Ken Hom's Top 100 Stir Fry Recipes: 100 easy recipes for mouth-watering, healthy stir fries from much-loved chef Ken Hom (BBC Books' Quick & Easy Cookery)

Product Information

Mix the marinade ingredients together in a bowl and steep the spareribs in the marinade for about 25 minutes at room temperature. Remove the spareribs from the marinade with a slotted spoon. Allow the cooked rice to cool thoroughly by spreading it on a baking sheet. When it is cool, refrigerate. When the rice is cold, proceed with the rest of the recipe. Place about two teaspoons of filling in the centre of each 'pancake' and moisten the edges with water. Fold the dough in half and pinch together with your fingers.

Transfer each finished dumpling to the floured tray and keep it covered until you have stuffed all the dumplings in this way.Add the onions to the wok and stir-fry for 1-2 minutes. Pour in 3 tablespoons of water and cook for three minutes. Drain off the juices collected from the beef and add to the wok. Add the oyster sauce and stir for a minute then return the beef to the wok and add the mint leaves. Continue to stir-fry for one minute then remove from the heat. Peel the cucumbers, slice them in half lengthways and, using a teaspoon, remove the seeds. Then cut the cucumber halves into 2.5cm (1in) cubes. Sprinkle them with 2 teaspoons of salt and mix well, then put into a colander and leave for about 20 minutes to drain. This rids the cucumber of any excess liquid. When the cucumber cubes have drained, rinse them in water and blot them dry with kitchen paper. For the noodles, soak the noodles in a large bowl of warm water for 15 minutes. When they are soft, drain them and discard the water. Once the dough is smooth, shape it into a roll about 23cm/9in long and about 2.5cm/1in in diameter, using your hands.

Add the bean curd and Chinese flowering cabbage or pak choi and carefully mix together without breaking up the bean curd. Have your butcher separate the spareribs into individual ribs and then into chunks which are approximately 7.5cm/3in long. Alternatively do this yourself using a heavy sharp cleaver that can cut through the bones.

Method

Arrange the round skins on a lightly floured tray and cover them with a damp kitchen towel to prevent them from drying out until you are ready to use them. Pleat around the edge, pinching with your fingers to seal well. The dumpling should look like a small Cornish pasty with a flat base and rounded top. Fill a large pot with water, add salt, and bring to the boil. Separate the broccoli heads into small florets, and peel and slice the stems. Blanch the broccoli pieces in the boiling water for 4 minutes. Place the rice noodles in a large heatproof bowl. Drain the hot water from the blanched broccoli into the rice noodles and immerse the broccoli pieces in cold water. Drain the broccoli thoroughly. Let the noodles stand in the hot water for 2 minutes, then drain. Put the rice into a large bowl and wash it in several changes of water until the water becomes clear. Drain the rice and put it into a heavy pan with 600ml (1 pint) of water and bring it to the boil. Continue boiling until most of the surface liquid has evaporated – about 15 minutes. The surface of the rice should have small indentations, like a pitted crater. At this point, cover the pan with a lid, turn the heat as low as possible, and let the rice cook undisturbed for 15 minutes. Let it rest on the turned-off heat for 5 minutes before serving.