As you may know, Chinese New Year starts on Thursday 19th February. So, we’ve asked top British lifestyle blogger, Amelia, from xameliax.com to cook a special feast and show us how to celebrate the Year of the Sheep in style.

Time to start planning.

Over to you, Amelia…

We love a stir fry in the xameliax household for a super-quick and easy weekday dinner, but after a while the supermarket meal deals started to wear a bit thin and I began experimenting with different ways to enjoy our oriental cuisine without resorting to the takeaway menu! Introducing my super-easy two-course Asian feast certain to spice up your weeknight grub; Chicken Peanut Satay Skewers and Asian Salmon Rice Bowls…

A couple of weeks ago, the lovely people at BrandAlley sent through a giant box full of Typhoon goodies for me to have a play with and I have to say that I’ve been using them non-stop since the postman dropped them off. We’d been looking for a good quality wok for a while now and a chargrill plate as we cook a lot of steak. BrandAlley are having a whopping sale at the moment on loads of Typhoon Cookware, so be sure to bag yourself a bargain – you can’t beat quality kitchenware!

With Chinese New Year coming our way soon, I think my 2-course Asian feast would make great dinner party food. Invite people round for some satay and sake, and check out my menu below.

Peanut Satay Dipping Sauce

There are a million different Peanut Satay recipes floating around on the net, but I wanted to keep this one simple and quick to do, so here’s my super-easy, 4-ingredient recipe for a super-buttery and nutty sauce – perfect for dipping!

(To serve two)

4 tbsps Peanut Butter

4 tbsps Coconut Milk

1 tbsp Soy Sauce

1 Ccove Crushed Garlic

– Put all of your ingredients into a bowl and mix adding more soy sauce to taste.

– Sprinkle in a few extra peanuts and you’re good to go, it’s as easy as that!

I used my amazing new Cast Iron Typhoon Chargriller to cook a few mini chicken breast fillets on wooden skewers – DIY Chicken Satay in minutes!

Presented on these adorable rectangular serving plates with mini dipping bowls from my Typhoon Porcelain Silk Serving Set, my DIY chicken satay make the ideal starter that looks and tastes fantastic in no time at all.

For main, it’s one of my newest obsessions – The Asian Rice Bowl! Filled with fluffy brown rice, crunchy veg, salmon and a tangy dressing, you’ll be a convert in the time it takes for you to whip one up!  I picked up a Stir Fry Vegetable pack from the supermarket with tender-stem broccoli, mange tout, beans and mooli, then added some fresh spring onions, cucumber and avocado to serve. I used my new Typhoon Steel Wok  Set with these beautiful bamboo accessories. The wok is the perfect size with high sides and a really sturdy handle. Very impressive!

Asian Salmon Rice Bowls

Salmon Fillets

Stir Fry Vegetables of Choice: Tender-Stem Broccoli, Fine Beans, Mange Tout, Mooli

Spring Onion

Cucumber

1 Avocado

Brown Rice

Fresh Coriander

Red Chilli

– Pan fry your salmon for about 3-4 minutes each side, depending on the thickness of your fish in a hot pan to add a chargrilled flavour to the skin

– Stir fry the vegetables  in a little chilli oil until slightly tender and chop your fresh greens

– Cook your rice as per serving instructions

– Layer your bowl with the rice, followed by stir fry vegetables, fresh greens and salmon on top

– Sprinkle with red chilli and fresh coriander and serve right away

 

Soy Wasabi Dressing

2 tbsp Soy Sauce

2 tbsp Mirin

2 tbsp Wasabi Paste

1 tbsp Sesame Oil

– Mix your ingredients together in a bowl until combined as best as possible

– Pour lovingly over your rice bowls to infuse the salmon and rice underneath

I serve mine in these beautifully perfect rice bowls also from my Typhoon Porcelain Serving Set that come with little chopstick rests in the side – so cute!

This dinner is so quick – you can have it all cooked and on the table within 40 minutes, meaning there’s no excuse not to be eating super-tasty food every night of the week.

Why not try it with grilled chicken or even stir fry beef? Play around with whatever takes your fancy.

I can’t recommend these Typhoon kitchenware pieces enough – the quality is outstanding and they’re just so useful to have in your cupboard.

 

Enjoy!

 

Let us know your Chinese New Year recipes by sharing with @BrandAlleyUK and @xameliax! #CNYfeast