the oven for a further 15 minutes.

Lift the pork from the tin and leave it to rest on a chopping board for 10 to 15 minutes. Put the greens into boiling water and cook for three or four minutes until tender but still crisp to the bite, then drain them, leaving one tablespoon of water behind in the pan. Put the oil and oyster sauce in the greens pan and bring to the boil. Tip in the greens; turn off the heat, then cover the pan with a lid while you carve the pork.

Cut the pork along the bones. I find one large bone plus a bit of extra meat enough for most people.

Quick roast pigeon

Serves 2

I had some of the best pigeon ever just before leaving Hong Kong - a discovery too little, too late - and just to emphasise how good it was, I went twice in two weeks, now with the strength and variety of the local food scene there, that is a rarity, and believe me I'd make it a weekly pilgrimage if I could. I also had some roast pigeon in Cairo last week which sadly failed to hit the mark, but was worth trying all the same... Here's a quick pigeon dish so easy to cook at home, and with most major food stores selling pigeon now, try getting birds that are young - then they can be very good - piquant and succulent, particularly if you pick the legs up to eat them. Disaster stories with pigeons can be off-putting, most of these involve slow cooking. I now prefer to flash-roast the birds, cut into portions, in a very hot oven.

2 wood pigeon, oven prepared

1 wineglass of red wine

2 tblsp olive or nut oil

thyme, a couple of sprigs

1 bay leaf

1 small clove of garlic, crushed

1 tsp black peppercorns, roughly crushed

2 tsp balsamic vinegar

Cut each of the pigeons into 4 pieces, 2 breasts and 2 small legs. Put the pieces into a flameproof glass, stainless steel or china dish with the wine, oil, herbs, garlic and peppercorns.

Set aside for as long as you can - an hour will just suffice, though overnight would be better. If the worst comes to the worst, 15 minutes will do.

Heat the oven to 240C/475F (gas mark 9). Place the breasts on the top shelf of the hot oven and cook for five minutes, six if the breasts are large. Add the legs and the marinade and cook all for a further 6 minutes or until the birds are cooked to your liking.

Remove the birds to a warm plate to rest, - the switched-off oven will do - put the roasting pan over the heat and get the cooking juices really hot; stir in the balsamic vinegar, taste for seasoning and add a little salt and pepper if you wish.

Serve the roast meat, generously sprinkled with coarse salt, the pan juices and lots of bread. Cabbage, stir-fried with a little soy, would be a wholesome addition, or pan-fried mushrooms.

Spicy Chinese noodles

Serves 2

The yearning for noodles has now officially reached breaking point... This recipe can honestly be adapted to whatever you can find in the fridge or freezer. You could add bacon, prawns and peas, or peppers and bean sprouts, but for a pure and authentic experience - buy your ingredients specifically for this, it will be worth those few extra minutes of effort.

125g fine Chinese egg noodles

2 knobs fresh ginger

1 clove garlic

6 spring onions

10 shiitake (or button) mushrooms, trimmed

½ cucumber1 lettuce, such as romaine, trimmed

1 tsp cornflour

2 tblsp good soy sauce

1 tblsp dry sherry or sake

2 tblsp sunflower oil

50g salted peanuts or cashews

¼ tsp dried chilli flakes

Cook the noodles according to the packet instructions — they normally take about 3 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare all the ingredients before you start cooking: finely slice the ginger into strips; finely chop the garlic; slice the spring onions; rip (or slice) the mushrooms; and peel, halve and slice the cucumber.

Trim and wash the lettuce and cut into 1cm-thick strips. Keep each ingredient separate.

To make the sauce, mix the cornflour with the soy sauce, honey, sake (or sherry) and 5 tblsp water.

Heat a wok or frying pan over a high heat. Add the sunflower oil and ginger. As soon as it begins to sizzle, add the peanuts and garlic. Briskly stir-fry while you slowly count to five, and then add the chilli flakes. Stir-fry for another count of five, then add the vinegar and stand back as the kitchen fills with chilli fumes. Next, add the spring onions and mushrooms.

Keep stirring: as soon as the mushrooms begin to look cooked, mix in the cucumber and lettuce. Stir-fry for a few more seconds until the lettuce begins to wilt, then mix in the noodles and the sauce. Allow the liquid to bubble up and thicken, then serve.

Fish ball noodles

Serves around 6 generously

A cornerstone of Hong Kong lunchtime activity, and one of the sensations I crave the most right now. So cheap and in plentiful supply, my favourite being tucked behind Times Square in Causeway Bay, but if you don't have one of these great little neighbourhood eateries round the corner, the dish isn't exactly all that difficult to do at home.

750g skinned and boned white fish fillet or skinned prepared squid
4cm piece fresh root ginger, peeled
1 tsp salt
3 tsp fish sauce
4 tsp cornflour
3 big handfuls beansprouts, softened in boiling water for 1 minute
400g rice vermicelli noodles, prepared according to the packet, rinsed and drained
1.5 litres Asian chicken stock

12 trimmed bok choi stalks
6 string onions, shredded
Handful of chopped coriander and some chopped chilli, to serve

Pulse the fish in a processor to a paste. Grate the ginger.

Squeeze the juice from the ginger gratings over the fish (discarding the spent gratings), then add the salt, fish sauce and cornflour and knead into the fish mixture.

Mould the paste into small balls about the size of a walnut, cover, and then slip into the fridge to firm up.

Cook them in boiling water with the bok choi for 3 minutes, then drain. Divide the beansprouts, noodles, choi and fish balls between four generous bowls. Heat the stock with the spring onion until piping hot and then ladle over – this will reheat everything. Scatter with coriander and chilli.