STIR FRY

STIR FRY -  CHOW MEIN

Chow Mein is a Chinese dish which is commonly known as stir fry, but at foods of the Cape the term stir fry can be used for almost any fried foods. However, Chow Mein is a very versatile dish which can be made with either cubed chicken, strips of steak, fish nuggets, prawns, crab meat, crayfish or even scrabbled egg. I'm quite fond of Chow Mein with chicken wings but my Chow Mein of choice remains prawns. Essentially Chow Mein is a mix of meat and vegetables quick fried in vegetable oil in an open wok, on an open flame, covered with a soup of egg noodle that is precooked. Served in a bowl and eaten using chopsticks. 

Ingredients:-

1 kg  pre-pack of mixed vegetables containing  bell peppers, cauliflower, purple cabbage, carrots and bean sprouts.
Soya sauce (salted)
2 large onions
8 pack of egg noodle
8 tblsp Olive Oil
500gms prawns
1 Tsp of crushed garlic
1 Medium sized Chilli
1 tsp ground pepper

Method:-

Place olive oil in wok and add chopped onions, chilli, crushed garlic and fry until onions become translucent. Add 500 grams of washed prawns and fry with the onions for  few minutes until prawns change colour. Add 4 tablespoons of soya sauce and stir and watch the mixture in the wok turn brown, add ground pepper. Then add the pre-pack of vegetables and stir continually for about 2 minutes so that the veg fry in the oil. Make sure veg remain crunchy.

Meanwhile place 6 packs of egg noodle in a large bowl and pour 3 cups of boiling water into bowl. Add 4 tablespoons of soya sauce cover with lid and place in microwave on high for about 4 minutes. Egg noodle will soak-up most of the water but will not be completely soft, when done  add to to wok, cover the prawns and vegetables so that it can steam beneath the noodle to 2 minutes then stir and toss so that the prawns and vegetable mix uniformly with the noodle. The water would form a soup that will stean away. Veg should be limp yet crunchy. As an option, a handful of cashew nuts can be added when the  prawns are added to the onions.  Serves 6.

SPAGHETTI BOLOGNAISE QUICK AND EASY

SPAGHETTI BOLOGNAISE 

Spaghetti Bolognaise is a classic dish and is a quick and easy food to make. It doesn't  need a lot of ingredients to create  a really tasty dish, which is enjoyed my most people for dinner, and kids just simply love it.  My recipe is a family favourite and makes sufficient to serves  four adults. The sauce is ideal for spaghetti, but can be used with almost every kind of pasta.  A Spaghetti Bolognaise dinner can easily be whipped-up in under an hour especially at those those times when you are totally famished but need to eat something substantial. It can virtually be prepared in the same time you wait for take out dinner but it is a lot more tasty and nourishing. I only use fresh ingredients which gives this Spaghetti Bolognaise a flavour and an aroma to die for. It is good culinary practice to get all  your ingredients together on the table before you begin cooking. This just seem to speeds up the process leaving you enough time to lay the table get the coffee brewing whiles the sauce is simmering.

INGREDIENTS

500g of steak mince (lean mince) washed and drained
145g packet tomato paste dissolved into cup of hot water
4 - 5 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
2 medium sized onions peeled and chopped
6 medium sized tomatoes diced or  8 plum tomatoes ( they contain less water) 
1 medium sized bell pepper diced
2 tablespoons of butter (or margarine)
4 medium cloves of garlic crushed 
6-8 Cherry Tomatoes halved.
1 tablespoon of sugar
2 cups of water 

250g of dried spaghetti (half of 500g pack)

SPICES

1 teaspoon of Salt 
1 teaspoon of Pepper
2 small sticks of Cinnamon
5 Pepper corns
5 Cloves
1 medium green chilli finely chopped
1 tablespoon of freshly ground pepper

The salt and pepper provides the basic flavour to the sauce, the cinnamon adds a scenty taste and smell, the chilli gives you that tang and the ground pepper adds a very specific flavour. 

HERBS

5 - 6 leaves of fresh oregano, washed and  chopped
5 - 6 leaves of fresh thyme, washed and chopped
5 - 6 leaves of fresh Rosemary, washed and  chopped
5 - 6 leaves od fresh sage, washed and  chopped
5 - 6 leaves of fresh basil, washed and  chopped

The fresh herbs releases a flurry of flavours and aromas that just makes this Spaghetti Bolognaise more appetizing but should fresh herbs not be available, dried herbs will do.

1 teaspoon of dried Sweet Basil
1 teaspoon of Sage
1 teaspoon of Oraganum
1 teaspoon of Thymme
1 teaspoon of  Rosemary

Heat the olive oil and allow butter to melt to form ghee in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the chopped onion, along with the salt, and cinnamon sticks and allow to braise. Take care not to brown the onions but allow them to become translucent. Brown onions turns the sauce brown, it should remain red. Add the mince and the crushed garlic and the diced peppers but don't add water. Allow mince to roast in the ghee and changes colour.  Stir continually with a wooden spoon and don't allow mince to form lumps. When slightly dry, add all the chopped and halved tomatoes and the pepper and allow to simmer. Add water as needed and bring to boil. Add all the fresh herbs and the tomato paste, cover with a lid  and reduce heat to medium and simmer until it turns into a wonderfully rich tomatoey sauce. Add 1 tablespoon of sugar to offset the  soury  tartness of the tomato.

SPAGHETTI

Meanwhile, boil water in a large pot, add 2 teaspoons of salt and a dash of olive oil cook before lowering spaghetti into the pot through the floating oil. The oil prevents the spaghetti from sticking to one another. When done, drain it in a colander and set aside.

SERVING

Dish Spaghetti into plate as if a bed or rice and dish a ladle or two of sauce in the centre of the Spaghetti . Grate some  parmesan cheese over it while its still hot and serve immediately.

VARIATIONS & OPTIONAL

Some chefs add about 200 ml of red wine to the saucepan and say that the alcohol cooks away but I don't recommend this when feeding this Spaghetti Bolognaise to kids. Dried Mixed Herbs may be used in place of the herbs mentioned above.  Beef Stock Pot can be used but tends to turn the sauce brownish. A dash of Worcester sauce can be added to taste. About 50 grams of thinly sliced mushrooms can be added ( into pot with the diced peppers). Half a teaspoon of dried chillies can be used in place of fresh chillies. Instead of fresh tomatoes use 2 x 400g cans of diced tomato. Add sun-dried tomatoes if desired.
Enjoy!