♥︎Crunchy tofu with paksoi, leek & mushrooms

For ➍ 

400 g tofu 

marinade: 

4 tbs soy sauce 

4 tbs maple syrup 

1 tbs fresh ginger 

2 cloves garlic 

2 ts sesame oil 

2 ts tap water 

2 ts cornflour 

1 ts Sichuan spices 

wok: 

250 g wok noodles 

300 g paksoi 

2 cloves garlic 

2 shallots or 1 (red) onion 

2 spring onions 

1 stalk leek 

250 g mushrooms 

100 g peanuts or cashews 

½ bunch fresh coriander 

4 tbs fried onions optional, to finish [not heart-friendly]

peanut oil 

salt & pepper 

wok sauce: 

2 tbs soy sauce 

2 ts rice vinegar or balsamic vinegar 

2 ts sesame oil 

Cut the block of tofu lengthwise. Place the slices of tofu on a clean kitchen towel. Fold the towel closed and squeeze out the moisture. Place a weight on top and let it drain for a while. In the meantime, finely grate the garlic and ginger. Combine all the ingredients for the marinade in a mixing bowl. Remove the tofu from under the weight and cut into cubes of 2 cm. Mix with the marinade and make sure all the cubes are well covered. Put  in the refrigerator. 

Cook the wok noodles until al dente. Cook for 1 m less than indicated on the packaging (the noodles will continue to cook in the wok for a while). Save a cup of the cooking liquid to finish the sauce later. Finely chop the shallot and garlic. Cut the leek into fine rings, the pak choi into coarser pieces. Cut the mushrooms into strips. Finely chop the peanuts and coriander. Put everything to one side. Heat a generous dash of peanut oil in a (wok) pan on a high heat. Fry the tofu cubes on all sides until golden brown and crispy. Then remove them from the pan and set aside. Reuse the mixing bowl from the tofu marinade and mix all the ingredients for the wok sauce in it. Set aside. Heat a little new oil in the pan in which you fried the tofu on a medium to high heat. Add the shallot and garlic and fry. Then add the leek, pak choi and mushrooms and fry for a few minutes. Then add the cooked wok noodles. Mix well. Finally, add the wok sauce and a cup of the cooking water from the noodles. Mix well and season with salt and pepper. Serve the wok together with the fried tofu. Finish with fresh coriander, peanuts and fried onions(optional).

♥︎Miso soup with pak choi & citrus balls

For ➋ large or ➍ small bowls 

1 l chicken or vegetable stock 

1 piece of ginger (1 thumb in size) 

4 small or 1 large pak choi  

2 handfuls of green leafy vegetables such as spinach or asparagus 

1 tbs dark or red miso 

for the meatballs: 

400 g minced poultry (or pork, beef or a mix) 

1 shallot 

1 clove of garlic 

1 piece of ginger (2.5 cm)

grated zest of 1 unsprayed orange & lemon 

25 blades of chives 

5 sprigs of coriander, the leaves (or other green herbs such as basil or parsley) 

salt & black pepper from the mill 

finish with available: roasted sesame oil, chili flakes, sesame seeds, soy sauce, green herbs, spring onion, fresh chili peppers, etc. 

Bring the stock to the boil with the sliced ginger (no need to peel it). Let the pot simmer gently with the lid on while you roll the meatballs. To do this, finely grate the ginger and chop the shallot, garlic and herbs. Mix together with the grated orange and lemon zest into the minced meat. Season the minced meat with salt and pepper and roll it into balls the size of a cherry. Remove the ginger from the broth. Then cook the meatballs in it for 3 to 5 minutes until done (when they float to the top, they are ready). Remove the stems from the pak choi and let it cook for 3 m, so that they are cooked but still have bite. Place a few tablespoons of stock in a bowl and dissolve the miso in it. Mix into the soup together with the green leafy vegetables. Or: after temporarily removing the balls, add the miso all the vegetables, first the hard white bok choy, then the green, to the broth. Add the balls at the end. 

♥︎Thai whitefish with lemongrass & fish sauce

For ➍

1 stalk of lemongrass

500 g white fish fillets (e.g. cod)

2 tbs sunflower or other vegetable oil

1.5 tbs fish sauce

1 shallot, finely chopped

1 red chilli pepper, without seeds & chopped

4 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced

freshly ground black pepper

pak choi*

rice

Preheat the oven to 200°C.

Remove the outer hard leaves from the lemongrass. Chop the white part and discard the rest.

