Spiced Plum Chicken

This recipe combines oriental flavours and sweetness with a hearty rich approach for autumn and winter or even late spring. Considering my current love for all things sweet and spicy, I've included this dish as a pneumonicYou can substitute the noodles for rice or pasta if you wish, along with broccoli, asparagus, or chicory for the pak choi. Feel free to include mushroom,s bamboo shoots or water chesnuts for further enjoyment. Make it work for you.

(Serves 10 so divide by two for a family sized batch)

10 Chicken Supremes

4 Tablespoons of Chinese Five Spice

Olive Oil

1.25 Plum Victoria

Freshly grated nutmeg

100g of Caster sugar

400ml of Dry fino sherry

400ml of Chicken stock

Honey to taste

Seasoning

Mix together the five spice and some olive oil, this is to be rubbed on to the chicken breast prior to the chicken been sautéed. About 2 hours should be allowed for the marinade. Although the general rule is, the longer the better.

The sauce

Stone the plums then divide the plums into two lots, one half to be roast in a hot oven for 15 minutes in a deep roasting tray

Then add the stock and sherry and cook for a further 30 minutes check that the sauce is not getting to dry

Blend the sauce using a stick blender or food processor.

The other half of the plums, on a baking tray which has been pre oiled, season the plums with little sugar and nutmeg, place in the oven and bake for 15 minutes

Serve with steamed pak choi and egg noodles

Let put this together

In a pasta bowl place in the centre the well drained noodles and on one half the steamed pak choi

Carve the chicken breast into a fan, place on top and to one side of the noodles

Run the sauce around the noodle at its base

Garnish with three roast plum halves. Devour.

  

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Stir fried sesame & ginger pork with roasted pepper & butternut squash (with balsamic glazed plum garnish)

It sounds a bit of a mouthful, and I apologise for that. But to leave out the features that this dish would present, I suppose would be a crime in itself. This dish presents I guess a fusion of influences, from the continental approach of the roast butternut squash and pepper, to the eastern influences of sesame, soy & ginger with plum for added sweetness. It's a colourful dish that spans the sweet and savoury barriers, and nutritionally is quite healthy also. Did I happen to mention its a hearty dish thats perfect for this time of year also? Oh and its phenomenally cheap (He smiles)

So knowing it ticks all the boxes for a hungry and adventurous palate, we begin.

Ingredients

(serves 2)

2 x pork loin steaks (tenderised and cut into strips). If you can get any other pork cheaply by all means do so - but bear in mind the tenderness etc. fattier cuts will take longer to cook.
1/2 butternut squash, peeled and cut into 3/4 inch cubes
2 peppers cut into same proportions as squash - you choose the colour. I favour red and yellow ones for sweetness, but green ones can balance out the dish.
1 Plum, cut in half
1 clove of garlic, sliced
Soy sauce
sesame oil
1/2 thumb sized piece of fresh ginger, grated
200g baby button mushrooms
Ground cinnamon
tbsp balsamic vinegar.

Preparation

Marinade the pork

In a suitable container combine the pork, ginger, a coating of sesame oil and a few lashings of soy sauce. Cover and allow to marinade for a couple of hours (the longer the better).

Preheat oven to 200C and on an oven tray add the peppers, plum (hole side up) and squash. Give a slight coating of olive oil and a very slight sprinkling of cinnamon. On the half of the plum divide the garlic and put in the hollow where the stone was. Drizzle plum with small amount of balsamic vinegar and sprinkle with a little salt and sugar.

Put in oven and check regulary - When the squash has coloured and begins to soften its almost there. If youre cooking this in advance for reheating later the time to take it out is now. Otherwise heat up your wok and add some sesame oil.

When the wok is blisteringly hot, add the mushrooms and cook for a minute. Add the pork and keep moving until cooked.

Remove pepper / squash mix from the oven and plate, adding pork and mushroom mixture on top. Garnish with balsamic plum on the side. Add a sprig of rosemary for theatrical effect if you wish.

Devour.