New Year recipes: From pepper chicken to delicious Dan Dan noodle – celebrate with cheap and easy dishes from Ken Hom

CHINESE New Year is just a day away – and we have the cheapest and tastiest way to see in the year of the rabbit.

Celebrity chef Ken Hom CBE has developed easy recipes that cost less than £5.

They were inspired by Chinese wisdom and designed to give Brits healthier alternatives to pricey takeaways.

Try Ken’s recipes, made with Chinese sauces from Lee Kum Kee.

Vegan-friendly Sichuan dan dan noodles

Serves 4

Cost per person: 90p

YOU NEED:

• 1 tbsp groundnut or vegetable oil
• 110g courgette, finely chopped
• 1 tbsp garlic, finely chopped
• 2 tsp fresh ginger, finely chopped
• 2 tbsp Lee Kum Kee Chilli Garlic Sauce
• 1 tbsp Lee Kum Kee Premium Dark Soy Sauce
• 2 tsp Lee Kum Kee Chiu Chow Chilli Oil
• 2 tbsp Shaoxing rice wine or dry sherry
• 1 tbsp peanut butter
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 450ml vegetable stock
• 225g dried wholewheat noodles

METHOD:

Heat a wok or large frying pan over high heat and add the oil.

Add the courgette, garlic, ginger and stir-fry for 1 minute.

Add the rest of the ingredients. Reduce the heat and simmer for 3 minutes over low heat.

Cook the noodles in a large pot of boiling water according to the pack instructions. Drain them well in a colander.

Divide the noodles into four individual bowls and ladle the sauce over them. Serve at once.

Braised cauliflower with oyster sauce

Serves 4

Cost per person: 87p

YOU NEED:

• 1 large cauliflower
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1 tbsp finely grated fresh ginger
• 1 tsp Lee Kum Kee Premium Light Soy Sauce
• 4 tbsp Lee Kum Kee Premium Oyster Sauce
• 200ml water
• 2 tsp Lee Kum Kee Pure Sesame Oil

To garnish:

• 2 spring onions, trimmed and finely shredded

METHOD:

Break cauliflower into small florets about 4cm wide and discard thick stalks. Heat wok or large frying pan over high heat until hot.

Add oil. When it is very hot and slightly smoking, add garlic and ginger.

Stir-fry for about 20 seconds to flavour oil. Quickly add the cauliflower florets and stir-fry for a minute.

Add the two sauces and water, then turn the heat down and simmer for 5-6 minutes or until the cauliflower is tender with a little bite.

Stir in the Sesame oil and turn on to a warm serving platter.

Sprinkle with spring onions. Serve with brown rice and prawn crackers.

Pork with chu hou sauce

Serves 4

Cost per person: £1.08

YOU NEED:

• 400g pork tenderloin fillet
• 2 tsp Lee Kum Kee Premium Light Soy Sauce
• 3 tbsp Lee Kum Kee Chinese Five-Spice (Chu Hou) Sauce
• 2 tsp cornflour
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 small red onion, finely sliced
• 1 red, yellow or orange pepper, cored and cut into chunks
• 1 spring onion, trimmed and finely sliced

METHOD:

Slice pork into 2cm thick slices and place in a bowl.

Add the Soy Sauce, Chinese Five-Spice (Chu Hou) Sauce and cornflour. Mix well and let the slices steep in the marinade for about 15 minutes.

Heat wok or large frying pan over high heat until it is very hot.

Add the oil.

When very hot and slightly smoking, add the marinated pork and stir-fry for 2-3 minutes or until golden on the edges.

Use a slotted spoon to transfer the pork to a plate.

Return the wok to the heat, add the onions and peppers and stir-fry for 2 minutes.

Finally, return the pork to the wok along with the sauce and mix well for a minute.

Toss in spring onions and serve.

Stir-fried pepper chicken with mangetout

Serves 4

Cost per person: £1.15

YOU NEED:

• 320g pack chicken mini breast fillets
• 2 tsp Lee Kum Kee Premium Light Soy Sauce
• ¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tsp cornflour
• 1 red, yellow or orange pepper, cored
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 75g mange-tout, trimmed
• 1 tbsp Lee Kum Kee Sichuan Style Hot & Spicy Stir Fry Sauce
• 150ml water

METHOD:

Cut each mini chicken fillet in two or three pieces and place in a bowl.

Add the Light Soy Sauce, pepper and cornflour.

Mix well until the chicken is coated in the mixture, then allow to marinade for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, cut the peppers into 2cm thin strips.

Heat wok or large frying pan until it is hot.

Add half the oil and when it is very hot and slightly smoking, add the chicken and stir-fry for 3 minutes.

Use a slotted spoon to transfer the chicken to a plate.

Clean the wok or pan, re-heat it and add the remaining oil.

When it is hot, stir-fry the peppers for 2 minutes.

Add the mange tout to the wok and stir-fry for one minute more.

Finally return the chicken to the wok or frying pan, along with the sauce and water, stir-frying to mix everything together.

Serve with fine egg noodles.

Country-style aubergine

Serves 4

Cost per person 96p

YOU NEED:

• 2 medium aubergines
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 200g pork mince
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 tbsp finely grated fresh ginger
• 2 tbsp Lee Kum Kee Sweet Soy Sauce
• 2 tsp white sugar
• 2 tsp Lee Kum Kee Chiu Chow Chilli Oil
• 120ml water
• Spring onion, trimmed and finely sliced

METHOD:

Trim and cut the aubergine into 2.5cm (1inch) cubes.

Place in a colander and leave them to drain for 20 minutes.

Rinse them under cold running water and pat them dry with kitchen paper.

Pour the oil into a wok or large frying pan and carefully heat.

When it is very hot and slightly smoking, add the aubergine and stir fry for 4 minutes or until it is golden on all sides.

Use a slotted spoon to lift the aubergine on to a plate.

Add the pork to the hot wok and stir-fry for 3 minutes.

Then add the garlic and ginger and stir-fry the mixture for 2 minutes.

Next, add the Soy Sauce, sugar, Chilli Oil and water.

Bring the mixture to a boil and return the aubergines to the wok.

Continue to cook over high heat until the aubergine is tender and most of the liquid has evaporated.

Sprinkle with spring onions, then serve at once or let cool and serve at room temperature.

Easy tasty braised fish

Serves 4

Cost per person: £1.08

YOU NEED:

• 500g white fish fillets, thawed if frozen
• 1 spring onion
• For the sauce:
• 150ml water
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 1 tbsp Lee Kum Kee Oriental Sesame Soy Sauce
• 2 tsp Lee Kum Kee Seasoned Rice Vinegar
• 1 tsp cornflour, blended with 2 teaspoons water
• 1 tbsp finely grated fresh ginger
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

METHOD:

Rinse the fish in cold water, then drain and pat dry with kitchen paper. Cut into 5cm pieces.

Trim the spring onion, slicing the white part and finely shredding the green.

Put the green into a bowl of cold water and it will start to curl.

Put the water, sugar, Soy Sauce, vinegar and cornflour in a wok or large frying pan and slowly bring to the boil.

Stir in ginger, garlic and white spring onions.

Then gently lay the fish fillets on top in a single layer.

Reduce the heat and gently simmer the fish over a low heat for 4-5 minutes, without stirring, until it has turned opaque.

Spoon on to a platter, scatter over the curled green onions and serve at once with cooked brown rice and tender stem broccoli.