Place the fish, skin side down, in a shallow baking dish or roasting pan. Mix 1 tbs of the oil with the fish sauce, the shallot, the chilli and the lemongrass, season with pepper and pour evenly over the fish, so that it gets a nice layer of sauce. Bake the fish in the oven for 15 to 20-25 m, or until done.

Just before the fish is ready, heat the rest of the oil in a small frying pan. Add the garlic and fry slowly and at a lower temperature/4-5/ golden brown without burning. If necessary, add some water or cooking liquid from the pak choi.

Pour the hot oil with garlic over the cooked fish and serve immediately.

Serve the fish with rice and green vegetables, such as spinach or pak choy.

*Cut the pak choi into green and white pieces. Wok the white, harder, pieces for 3-5 m. Add the green parts and wok for another 1-3 m.

Thai fish soup

For ➍
1 tbs cooking oil
1 clove garlic, finely minced
1 ts fresh ginger, grated
¼ red onion, thinly sliced
½ red chilli pepper, sliced (optional)
1 stalk lemongrass, bottom stalk only, bruised (substitute with peel of lemon or lime)*
4 kaffir lime leaves, torn (substitute with peel of lemon or lime)*
40 cl can coconut milk
2 dl vegetable broth
juice of ½ lime
1 tbs fish sauce
175 g shrimps, peeled & deveined
220 g salmon, cut into 2.5 cm chunks
assorted vegetables, such as spinach, snow peas, kale, tomatoes, bell pepper, etc.
1 tbs minced cilantro/coriander

In a wok or soup pot over medium high heat, add cooking oil and swirl to coat. When hot, add in the garlic, ginger, red onion, chilli pepper, lemongrass, kaffir and gently cook for about 2 m to release the aromas and flavors.
Pour in the coconut milk and broth and let simmer for 15 m. Remove the lemongrass, kaffir (or the lemon/lime peel if using)* and discard. Season broth with fish sauce and lime juice to taste.
Add shrimp, salmon, vegetables and cilantro. Cook for 3-4 m or until the shrimp and salmon is cooked through.
Add 250 g cooked dried rice noodles to turn the soup into a light dish.

*When substituting with the peel of a lemon or lime, use a vegetable peeler to get thin strips of peel  and give each strip a good bruising or twist to release the oils.
**Eventually, add some fresh tomatoes, cut into wedges.

Chicken & pak choi

For ➋
75 g boneless & skinless chicken breast, cut into thin pieces
2 tbs oil
200 g pak choi, sliced into pieces
2.5 cm piece ginger, peeled & sliced into pieces
marinade:
½ tbs soy sauce
½ tbs cornstarch
sauce:
½ tbs oyster sauce
2 tb water
¼ ts sesame oil
3 dashes white pepper
1 ts wine
½ ts sugar

Marinate the chicken with the ingredients in marinade for 10 m. Combine all the ingredients in the sauce in a small bowl, stir to blend well.
Heat ½ tbs oil in a wok until the oil becomes hot. Add the chicken and quickly stir-fry until the surface of the chicken turn opaque or white. Dish out and set aside. This step seals in the juice in the chicken so the texture is tender and velvety smooth.
Heat up the remaining oil in the wok until hot. Add the ginger into the wok and stir-fry until aromatic. Add the chicken back into the wok and do a few quick stirs. Add in the pak choi and stir to combine well. Transfer the sauce into the wok and continue to stir-fry until the pak choi is cooked but remain crisp. Do not overcook.
Dish out & serve immediately with steamed white rice.

Ginger steamed cod with chilli soy sauce

For ➍
dipping sauce:
8 cl low sodium tamari or soy sauce
2 tbs rice vinegar
2 ts minced red chilli
1 ts minced garlic
1 ts sugar
cod:
1 tbs peanut oil
1 ts sesame oil
300 g baby pak choi, trimmed & halved lengthwise
170 g shiitake or crimini mushrooms, halved
1 piece (7.5 cm) ginger, peeled & julienned
1 bunch scallions, trimmed and sliced
4 cod fillets (150-170 g each), fresh, thawed or frozen*

Thoroughly mix dipping sauce ingredients; set aside.
In a deep frying pan, sauté pak choi and mushrooms in peanut and sesame oils over medium-high heat until crisp-tender. Remove and keep warm.
Wipe pan clean. Bring 2.5 cm of water to boil; turn off heat. Place metal steamer basket in pan and open up sides. Portion ginger and ¾ of green onions in basket. Rinse any ice glaze from frozen cod under cold water; place fillets in steamer. Return water to boil; cover loosely and steam just until fish is opaque throughout, about 5 to 7 m. (Reduce cook time by half for fresh or thawed fillets.)
Serve cod over sautéed vegetables with dipping sauce; garnish with remaining green onion slices.

