Chinese recipes

West lake beef soup

This is a popular Cantonese recipe, and for years I just couldn't understand why it was named after a famous lake in the scenic city of Hangzhou in Eastern China.

Fish slices soup

Ideally use the fillet of a flat fish such as lemon sole or plaice. It is not necessary to remove the skin, which helps to keep the flesh of the fish together when cooked.

Lamb and cucumber soup

This is a variation of Hot and Sour Soup, but much simpler to prepare and equally delicious - if not even more so!

San-xian (three-delicacies) soup

The Chinese character xian (delicious) is a compound word made up of yu (fish) and yang (sheep). This soup has gone one stage further by adding a third delicacy - chicken.

Spare ribs in sweet and sour sauce

I remember the thrill and excitement of my first encounter with sweet and sour spareribs in a Cantonese restaurant, but I have never tasted anything like them since.

Fricassée spare ribs

Strictly speaking, a fricassée is a French method of preparing chicken in a white sauce. But in English cooking, the term is applied to various kinds of stewing or braising.

Twice-cooked pork

Like hot and sour cabbage, this is another Sichuan dish that has become popular throughout China. Any leftovers from Crystal-boiled pork can be used instead of fresh meat.

Braised five flowers pork

In China this is the most popular way of cooking pork. If you cook more than you need for one meal, the rest can be warmed up and served again or used as an ingredient for a number of recipes.