Throw a healthier Chinese dinner party

Mar 29 2012 Advertisement Feature

Tired of the traditional, deep fried Chinese takeout and believe you can do better? Then why not have a night in with friends and impress them with your own take on an exciting culture that offers a fusion of spices, vegetables and lighter meats. Follow these Chinese recipes below and you will have experienced the true flavour of China in no time.

Dumplings have always been a popular, lighter way for many to begin their meal so why not start your guests on Pork and Prawn dumplings. Ingredients that you will need are 110 g of pork mince, 30 g of chopped watercress, 220 g of tin water chestnuts which have already been drained and chopped, 2 chopped spring onions, 1 tablespoon of oyster sauce, 1
tablespoons of sesame oil, a minced clove of garlic, a teaspoon of soy sauce, a sprinkling of white pepper and salt and 450 g of fresh prawns that have been peeled and deveined. You will need to put this mixture, once it is ready, into some wanton wrappers and so buy around 40 of these. 

This Chinese recipe takes around 30 minutes to prepare and then 20 minutes to cook. The above measured ingredients will serve 10 people. Start off by combining all the above prepared ingredients, except the wanton wrappers, sesame oil and the prawns, into a big mixing bowl and mix together. Place
of the mixture onto a wanton wrapper together with one prawn on the mixture. Then wet the edge of the wrapper, fold over and then pinch with your fingers in order to form a tight seal around the mixture.

Pan Fry dumplings over medium heat in the sesame oil for 15 minutes and turn over the packages half way through. Best to eat these while they are hot. For the mains, try something different and prepare Chinese noodle pancakes with asparagus. To make, you will need 450 g of Chinese wheat noodles, 250 g of asparagus, 2 tablespoons of rapeseed oil, 2 minced gloves of garlic, 1 minced small knob root of ginger, 225 ml of water, 1 tablespoon of corn flour, 2 tablespoons of sherry, the same measure for soy sauce, 1 tablespoon of fermented black beans, 1 dessertspoon of toasted sesame oil and 225 g of spinach stems which have been rinsed. You might also want to add salt and freshly ground pepper to the dish when it is ready.

It has a preparation time of 15 minutes and a cooking time of 30 minutes and the above measurements will serve 4 people. To start this Chinese recipe, boil the noodles in a big pot of water until they are al dente and then rinse under cold water. The tough ends of the asparagus must be broken off and then the rest of the vegetable should be cut into 5 cm lengths. Over medium heat, add garlic and ginger to some of the oil and saut› for a minute but do not brown the garlic. Add the asparagus and half of the water and then simmer for 2 minutes.

The corn flour should be put into a mixing bowl together with the remaining water and the sherry. After stirring well, add this mixture as well as the soy sauce and the black beans to the simmering vegetables. The sauce must boil for a few seconds before adding the spinach and then stirring it until it wilts. Then remove the frying pan from the heat. 

The remaining oil should then be in a frying pan over high heat. The prepared noodles must be divided into four lots and then put into the frying pan. Flatten the pancake lots so that the whole surface becomes brown while they are frying. The heat should then be reduced to a medium high and the pancakes should be fried for at least 5 minutes. Turn over after one surface has become golden brown and fry for another 3 minutes. While the pancakes are cooking, warm up the vegetables and the sauce and add salt, pepper and sesame oil to this mixture. Serve by placing the noodle pancakes onto a plate and then pour the sauce and the vegetables over and around the pancakes.

Trying Schwartz recipes from around the world is a great way of building your passion for cooking. The Chinese cuisine is one of the most admired in the world, as well as the Spanish, the French or the Indian (very popular in the UK); have you ever tried to cooking Indian recipes at home?