I was watching Great Food Live the other day and Jenni Barnet was interviewing Helen Tse. Helen is third generation British Chinese and has just written a book called Sweet Mandarin which details the story of her family and their journey from China to the UK, it sounded really interesting. Helen has also just opened a Pan Asian restaurant with her sisters in Manchester also under the name Sweet Mandarin.
This curry recipe came from Helen’s grandmother Lily and has apparently become very famous at the restaurant. I’m a real curry devotee so when I saw Helen make this on Great Food Live it was definitely a recipe I wanted to try out.
LILY KWOK’S CURRY
INGREDIENTS
For the sauce
- Vegetable oil
- 3 Onions, roughly sliced
- 4 garlic cloves, roughly sliced
- 4 cm Fresh ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
- 4 Red chillies, seeds removed and chopped (I used 3 small chillies and left in the seeds)
- 1/2 tsp ground turmeric
- 1/2 tsp ground cumin
- 1/2 tsp ground coriander
- 5 tsp plain flour
- 125ml water
For the chicken
- 3-4 Tbsp cornflour
- 2 Chicken breasts, cut into strips
- 2 Tbsp oil
- 1/2 Onion, thinly sliced
- 2 Tbsp fresh peas (I used frozen)
PREPARATION
- Heat the vegetable oil in a wok and cook the onion for a few minutes over a high heat. Add the ginger, garlic and chilli and continue to cook over a high heat for 30 seconds then reduce the heat to a very low setting and allow to cook for a further 15 minutes (without colouring).
- Add the turmeric, cumin and coriander and cook gently for a further 5 minutes, do not let the spices burn or the dish will be ruined. If you are worried this stage then add some water to prevent the spices from burning.
- Put the water into a food blender and add the onion and spice mixture, blitz until all the puree is smooth. Add the flour and blitz again.
- Put the puree back into the wok and cook over a very low heat for about 20-30 minutes, stirring occasionally. If the sauce begins to catch then add a little water. The sauce will become thicker and orangy-brown in colour.
- Season the cornflour with salt and pepper and toss the chicken in the cornflour until evenly coated.
- Heat the remaining oil in a frying pan and cook the chicken for a few minutes until it turns white. Add the onions and peas and stir fry for a few minutes. Add the curry sauce and heat until piping hot.
I liked this recipe, Stewart wasn’t convinced but then again he’s not a big curry fan! I think that the frying of the ginger, garlic and chilli and then the spices is crucial and then next time I make this I would allow the paste to be fried for longer to give better depth of flavour.
I served this with basmati rice and there was enough leftovers for me to put some in the freezer.
UPDATE: It has been brought to my attention that there is something of a furore involving this version of the recipe as posted on the UKTV Food website. Aparently there are ingredients “missing” such as curry powder. I would therefore love to post the correct recipe so if anyone out there has the recipe as published in The People’s Cookbook I would really appreciate it if you can let me know how this differs from the version I have posted above.
Many thanks
Pamela
mark | 14-Mar-07 at 3:57 pm | Permalink
Hi
I have also seen this receipe posted on the UKTV Food website but they had put the wrong amounts of ingredients. Did you copy the receipe from there or directly from Helen?
Thanks
Pamela | 15-Mar-07 at 7:02 am | Permalink
Hi Mark,
I used the recipe from the UKTV Food site as it was published. If it is indeed “missing” some ingredients I would really appreciate it if you get the corrected recipe if you would be so kind as to pass it on to me.
Thanks
Adele | 19-Mar-07 at 6:35 pm | Permalink
I too made this curry at the weekend, the original recipe said 5 tbsp plain flour & 5 tbsp self-raising flour, it was awful, very thick, gloopy and bland. Tried to look for original recipe today but it’s not there??? My kids hated it, what a disappointment!
oh well! this is the recipe that I got from the site as soon as it was on tv.
Lily Kwok’s Curry
Servings: 2
• Level of difficulty: Easy
• Preparation Time: 20 minutes
• Cooking Time: 1 hour
Ingredients
For the sauce
• 6 tbsp vegetable oil or ghee, (clarified butter)
• 3 Onions, finely chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, sliced
• 4 cm piece ginger root, peeled and thinly sliced
• 4 mild fleshy red chillies, seeds removed and chopped
• 1/2 tsp ground turmeric
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp ground coriander
• 5 tbsp plain flour
• 5 tbsp self-raising flour
• 125ml water
For the chicken
• 3-4 tbsp cornflour
• 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips
• 2 tbsp oil
• 1/2 onion, thinly sliced
• 2 tbsp fresh peas
Method
1. Heat the oil in a heavy-based pan and cook the chopped onion for a few minutes over a high heat. Add the ginger, garlic and red chilli. Stir for 30 seconds then reduce the heat to very low. Cook for 15 minutes, stirring from time to time, making sure nothing browns or burns.
2. Add the turmeric, cumin and coriander and cook very gently for a further 5 minutes. Don’t burn the spices or the sauce will taste acrid; sprinkle on a few drops of water if you’re worried. Remove from the heat and cool a little.
3. Put the water in a food processor or blender and add the contents of the pan. Whiz until very smooth. Add the plain and self-raising flours and blend again.
4. Put the puréed mixture back into the pan and cook for 20-30 minutes (the longer the better) over a very low heat, stirring occasionally. You can add a little hot water if it starts to catch on the pan, but the idea is to gently “fry” the sauce so that it darkens in colour to an orangey brown. The final texture should be something like thick HP sauce.
5. For the chicken: season the cornflour with salt and pepper. Toss the chicken strips in the cornflour to coat.
6. Heat the oil in a frying pan and cook the chicken for a few minutes until it turns white. Add the onions and peas and stir-fry for a few minutes. Add the curry sauce and heat until piping hot.
Colin Jones | 27-Aug-07 at 1:56 am | Permalink
Hi,
I’ve been trying to replicate the recipe for this curry sauce for years. I lived in Middleton nr. Manchester where Lily Kwok (and later her daughter Mabel) had her Chinese Take-Away selling a thick gloopy almost green curry sauce. My family and I have consumed gallons of the stuff.
I was amazed to find the recipe published after Lily is recorded on the UKTV Food program saying that the recipe would remain a family secret.
Well, I’ve made this recipe 3 times and it turns out quite a nice sauce but it doesn’t come near the original. So I think the secret is safe or maybe this recipe is for a different sauce to that sold at the take-away.
Your recipe is missing 2.5tsp curry powder addded with the other spices and 500ml of stock (chicken or vegetable) which is added at the end. Then the sauce is simmered for an hour allowing it to reduce and thicken.
The full recipe is on the UKTV Food website, try this link…
http://uktv.co.uk/food/recipe/aid/580588
The amount of flour has got me thinking. The recipe says 2.5tsp of plain plus 2.5tsp of self-raising. I might try doubling the amount next time I make the sauce to get the extra thickness.
Incidentally, I added 1 star anise and 1 bay leaf with the stock. I remember these extra ingredients occasionally appearing in the shop bought sauce.
Adele | 28-Aug-07 at 12:55 pm | Permalink
Hi Colin,
Thanks for the update, they have changed the recipe so I think I’ll probably try to make it again.
Thanks again,
Adele