Chicken and Broccoli Stir-Fry

I finally found somewhere that sells gluten free oyster sauce! Wing Yip have supermarkets around the country, but none very convenient for me, so I placed an order online this weekend. Unfortunately the postage cost £5, so I made sure I got my money's worth by stocking up on a couple of jars of oyster sauce, Shaosing, bags of black fungus and dried chinese mushrooms, and some other bits and pieces - I've got a couple of recipes in mind for this week, can you tell? :-)

But in the absence of oyster sauce, what do you do when you receive the most enormous bunch of purple sprouting broccoli in your vegetable box?
On Saturday night, having just finished a stack of ironing, I realised it was getting pretty late and that I was actually, pretty hungry! Wanting something quick, I figured that a stir fry would work. If you have a rice cooker, it's even better because you can just set the rice cooking and by the time the rest is ready, the rice is cooked!

1 Chicken Breast (chopped into smallish pieces)
5 Purple Sprouting Broccoli Stems (chooped into 1" lengths)
1 Clove Garlic (crushed)
1/2" Fresh Ginger (sliced finely)
1 tbsp Cornflour
1 tbsp Oil
2 tbsp Soy Sauce
1/2 tsp 5 Spice Powder
1 large tbsp Honey
1 tbsp Lime Juice

1) Mix the chicken with the cornflour and a little of the oil until well-coated. Set aside for 15 minutes. (This is where you start preparing your rice and cooking it ;-) )

2) Blanch the broccoli in boiling water for a couple of minutes; drain and set aside.

3) Fry the garlic and ginger in the remainder of the oil for 30 seconds. Add the chicken and continue to cook until sealed. Add the broccoli and stir-fry until the chicken is *just* cooked.

4) Mix the soy sauce, lime juice, honey and five spice together before adding to the pan. Stir through until everything is well-coated. Serve immediately over your rice.

Chinese-Style Chicken and Sweetcorn Sunshine Soup

Have you ever been for a Chinese meal (or grabbed a take-out) and been served that gloopy, grey-yellow mess that is often the excuse for Chicken and Sweetcorn Soup?

In theory it should be one of the nicest (in my opinion) soups on the menu but so frequently it's over-thickened with corn starch and there's hardly a piece of chicken in it!

Fortunately it's very easy to make your own and because it is so quick to put together (even more so if you use leftover roast chicken), I sometimes make it in the mornings and take some to be reheated for lunch at work. Because of it's high protein content, it would also be great to eat just after a workout at the gym.

If you make this with good quality eggs, the final colour tends to be a very bright yellow, hence the name :-)

500ml Chicken Stock

1 Large Chicken Breast (sliced into thin strips)

1 Small Tin Unsalted/Unsweetened Sweetcorn

1 Large Egg (lightly beaten)

1 tsp Oil

1 tsp Sesame Oil

Approx 1 Heaped tbsp Cornflour (mixed with a little cold water until 'dissolved')

Finely Ground White Pepper & Salt

(Spring Onions to garnish)

Serves 2

1) Heat both oils in a saucepan and lightly cook the chicken until sealed.

2) Add the chicken stock and allow to simmer for 15 minutes.

3) Drain the sweetcorn and add to the soup - turn the heat right down.

4) Using a fork (yes, a fork), slowly drizzle the egg into the soup in so it forms thread-like 'ribbons' - if you tip the egg in too fast it will just form a solid mass

5) Season with salt and pepper to taste, before adding the cornflour a little at a time, stirring constantly until the soup is at the desired thickness (remember that the soup will continue to thicken as it re-reaches boiling temperature, so don't add too much cornflour. If it does become too thick, stir in a little more water or chicken stock)