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Jump to:📋 What do we need? 📋 What are Szechuan Peppercorns? 🔪 How to make it 🍽️ What to serve it with 🍲 More fantastic stir fry recipes Szechuan Chicken Recipe 💬 Reviews Szechuan chicken, also known as Sichuan chicken, Mala Chicken or Laziji, is a beautifully spiced stir-fried chicken dish, usually served dry, rather than saucy, and characterised by the use of Szechuan peppercorns and lots of dried red chillies....

One heck of a meat-free meal, this veggie-based bibimbap is packed with flavour! I like this one as a bit of a treat lunch, but it makes a great dinner too. If you already have some cooked rice to hand, you can have this meal ready in 10 minutes. Wilted spinach and golden brown, well-seasoned mushrooms are some of my favourite veggies, and they’re taken to a new level with a good slug of Korean gochujang....

Four weeks into my diet, and a new chippy has just opened up the road from us (groan!!). Served in paper (those polystyrene containers just aren’t the same) with an obscene amount of salt and vinegar (more than I would add to ANY other food), chippy chips should be outlawed for their addictiveness. Well, only whilst I’m on a diet. The rest of the time we can all eat them....

-Yes, I did squeal with girlish delight when I put these together and saw how they turned out all lined up together -Yes, I can fit a whole one in my mouth (I tested that theory several times) -Yes, I did drink the teeny tiny, slightly warm beers once Chris had finished photographing them I was having a bit of a cooking/baking day on Saturday. My folks were coming around for tea the following day, so I’d been making some meatballs ahead of time....

I’m a sucker for carrot cake, and this easy tray bake version is A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!! It’s fluffy and light and contains a few ingredients to ensure a deliciously moist sponge that won’t dry out in the oven: Raisins infused in orange juice - just leave them to soak for a couple of hours for lovely plump raisins! Vegetable oil (rather than butter) - often butter is added to cakes for extra flavour, but there’s so much flavour in this cake already you don’t need it....

Sometimes it’s such a chore having leftover chocolate cake mix. It would be wasteful and irresponsible to throw it away, so I guess I’ll just have to find something to do with it. Sigh. Hmmm those bananas need using up. And that cream will never get used before it goes off too. I’m sure I’ve got a tin of dulce de leche gathering a minute amount of dust at the back of my cupboard (only actually been in there about 5 days)....

And yes, it’s made out of bread. It’s a bread cake. No creaming of butter and sugar. No watching the oven, worrying about…. ❌ sinking cakes ❌ dry cakes ❌ domed cakes ❌cracked cakes. Just a homemade simple custard with added chocolate, poured over a couple of sliced up bread boules, and baked in the oven. Then all layered together with Nutella and Strawberries ❤️❤️ I considered covering it in whipped cream too, because, you know, calories don’t count when you’re making a cake as a gift for your mum....

I can’t get enough of creamy, tangy sauces right now. Indulgent and lip-smackingly tasty, and although a little calorific, there are still loads of nutritious goodies in there. So I’m good with that. Besides, this is one of those dinners you can serve with courgetti, where you don’t really taste the courgetti, because it’s covered in sauce. Not that I’ve got a thing against courgetti. But come on, it’s not pasta is it (note the bowl of pasta in the corner of this photo)....

I get why chefs often do all sorts of cheffy things when they’re roasting a chicken. Stuffing them with aromatics, making herb butters to rub under the skin, delicately balancing the chicken on top of chopped up veggies in the baking tray. It all adds a new dimension to a regular chicken. But I like a regular roast chicken! Juicy, tender with a crispy, well-seasoned skin. No fuss and faffing - just a bit of oil and seasoning on top and a lemon wedge or two inside the chicken, and then sling it in the oven while you concentrate on the rest of the roast dinner....

I don’t mind porridge/oatmeal, but I’m definitely a toppings girl. I think it comes from the same part of my brain that used to dislike risotto. Mouthful after mouthful of the same taste. Even if it’s good, it’s going to be boring after the fifth forkful. Then I discovered toppings! Like the crispy garlic crumbs on my creamy tomato risotto. That was a revelation that led to a whole new risotto-eating Nicky....

I’m loving me this superfast veggie lunch. Anyone else drooling right now? I’m always amazed at the difference in taste between a raw mushroom and one that’s been sprinkled with salt and pepper and cooked in butter for a few minutes. That chewy, tender center and salty, crisp exterior. So so good. Yet Chris and my kids would totally turn their noses up at it. What is wrong with these people (erm, I mean lovely family members)?...

Just give me all the marzipan! I made this battenburg for Chris’s birthday recently since I know it’s one of his favourite cakes in the whole world, even more so than the Amaretti Cookies that he LOVES too! Homemade battenberg is awesome, and this recipe makes TWO. Sounds like overkill, but the first one will be gone before you’ve even finished your cup of tea, so it really is a good idea to make two....

What a great Easter weekend! Nice weather, no specific plans and enough chocolate to sustain the average human for about 10 years 🙂 With the exception of the chopped strawberries on top, It was all done and in the fridge within half an hour (need to wait for an hour for the mousse to set before putting the strawberries on top). This is a great make-ahead summer dessert and one to add to the favourites list....

This recipe was commissioned by the Vegetarian Society as part of #nationalvegetarianweek It’s Spring time in a bowl! Lots of lovely green veg, mixed with spaghetti, herbs and oh-so-creamy goat’s cheese. This meal is basically ready in the time it takes to cook a pan of spaghetti, so it’s a great one to get on the table quickly when the children are complaining that they’re ‘starving’. Did you know that not all cheeses are vegetarian?...

📋 What do we need? Black Peppercorns You can also use green peppercorns for a milder flavourCream Always use double (heavy) cream rather than single or light cream to ensure a luscious sauce that won’t split.Brandy Any brandy, cognac or marsala will be fine, but if you don’t want to use alcohol, then you can leave it out or add an extra spoonful of Worcestershire sauce.Stock We used beef stock but any good strong stock will work....

It took a little bit of time to get the recipe right for my peri peri (piri piri) sauce, but I’ve got to admit, I did kind of pat myself on the back in the end. It’s so amazingly delicious. It’s also pretty darn hot! But that’s the way I like it. You can always reduce the chillies to make it less spicy. I’m going to admit something else too....

This spicy Asian noodles recipe was inspired by my dad, who spent part of his childhood in Singapore. His time over there gave him a real taste for the spicy, saucy noodle/rice dishes Singapore is famous for, and he came back with a repertoire of lip smackingly good dishes that he passed on to me. I used to love hearing my dad’s tall tales of life in Singapore some 60+ years ago....

Why have I waited so long to make these Salt and Pepper Ribs with Chilli Honey Drizzle? I got the most amazingly meaty rack of ribs from the butcher when I made my last batch of Chinese sticky ribs, and since I was making them just for me and Chris, I froze half to use later. They’ve been in the freezer, taunting me ever since, until I finally got them out to serve with some fried rice....

One of the things I love about cooking is taking some leftovers and turning them into something fabulous. Roast chicken is usually my favourite - using the meat for something like Chicken al King, or the bones to make creamy chicken, mushroom and chilli soup. Arancini from leftover risotto is a great one too. And of course, not forgetting dessert!Amaretti is the perfect way to use up leftover egg whites....

This is one of my favourite big batch meals to make because: It’s great for feeding a crowd (easy to make for 10+ people) You can make it ahead It’s suitable for freezing…. …..which also means you can eat some for dinner and freeze some for a super quick dinner next time I made this quite a lot when we used to go for our bi-weekly visits to my grandad’s....