Chinese Curry

Chinese Curry is pretty much an invention of restaurants, as no traditional Chinese cuisine has anything approaching the curry British takeaways excel in. Because of this, you can use just about any curry powder (I use Bolst's) and add a little Five Spice Powder to the mix for that special oriental taste. The most common mix of spices in 5 Spice Powder is: star anise (bajiao), cloves, cinnamon, Sichuan pepper (huajiao) and ground fennel seeds. It is intended to encompass all flavours: sweet, sour, bitter, pungent, and salty.

Chinese Prawn and Mushroom Curry

Instead of prawns and mushrooms, you can add just about anything. The secret is to pre-cook your main ingredients (especially if it's meat) and to make sure every ingredient is just cooked, but not overcooked.

1 large onion, coarsely chopped

1 clove garlic, finely chopped

½ inch (1.25 cm) fresh ginger root, peeled and grated/ finely chopped

1 tablespoon curry powder (see above)

½-1 teaspoon chilli powder (depending on taste)

1 teaspoon five spice powder (see above)

100 grams (4 oz) mushrooms, sliced

150 grams (6 oz) frozen peas

1 teaspoon corn starch (cornflour), dissolved in 300ml (½ pint) chicken, vegetable or fish stock

225 grams (½ lb) cooked prawns

a little sugar

 

Fry off the onions in a little oil until soft, then ginger and garlic and fry for another minute before adding curry powder, chilli powder and the 5 spice mix. When roasted, thrown in your frozen peas and mushrooms and the stock and bring to the boil, stirring all the time. When it starts to bubble, it should have thickened up. Taste it. If it needs more flavour add a little sugar (not salt). Taste again. Then add more sugar and salt as required. Cook for 5 minutes then add the prawns. Heat through thoroughly and serve.

That's the best Chinese Curry you'll ever taste. Experiment by changing the brands of curry powder and five spice powders you use. Add more or less of anything. That's all the restaurant cooks do until they make the dish their own.