EASY ENTERTAINING

Make a date for Saturday 28 January and serve up this all-in-one starter and main course, then inish with a delicious prepare-ahead dessert

Chinese New Year menu for six

The idea is that you poach the chicken (opposite) first, then use the resulting stock to make the soup. If you just want to make the soup, use fresh chicken stock. Traditionally, this soup gets its heat from ground white pepper and is thickened with cornflour. I’ve added chilli for heat and used egg instead of cornflour as I find cornflour makes the soup gloopy.

SERVES 6 PREP 10 mins COOK 10 mins EASY 11/ litres hot stock from the poached 2 chicken

1 tsp white caster sugar

2 tbsp Chinese black rice vinegar, cider or white wine vinegar 1 thumb-sized piece ginger, inely sliced into matchsticks

1/ red chilli, sliced

2

1/ pack silken tofu, diced

2 handful frozen sweetcorn

150g cooked prawns

2 eggs, beaten with 1 tsp sesame oil 150g beansprouts, rinsed shredded spring onions, to serve

1 Put the stock in a saucepan over a low heat, add the sugar, vinegar, ginger and chilli, and bring to a gentle simmer. Add the tofu, sweetcorn and prawns, simmer gently for 2 mins, then pour in the egg mixture in a steady stream, stirring to make egg strands.

2 Pile some beansprouts in each bowl and ladle the soup over. Scatter over the spring onions and serve. GOOD TO KNOW low fat

PER SERVING 132 kcals • fat 4g • saturates 1g • carbs 5g • sugars 4g • i bre 1g • protein 10g • salt 2.8g

One-pot crystal chicken

I’ve given the traditional method for poaching the chicken, but I cook it in my pressure cooker for 20 minutes with outstanding results. The chicken should be lukewarm, so while it cools, make the soup.

SERVES 6 PREP 15 mins plus 1 hr cooling COOK 20 mins EASY

1 chicken, about 1.5kg (the best quality you can get) bunch spring onions, green and white parts separated (keep the whites for the ginger & chilli oil, below right)

2 thumb-sized pieces ginger, sliced small pack coriander, leaves and stalks separated

3 garlic cloves, peeled and left whole 1 star anise

500ml chicken stock, or a chicken stock cube

200ml Chinese rice wine or dry sherry

4 tbsp soy sauce cooked rice and Sichuan pepper, to serve

1 Put the chicken in a saucepan or stock pot large enough to fit it comfortably. Add the green spring onion parts, ginger, coriander stalks, garlic and star anise. Pour over the stock (or crumble in the stock cube), rice wine and 3 tbsp of the soy sauce, then top up with water to just cover.

2 Bring everything to the boil and skim once. Turn down to a gentle simmer and poach for 20 mins, then turn o! the heat and leave the chicken to cool in the broth for at least 1 hr. This can be done a day ahead but musn’t be chilled, otherwise the chicken will be too cold. Remove the chicken from the broth and leave to cool completely, then strain the broth ready to use in the soup (opposite), reserving some to pour over the rice.

3 To serve, carve the chicken as if you were jointing it. Arrange on a platter, drizzle over the remaining soy and scatter over the coriander leaves and Sichuan pepper. Serve with rice, the ginger and chilli oil (right), and some of the heated broth to moisten the rice. Any leftover broth can be frozen. PERSERVING 329kcals • fat22g • saturates6g • carbs1g • sugarsnone • ibrenone • protein31g • salt0.6g

Ginger & chilli oil

I’ve added chilli to this traditional accompaniment because I like a bit more heat.

SERVES 6 PREP 5 mins COOK 5 mins EASY V

Finely chop the white parts of the spring onions, reserved from the chicken (left), a large piece of ginger and a whole red chilli and tip into a small dish.

Heat 3 tbsp vegetable oil until smoking hot, then pour into the dish and leave to sizzle. Can be made a day ahead covered with cling film. GOODTOKNOW vegan • gluten free

PER SERVING 53 kcals • fat 6g • saturates none • carbs 1g • sugars none • ibre none • protein none • salt none

Stir-fried garlic green beans

SERVES 6 PREP 5 mins COOK 10 mins EASY V

2 tbsp sun lower oil

200g pack trimmed green beans 3 garlic cloves, inely sliced

1 tsp oyster or soy sauce

Heat the oil in a wok, then stir-fry the green beans for 5 mins until they start to brown. Add the garlic and continue to cook until just tinged brown, then splash in the oyster sauce and serve." GOODTOKNOW vegan • healthy

PER SERVING 46 kcals • fat 4g • saturates 1g • carbs 18g • sugars 7g • ibre 1g • protein 3g • salt 0.6g

To ee banana spring rolls SERVES 6 PREP 20 mins COOK 10 mins MORE EFFORT

100ml sun lower oil, for frying 3 sheets ilo pastry

60g dulce de leche

3 bananas, halved widthways Chinese ive-spice powder, for sprinkling coconut ice cream and toasted black sesame seeds, to serve 1 Warm the sunflower oil in a saucepan, or heat your deep-fat fryer to 180C. Meanwhile, cut each sheet of filo pastry in half vertically. 2 Spread 2 tsp duche de leche over a halved banana. Sprinkle over some five-spice, then put the banana at the bottom of a halved filo sheet. Roll up and around the banana, folding in the sides with each roll so that they look like a spring roll. Brush some water across the final seam to seal. Repeat with the remaining banana halves. You can do this up to a day ahead, or make and freeze for up to a month. 3 Deep-fry three rolls at a time until crispy and golden, then place on kitchen paper to drain.

4 Slice in half and serve with coconut ice cream, scattered with toasted black sesame seeds.

PER SERVING 261 kcals • fat 14g • saturates 2g • carbs 28g • sugars 14g • ibre 2g • protein 4g • salt 0.2g