Spicey Peppered Steak

Ingredients
1 Tablespoon Peppercorns (freshly crushed)
3 Tablespoons Vegetable Oil
500g Steak (cut into thin strips)
1 Red Pepper (cored, de seeded and cut into thin strips)
2 Red chillies (de seeded and finely chopped, leave seeded for extra heat)
1in Ginger (cut into matchstick size strips)
2 Cloves Garlic (crushed)
2 Tablespoons Cornflour
4 Tablespoons Water
3 tablespoons Soy Sauce
2 Teaspoons Dark Soft Brown Sugar

Equipment
1 SHARP Knife
1 Chopping Board
1 Wok
1 Garlic Press
1 Mixing Bowl
1 Spatula
1 Bowl

The Good Bit

1. Mix the cornflour and water into a smooth paste then add the soy sauce and sugar and set aside. With the oil in the wok add the beef and crushed peppercorns and stir fry rapidly for 4 minutes a until the meat is evenly browned.
2. Tip the meat along with its juices into the spare bowl, then turn down the heat and stir fry the rest of the ingredients together taking care not to brown them, just get them soft (use a low heat if you are not comfortable doing this without browning the vegetables)
3. Add the beef and its juices back to the wok and mix well then give the sauce a final stir before adding that into the pan, turn the heat back up and cook until the beef is hot and the meal is warm all the way through, serve immediately.
   

Serves 4

Beef and Bok Choy

Ingredients
1 Bok Choy or 250g Salad Leaves (torn into pieces)
500g Steak (Pieces/Cubes Whatever is cheap)
150g Mangetout or Similar
150g Baby Sweetcorn (most supermarkets do these in a pack with mangetout, BONUS)
6 Spring/Salad Onions (chopped into cm long pieces)
2 Red Peppers (cut into thin strips)
2 Tablespoons Oyster Sauce
1 Tablespoon Fish Sauce
1 Tablespoon Sugar
A Splash of Oil
Noodles or Rice to Serve

Equipment
1 SHARP Knife
1 Chopping Board
1 Large Wok
A Steamer (optional)
1 Spatula

The Good Bit

1. Steam your bok choy (or heat in a wok with a little water) until they start to wilt, remove and keep warm if you can.
2. Add a splash of oil to your wok (clean and dry it if you have just done your leaves in it), fry the beef until it just begins to brown on all sides, then add the mangetout, sweetcorn, spring onions, pepper, oyster and fish sauces and the sugar.
3. Stir fry (fry over a high heat but keep the food moving with your spatula) for 3 minutes or until the peppers just begins to go soft, serve this onto a bed of the bok choy or salad leaves with noodles or rice.
   

Serves 4

Beef Madras

Ingredients
450g Beef (cubed)
250g Rice (any rice is fine just don't use pudding rice)
1 Large Onion (finely sliced)
4 Cloves
4 Green Cardamoms
2 Whole Star Anise
4 Green Chillies (chopped)
2 Red Chillies (chopped)
3 Tablespoons Madras Masala Paste
1 Teaspoon Dried Turmeric
4 Tablespoons White wine Vinegar
Sugar to Taste
A Splash of Oil
Coriander and Lemon Wedges to serve (optional)

Equipment
1 SHARP Knife
1 Chopping Board
1 Large Frying Pan/Wok
1 Spatula
1 Large Pan (2/3rds full of boiling salted water)
1 Colander

The Good Bit

1. Start by putting the rice on, cook to packet instructions, usually 10-15 mins whilst that is cooking heat a splash of oil in the frying pan and cook the onion until it turns golden brown, then add all the spices and cook for another 2-3 minutes.
2. Add the meat, the white wine vinegar and a pinch of sugar (keep tasting the sauce until you are happy that the sugar has taken the tang from the vinegar) cook over a medium heat until the beef is cooked through and soft (your rice should be about ready too at this time)
3. Once the rice is done (taste test) wash your rice (place it in a colander and then rinse with boiling water) whilst you are doing this turn the heat up on the frying pan to reduce any remaining sauce. Then serve in a ring of rice. Top with shredded coriander leaves and lemon wedges if you want to be fancy!
   

Serves 4

Beef Vindaloo

Ingredients
1 Tablespoon Cumin
4 Dried Red Chillies
1 Teaspoon Black Pepper Corns
The Seeds From 5 Green Cardamom Pods
1 Teaspoon Fenugreek Seeds
1 Teaspoon Mustard Seeds (or mustard if you cant get hold of the seeds)
1 Inch Piece of Ginger (grated)
2 Teaspoons Coriander
1/2 Teaspoon Turmeric
1 Garlic Clove
A Pinch of Sugar and Salt
4 Tablespoons White Wine Vinegar
900g Beef (cubed)
1 Large onion (as finely chopped as you can manage)
A Splash of Oil or Two
375g Rice (again anything but pudding)

Equipment
Pestle and Mortar (or instead of seeds use powder)
1 SHARP Knife
1 Chopping Board
1 Large Frying Pan
1 Mixing bowl

The Good Bit

1. Grind up the cumin seeds, peppercorns, fenugreek, cardamom and mustard seeds (leave out the mustard if you are not using seeds) and chillies until you have a fine powder, or just mix them all together if you are using dried powders and mustard from a jar and keep in the mixing bowl.
2. Heat your oil in the frying pan and cook the onion until it is golden brown, then mix this in the mixing bowl with your powder the white wine vinegar a pinch of salt and a pinch of sugar.
3. Now fry of the beef in a little oil until it begins to brown on all sides, then remove from the pan and leave to settle whilst you add another splash of oil to the pan and cook the garlic and ginger for 2mins then add the coriander and turmeric and cook for another 2 minutes.
4. Add your onion and spice mix to the frying pan now and cook for a further 5 minutes, really get those flavours mixing before adding the meat along with a good glass of water (not a pint but imagine a glass of something cold when you've just come in from a hot day outside and that is the size you want.
5. Cover and cook for 1-1 1/2 until the meat is really tender (at this stage if you need more liquid just add a little more water, if the sauce is too liquid then turn up the heat and uncover for 5 minutes. Serve with rice

Serves 6

Oyster Sauce Beef

Ingredients
300g Beef (cut into strips)
1 Teaspoon Sugar
1 Tablespoon Light Soy Sauce
1 Teaspoon Sherry
1 Teaspoon Cornflour (mixed with 1 1/2 teaspoons cold water)
1 Carrot
60g Mangetout
60g Bamboo Shoots (canned will do fine)
60g Straw Mushrooms (any mushroom will do)
1 Spring Onion (cut into bite size strips)
2 Small Slices Root Ginger
1/2 Teaspoon Salt
2 Tablespoons Oyster Sauce
3 Tablespoons Chinese Stock (or water)
60ml Vegetable Oil

Equipment
1 SHARP Knife
1 Chopping Board
1 Mixing Bowl
1 Wok
1 Slotted Spoon
1 Spatula

The Good Bit

1. place the meat in the mixing bowl along with the sugar, soy sauce, sherry and cornflour (and water) mixture, set aside and marinate for 30 minutes.
2. Heat the oil in the wok and add the beef slices for about 1 minute, remove and keep warm.
3. Pour off the oil leaving about 1 tablespoon in the wok, add all the vegetables and the ginger and stir fry for about 2 minutes, then add the salt, beef, oyster sauce and stock (or water) mix really well and serve when piping hot through out.
   

Serves 4