With Valentine’s Day and Chinese New Year celebrations coming up we’ve consulted our gourmet partners School of Wok, SEASON The Exclusive Cookery School and L’atelier des Chefs for recipes guaranteed to wow on both occasions.

School of Wok’s Jeremy Pang has given us a new delicious recipe for steamed wontons in a chilli broth from his new book Chinese Unchopped, the perfect dish for any Chinese New Year celebrations.

Steamed Wonton in Chilli Broth

Serves: Four

Preparation Time: 1 hour

Cooking Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:

• One garlic clove
• One spring onion
• A large handful of coriander, plus extra to garnish
• 10 – 15 Chinese chives
• Three dried shiitake mushrooms, drained and soaked
• Two leaves of Chinese leaf cabbage
• 150g raw tiger prawns (optional)
• One tablespoon light soy sauce
• Half a teaspoon of granulated sugar
• Two teaspoons sesame oil
• 20 wonton pastries

For the Chilli broth:

• 200ml chicken stock
• Half a tablespoon of oyster sauce
• Two teaspoons of Chiu Chow chilli oil

Method:

1. Finely chop the garlic, spring onion, coriander, Chinese chives, soaked shiitake mushrooms and Chinese leaves and place in a mixing bowl. Finely dice the prawns (if using) and add to the mixing bowl along with the soy sauce, sugar and sesame oil. Mix everything together.
2. Wrap the wontons as described below.
3. Place all the wontons in a large, deep bowl. Bring the chicken stock to a simmer in a saucepan, then stir in the oyster sauce and chilli oil. Pour the broth ingredients over the wontons.
4. Set the wok up with a steamer stand and fill with boiling water to a third of the way up the sides. Put the wonton bowl into the wok, cover with a lid and steam for 6–8 minutes, until the wontons have shriveled slightly and are cooked through. Remove from the wok and serve garnished with a little chopped coriander.

Valentine’s Crab Salad

Serves: Two

Preparation Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:

• 250g of cooked white crab meat
• One lime
• One red chilli
• Coriander
• Chive
• Chervil
• Four tablespoons of mayonnaise
• Salt and pepper

Method:

1. Pick through the crab meat and ensure there isn’t any carcass or shell.
2. Squeeze the crab meat to get rid of any excess liquid.
3. Juice the lime and chop up the red chilli and herbs and then mix the crab meat, chilli and lime in a bowl.
4. Add a pinch of each of the chopped herbs (coriander, chive and chervil) into the mixture.
5. Add the mayonnaise into the bowl and salt and pepper to taste.
6. Cover the mixture and place in the fridge until you are ready to serve the salad.

Tips:

• Why not replace 1/3 of the white crab meat with some of the brown crab meat for a stronger crab taste.
• Add some finely diced firm avocado into the crab mix for a bit more flavour.

 

 

Our friends at L’atelier des Chefs have given us a delicious scallop recipe which would make the perfect starter or main on any Valentine’s menu. Head to the school and do one of their Valentine’s cooking experiences with the Head Chef and make gourmet delights such as guinea fowl with potatoes and chocolate orange fondant.

Scallops with Bacon, Potatoes and a Buttery Mead Sauce

Serves: Two

Preparation Time: 10 minutes

Cooking Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:

• Six whole scallops
• Two pinches of fine salt
• Six and a half ml of sunflower oil
• 34g of bacon cubes
• Two g of parsley
• 100g of new potatoes
• 34g of unsalted butter
• 34ml of wheat beer

Method:

1. Boil the new potatoes in salted water until tender, then allow them to cool down and cut into thick slices.
2. Finely chop the parsley and dice the butter into small cubes.
3. Prepare the scallops by removing them from their shell if necessary. Rinse under cold water to remove any grit and then pat dry on kitchen paper.
4. Heat a frying pan until hot and add a splash of sunflower oil. Season the scallops with fine salt and cook in the frying pan for 1 minute or until the scallops are golden brown.
5. Turn the scallops over and add the bacon cubes. Cook for a minute and then add some sliced potatoes.
6. Cook for 30 seconds and then de-glaze the pan with the 100ml of the honeyed ale. Allow the ale to reduce by half and then whisk in a few cubes of butter to create a buttery sauce.
7. Finish the dish with the chopped parsley and serve immediately.

Trying out any of these recipes? Share your finished dishes with us on social media!

Images: RLD,  L’Atelier Des Chefs, Martin Poole for Jeremy Pang’s Chinese Unchoped.