*Substitute pollock or sole fillets for cod, adjusting cook time for smaller fillets if necessary.

Steamed bass & pak choi

For ➋
small piece of ginger, peeled & sliced
2 garlic cloves, finely sliced
3 scallions, finely sliced
2 tbs soy sauce
1 tbs sesame oil
splash of sherry or sake (optional)
2 x 140 g fillets sea bass
2 heads pak choi, quartered

In a small bowl, mix all of the ingredients, except the fish and the pak choi, together to make a soy mix.
Line one tier of a two-tiered bamboo steamer loosely with foil. Lay the fish, skin side up, on the foil and spoon over the soy mix. Place the fish over simmering water and throw the pak choi into the second tier and cover it with a lid. Alternatively, add the pak choi to the fish layer after 2 m of cooking – the closer the tier is to the steam, the hotter it is.
Leave everything to steam for 6-8 m until the pak choi has wilted and the fish is cooked.
Divide the greens between two plates, then carefully lift out the fish. Lift the foil up and drizzle the tasty juices back over the fish.

Steamed fish with ginger & scallions

For ➋-➍
600-800 g fish [porgy, black sea bass, Boston mackerel, or trout], scaled & gutted*
5-6 scallions, divided
4 cm knob ginger**
[optional alternatives: coriander or chilli]**
salt & pepper, for seasoning
1 ts Shaoxing wine or sherry
1 lime, juice & zest, divided
3 tbs soy sauce
1 tbs fine mild red wine vinegar
1 tbs sesame seeds
4 tbs sesame oil
[optional green: sautéed pak choi]
[optional aromatics for steaming water:
star anise
knob of ginger, roughly sliced
Szechuan peppercorn
scallions or green garlic]

Rinse the fish with cold water inside and out and pat dry. Score a couple of gashes in the flesh on either side of the fish.
Slice 4 of the scallions and the knob ginger into a fine julienne and set aside. Save the scraps for stuffing the fish belly. Season the fish belly with salt and pepper and the ts of wine or sherry.
Stuff the fish with the scallion and ginger scraps and the lime zest.
Take a large stock pot and put about 8 cm of water in it and bring to a boil.
Inside the pot, place an inverted cake pan or some other such thing so that you can rest a large plate with the fish on it inside the pot and out of direct contact with the water. (The fish will be on a plate that is resting on another object that is in direct contact with the bottom of the pot.)
Chop the final scallion into 3 pieces and rest it on the plate. Season the fish with salt and pepper on the outside with and place the fish on the plate.
Place the plate on the object in the pot, cover the pot, and steam over high heat for 10 to 12 m (more for a larger fish), until done.
While the fish is steaming, mix the soy sauce with the vinegar and lime juice.
Remove the fish carefully and place on a serving plate. Place the julienned ginger and scallions across the top of the fish and sprinkle with the sesame seeds.
Heat the sesame oil in a small pan until just before smoking, then pour over the fish.
Finally, pour the soy sauce mixture onto the plate and serve. This fish is also quite tasty still served at room temperature.
Serve with rice or some sautéed greens like pak choi.

*This can be made with fish filets, but fish in the bone comes out much more moist and flavorful, as well as being a beautiful presentation.
**Add coriander or chilli to the ginger, or make a mix.

pak choi @ wok

For ➍
700 g pak choi or baby pak choi
1½ vegetable or peanut oil
1-2 tbs cloves garlic, finely minced
1 ts grated fresh ginger
3 tbs broth or water (or 2 tbs broth/water + 1 tbs wine)
salt to taste
½ teaspoon sesame oil

Trim the pak choi stem end. Cutting the thick stem off will ensure that the pak choi cooks evenly. Separate out the leaves, keep the tender center intact and clean under running water. Drain.
Finely mince garlic and grate fresh ginger with a microplane grater. Grating the ginger helps break up the tough fibers.
Place wok or frying pan on your stove and pour in the cooking oil. Do not heat yet. Add the garlic and ginger to the cold oil.  Turn the heat to medium-high. Let the ginger and garlic gently sizzle in the oil.
When the aromatics become fragrant and light golden brown, add the pak choi leaves. Toss very well to coat each leaf with the garlicky, gingery oil for 15 s. Pour in broth, water or wine.
Immediately cover and let cook for 1 m.
Season with salt and drizzle a bit of sesame oil on top.