home made alternatives to takeaways

Caterina

For chinese authentic flavour it is better to use dark sesame oil, which you can buy in any asian supermarket.

I make 'chinese soup' which is basically any veg I have, chopped, with chopped tofu and mushrooms, all fried in sesame oil and then add hot water and stock powder (marigold). When I have it I also add a block of tofu, chopped, but meat eaters could add bits of chicken or ham or shrimps.

When everything is nearly cooked I add noodles, or if I do not have any, I add spaghetti (same difference hehehe).

One thing that I also add but many people do not use is seaweed - not the fried stuff that you find in the chinese restaurant, thats not real seaweed, I use a japanese seaweed called arame which gives a really nice flavour and lots of good minerals - I bought 1kg in bulk 3 years ago and still have lots of it!

Caterina

16011996

where did you get it from caterina.

Lucie_2

never tried chicken tikka, whats it like, is it very spicy?

No I'd say it's tasty, not spicy. Of course if you make your own you can put as much chilli powder in as you like/don't like

16011996

thanks lucie.

cath-w

Spring Rolls.

1 packet spring roll skins (from ethnic supermarket)

I use filo pastry which also works ok as you can get this from any supermarket. The trick is to make the spring rolls very small. So one sheet of filo pastry will make 3 small spring rolls. This way they are very crispy.

I also do not fry them I bake them in the oven. Not very authentic, but they still taste nice. Brush with oil and cook for 12 - 15 mins at 225C.

I have a great recipe for pizza. This costs just over £1.00 to make for 1 person or shared by two people with a salad etc. It makes a 10 inch pizza

PIZZA
for the pizza base:
- 175 g plain white flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon dried yeast
- 1/2 teaspoon brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon olive oil

for this pizza topping
- 60 g ricotta cheese
- 50 g mozzarella
- 50 g gorgonzola
- 25g parmesan

Sift the flour, salt, yeast and sugar into a bowl. Make a well in the centre and add the olive oil and water. Mix together with a spoon and finish off the dough with your hands.

Transfer the dough to a flat surface and knead for about 3 mins. Put it into a dish and cover and leave for 1 hour to rise. I make this before work, chuck a tea towel over the bowl and leave the dish on the top until I get home from work and it is always fine.

pre-heat the oven to 230c and heat the baking sheet in it (need to heat the baking sheet to crisp the bottom of the pizza). Roll the dought out into a circle. Take the hot baking sheet out of the oven and quickly place the circle of dough on it. Then smooth on the mascopone cheese as a base and top with the rest of the cheese.

Cook for 10 - 12 mins.

Sounds like a pain to make, but I can make the dough in about 5 mins and the pizza in about 10.

C.

raeble

Caribbean jerk chicken with rice and peas.


1 bottle of Walkerswood Jerk seasoning. (available from tesco etc this is not to be confused wih jerk bbq sauce which is more like a bottle of brown sauce and not the same thing)



Rice and peas.


To a mug full of white rice add 1.5 mug fulls of water and a vegetable stock cube and 1 tsp mixed spice and some cloves.

Cook gently for 10-15 minutes until the water is absorbed / do not overboil or stir as this breaks up the rice.

Add more water if needed.

When cooked - add either

a) A tin of baked beans which has had most but not all of the sauce washed off or

b) More authentic a tin of drained kidney beans which is where the name rice and peas comes from.

Rajah do a jerk seasoning and an all-purpose savoury seasoning both are used in west indian cooking (all purpose might have the slight edge). You'll find rajah in all good local asian shops and Iceland. 100g packets about 50p at most.

Rice and Peas does have kidney beans in it or black-eyed peas or gungo peas. However they are cooked in the rice to give it flavour and a nice colour in the case of kidney beans. (The beans must have been cooked before they are cooked with the rice, don't use raw beans). Also add if you have some, a sliver of coconut milk, I usually buy the blocks because it lasts longer and is cheaper, it's not essential to have it though.

culpepper

I do a cheese filled crust pizza

1lb bread flour
pinch of salt

whizz in processor

1tsp sugar
1/2 pt warm water(approx depends on the flour could try less and add more later) to dissolve sugar then
1 tbsp dried yeast mixed in

cover ,leave in warm place (I balance my jug on a cup of boiled water)

in about 10mins when yeast is frothy on top, whizz it into the dry ingredients about 2 minutes if its a bit sticky add more flour,if too dry add more water

then when its all stuck together
roll it into a pizza. I just flatten it with my hands into a circle.
next cut slivers of cheese and roll the edge of the pizza around them to make an edge crust
then cover middle with tomato puree
add anything pizza'ry that you like and bung it in the oven on 200 (or hot gas oven)
leave for about 25 mins then grate cheese over it and leave in the oven about 5 mins more while you make a salad. takes about 1hr from start to finish .
This makes a big pizza that will feed 4 .

rushnowt

oh i love tikka masala, thanks for the receipe, i'll deffinately be giving this a whirl. ;D ;D

arkonite_babe

I've recently done a bi-annual run to my nearest chinese supermarket. Came home loaded with goodies, including a wok which only cost £4.50 ;D

I do my own version of chicken chop suey/ chow mein type thing:

following for one person

1 potion cooked chicken
1 pak choi or chinese greens
1/2 onion or 1 shallot
teaspoon garlic powder or 1 clove garlic
1 band of amoy rice noodles (really thin ones like thread)
Any other veg you want. I use mange tout, baby corn finely sliced carrots etc.
sesame oil
olive oil
Soy sauce
Oyster sauce if desired

heat 2 table spoons olive oil in a deep pan or wok
add garlic and quickly stir round.
add onions and cook until soft.
then add each vegetable in according to density. Eg next would be baby corn, lastly would be greens or beansprouts due to them being softer. Lastly throw in chicken or other cooked meat just so it heats through.


Meanwhile cook off noodles according to packet. Takes approx 4mins. Drain and dash on some sesame oil to give nice flavour and prevent sticking.


Season your veg to taste add oyster, black bean or what ever sauce you prefer. Heat through and taste again. At this stage I usually add some shaosing, which is chinese cooking wine, made from rice. Sherry will do if you have some, if not don't worry! If you like your stir fry to have a thicker sauce, at this stage use some cornflour or preferred thickener to add body to your sauce.

Tip noodles on to plate ( use rice or pasta if you wish)
make a well in the middle and pour your stir fry into ther middle. Eat and enjoy!

Rememeber, you can make this dish to your own personal preferences, recipes are not exact science they are for experimenting with!

littleangel

Or for a lazy Indian takeaway (because sometimes you don't have time for shopping and cooking and they're often the times that you want takeaway.... or maybe that's just me?!?)... Keep supermarket Nan bread in the freezer and defrost, and cook your own rice. All of which can be done in the time you spend waiting for the delivery!

Okay, it's not the cheapest option, but it still cuts your takeaway bill by about a third...