Chinese New Year Feast with Blue Dragon #MagicinEveryMeal

Chinese New Year Feast with Blue Dragon #MagicinEveryMeal

• February 16, 2016

Chinese new year is a time for celebration and there is no better way to do it than to feast with family and good friends. Cooking can take hours of prep work but if you are looking to cook a simple feast, then let me tell you something guys, I managed to cook a small banquet in under 1 hour this weekend!

For big occasions, I usually cook along side my sister but as she was busy this weekend, G came in to 'help' me. G does not cook at all and in our household he does all the washing up instead. But he has said he will start cooking if dishes took no longer than 15-30 minutes. That sounds like a good challenge, so with Blue Dragon's campaign #MagicinEveryMeal, l showed him how to create simple and delicious Chinese food in no time.

I managed to cook 4 dishes in less than 1 hour which included stir fried noodles, steak in black bean and pepper sauce, roast pork aka char siu and a mince pork with courgette Thai green curry.

I can't believe just how easy cooking was with the sauce sachets and I loved how versatile they were as I adapted some of them to suit our tastes.

Dish 1 | Roast Pork Char Siu
When cooking a large meal, start with the dishes that usually take the longest so that you use your time efficiently. In this case, it was going to be the roast pork.

Ingredients:
500g pork tenderloin
x1 packet Blue Dragon Chinese BBQ stir fry sauce
x2 tbsp light soya sauce
3/4 cup of water

Directions:
1. Preheat oven at 250 degrees celcius
2. Give the pork a quick rinse under the tap and lay in an oven tray
3. Pour the dry mix over the pork, rub it in well then follow with 1/2 packet of the BBQ sauce and 2 tbsp soya sauce. Rub all the sauces well into the pork
4. Pour 3/4 cup of water around the pork and put in the oven for 35 mins, turning halfway. Depending on how large the pork is, it may need another 5-10 mins
5. When it has cooled a little, slice up and pour the remaining sauce over. Sesame seeds are optional

Dish 2 | Mince Pork and Courgette Thai Green Curry
Next up is Thai green curry, which is one of my favourites. This curry kit is pretty authentic and I can't wait to use it again.

Ingredients:
350g-400g minced pork (I used half the pack as shown in the photos)
1 large courgette, cut into chunks
x1 packet Blue Dragon Thai green curry kit
2 tsp fish sauce
2 tsp brown sugar
1/2 lime
Coriander (optional)
2 tbsp oil

Directions:
1. Heat the oil in the pan, and fry mince until almost cooked, then add the green curry paste
2. Add in coconut milk sachet, 2 tsp fish sauce and 2 tsp brown sugar and bring to a gentle boil
3. Throw in the courgette and once softened, take of the heat and stir in some coriander
4. Squeeze in some lime juice when ready to serve

Dish 3 | Steak with Black Bean + Black Pepper Sauce
Black bean goes so well with beef, chicken and prawns, but I love using steak in mine as it cooks so fast. I didn't use the full packet of sauce as I prefer it to be a more dry stir fry, but you can add more if you like it more saucy.

Ingredients:
Ribeye steak, 1 piece, thinly sliced
Green bell pepper, sliced
1/2 onion, sliced
1 red chilli, sliced
2 tbsp Blue Dragon black bean sauce
2 tbsp light soya sauce
1 tbsp black pepper
1 tsp garlic powder
2 tbsp oil

Directions:
1. Heat the oil in the pan, add steak and fry quickly for 30 seconds. Sprinkle the black pepper and garlic powder all over the steak
2. Throw in the green pepper, onions and chilli and again, toss around quickly
3. Add in the black bean sauce and soya sauce, give it another quick stir and it's ready as soon as the steak is no longer pink

Dish 4 | Stir Fried Noodles
Long noodles represent longevity in Chinese culture so it's a great symbolic dish to include for Chinese new year. Stir fried noodles don't have to be oily either, you just need to know a simple trick when cooking it.

Ingredients:

Blue Dragon noodles (I used all 6 nests)

1 carrot, thinly sliced

2 spring onions, thinly sliced

2 tbsp soya sauce

3 tbsp oil

1/2 cup of water

Directions:

1. In a bowl, cover the noodles in freshly boiled water and let it soak for around 8-10 mins until they become soft. Take care they don't get too soft, they still need to be a little firm. Once ready, drain water, and rinse under a cold running tap.

2. Whilst you wait for the noodles to soften, chop the carrot and spring onion into thin long slices

3. Heat oil in the pan, and add in the carrots and spring onion. After 3 mins of frying, add in the noodles and sprinkle soya sauce all over

4. Now here's the trick on not over oiling the noodles. The noodles will be a bit sticky at first, so just add in 1/2 cup of water and keep stirring to break up any clumps whilst the heat is on high. This will gently steam your noodles, make it pliable and you won't have to use oil to unstick it

5. You can add a little more water if required, and if you like your noodles a little oily, drizzle 1 tbsp of sesame oil around the edge of the pan and stir

 

And last but not least, prawn crackers to accompany your meal. They go great with Thai sweet chilli. So good that Blue Dragon is about to take a bite too!

 

Everything I got in the kit was used and any extra sauces you have left over can be stored in the fridge until the next Chinese stir fry. And that's my small feast all cooked in under an hour. G was so impressed he said he is definitely going to give it a go!

  

Will you be adding some #MagicinEveryMeal?   

This post is an entry to the Foodies100 Chinese New Year recipe challenge sponsored by Blue Dragon. The range of Blue Dragon products is available in all major supermarkets at an RRP from £0.69. To find out more, visit www.bluedragon.co.uk.