Broccoli Fried Rice

This fried rice is delicious. The crunchy broccoli slips you your vitamins, while the garlic, chili oil and soy sauce provide a flavour hit. I can remember having great trouble learning to cook fried rice when I was a child. My first experiment turned out like congee, and even once I had learned to cook the rice first, it always stuck to the bottom The trick is simple but requires some planning: you have to cook the rice on the previous day.

Broccoli Fried Rice

Serves 2

Ingredients

1 onion
1 head broccoli
3 cloves garlic
2 dried chilies
3 cups day-old rice
3 tbsp chili oil
1 tbsp sugar
soy sauce or tamari
sweet chili sauce

Method

1. Dice the onion, mince the broccoli and crush the garlic. Crumble or chop the chilies into small pieces. Heat oil in a pan over medium heat. Fry garlic and chili over medium heat for a few minutes until golden. Add onion and fry until softened. Add broccoli and fry until softened.

2. Add the rice, chili oil and sugar. Mix well, breaking up the clumps of rice. Cook for around five minutes more, stirring well with a spatula to stop the rice from sticking. Add soy sauce to taste and cook for a minute more. Taste and add more chili oil or soy sauce if you like. Serve with sweet chili sauce.

Tofu with Black Vinegar

I had this tofu drizzled with black vinegar in a restaurant while stopping over in Hong Kong airport. It was simple but tasty, and hit the spot perfectly. We then had some snacks and beer while watching the sun "setting" into the smog above the horizon... It started out orange, melted into a deep red, and then disappeared.

You can find black vinegar, which is also called Chinkiang vinegar, at an Asian supermarket. I really like to eat this with red-cooked eggplant and some rice: it's an impressive combination and everything is done in less than half an hour.

Tofu with Black Vinegar

Serves 2

Ingredients

450 g tofu
2 tbsp black vinegar
1 tbsp soy sauce or tamari

Method

1. Cut the tofu into slabs. Heat a generous amount of oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Fry tofu for a few minutes on one side, until deep golden brown, then turn and brown the other side. Drain on paper towels.

2. Mix together soy sauce and vinegar. Lay the pieces of tofu on a plate and drizzle sauce over them. Eat with your favourite Chinese vegetable side, or just with rice.