Chinese fakeaway recipe for two.

Chinese takeaways. They are the epitome of a Friday night treat, and often bring about warm fuzzy memories of sitting on the sofa with a plate piled high on your lap, the rain lashing down outside and the X Factor theme tune blaring (you know, back when it was good).

But I’ll be honest, the older I’ve got, the more fussy I’ve got with my takeaways. Not just on taste, but also because I’m usually planted on the sofa by the time I decide what to order. By then, getting in my car to pick something up is highly unlikely.

With almost every other takeaway outlet offering delivery only a touch of a button away, those “behind the times” and “effort required” Chinese takeaways tend to take a backseat in my house now.

So I made it my mission to learn how to master fakeaway dinner recipes, without breaking the bank and filling my cupboards with weird and wonderful ingredients I’ll never use again.

So let’s start with an absolute staple recipe – which is easier to tackle than you may think. Crispy shredded beef.

Recipe ingredients

• 2 sirloin steaks (500g total)
• 1 white onion
• 2 spring onions
• 1 medium egg
• 10 tablespoons of cornflour
• 3 and a half tablespoons of Sriracha hot sauce
• 3 tablespoons of ketchup
• 1 tablespoon of ginger (fresh or paste)
• 2 garlic cloves finely chopped (or paste)
• 1 red or green chilli
• 3 tablespoons of rice wine vinegar
• 3 tablespoons of caster sugar
• 3 tablespoons of light soy sauce (dark can also work!)
• White pepper
• Salt
• Plenty of vegetable oil

Cooking utensils

• A deep, high pot
• A wok or large, deep pan
• Chopping boards
• Sharp knife
• Mixing bowl
• Kitchen tongs
• Kitchen roll
• A standard bowl

1. Remove the fat from the steaks and discard. Then finely slice into strips a centimetre or so thick. I like to cut my steaks in half widthways first, and then cut the strips lengthways for a better size.
2. Pop the strips into your mixing bowl and crack in your egg. Sprinkle in your cornflour, white pepper and salt and give it a good mix before setting aside.
3. Fill your pot with vegetable oil enough to comfortably submerge your steak and start heating it up. (A good medium heat will do the trick, too hot and you’ll be at risk of some angry spitting!)
4. With a clean chopping board, slice up your onions. Long slices or square chunks will work just fine!
5. Chop your spring onions into chunks about 3cm long for a good texture, then finely slice a chilli and ginger, popping them in separate dishes.
6. Once your oil is hot, start placing in your steak strips using some tongs. It’s okay if some stick together, but try to not to overcrowd!
7. Fry until crispy – this can take 3 to 5 minutes. It’s ok if some strips lose a bit of batter, it’ll still taste great! Once crispy, pop in a bowl lined with kitchen roll to reduce oiliness. Don’t forget to remove the oil from the heat!
8. Sauce time! Start heating a touch of vegetable oil in your wok / plan and get the onions in to gain some colour.
9. Next, in with your chopped garlic, ginger and spring onions for a couple of minutes. Stir stir stir!
10. Whack in your final ingredients – ketchup, sugar, sriracha, rice wine vinegar, soy sauce. Turn the heat down a little and let it simmer. (If you lose track of time and the sauce gets too thick, a touch of warm water will sort you right out)
11. Finally, tip in your steak strips & your sliced chilli and coat, frying for another 2 mins to heat everything through.
12. And voila, plate up with your favourite fakeaway side dishes and transport back to Friday night heaven.

Tasty tips!

• Save a few extra pennies by purchasing a twin pack of sirloin steaks just like this bargain at Aldi or even swap for a twin pack of rump steak instead!
• Serve with boiled rice with peas, or some tasty spring rolls (even better when you can grab them out of the freezer like these Aldi ones!)
• A sharp knife to slice your steak is key here, but you can also pop your steaks in the freezer for a short time to help make them easier to cut. Just don’t let them freeze entirely!
• Sriracha hot sauce isn’t always an easy find in the supermarkets. For a quick, easy solution, I like to purchase it directly from Amazon – just like this example!