The Recipe Page

Cooking is the one thing in life I can really class as a hobby. I've decided to share some of my creations with the world - perhaps foolishly, but what the hell.... a new recipe will appear here every two or three weeks.

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No. 6: SWEET AND SOUR KING QUORN

Quorn. A meat substitute. Disgusting, right? Inedible? Well, if it's cooked without care, yes, it often is. It's almost tasteless on its own but is very good at absorbing tastes. As long as you remember that, you can make some fairly interesting veggie meals with it. Note for vegans: Quorn is not vegan as the protein (which is mushroom-based) is held together with egg white.

This recipe turns it into a nice Chinese-style dish. You can serve it as a dish on its own, with rice or noodles, in which case it should be plenty for 2 people. But Chinese food is often nicer with several dishes from which you can pick-and-mix, especially if cooking for several people at a dinner party.

Ingredients:

• 1 pack frozen Quorn or half a pack fresh Quorn (why frozen packs are smaller than fresh packs is beyond me - surely it should be the other way round?)
• for the sweet & sour sauce: 1 medium onion
• some mixed herbs and oil for frying
• 1 Oxo Chinese stock cube
• 1 Oxo vegetable stock cube
• 3 tablespoons tomato puree
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
• for the batter: 2 eggs
• about a third of a pint of full fat milk
• about 4oz plain flour

Method: quick actual cooking time, but fiddly preparation - allow about 45 minutes, plus time to marinade

1. First fry the Quorn in some oil over a medium heat until it starts to brown, then put to one side.
2. Next make the "preliminary" sweet and sour sauce. Dissolve the two stock cubes in about a quarter pint of boiling water and put the stock over a low heat. Stir in one tablespoon of tomato puree. (The reason for not adding all the puree at this stage is that if the sauce is too thick at the marinade stage, it sticks to the Quorn and then the batter won't stay stuck.) Then stir in the soy sauce, sugar and vinegar to taste (the amounts given above are only really for guidance: taste is more accurate than measurements).
3. Put the sauce in a bowl, put the Quorn in it and bung it in the fridge for an hour.
4. Meanwhile, you can make the batter. Break 1 egg into a bowl, add the milk, then sift in the flour and whisk until blended. The batter should be about halfway between the the thickness of double cream and of Mr. Whippy ice cream - and better to make it too thick than too thin.
5. Once the Quorn has marinaded long enough, chop the onion and stir-fry it in the mixed herbs and some oil for about 2 minutes on a high heat. Then use a slatted spoon to get the Quorn out of the marinade, pour that onto the onion, add the rest of the tomato puree and leave simmering until ready to serve.
6. To coat the Quorn in batter, beat the second egg and scatter some flour on a separate plate. Then coat each piece first in the beaten egg, then the flour, then the batter.
7. Deep-fry the battered Quorn until golden brown - if the heat is high enough this should only take about two minutes per piece. Drain of oil afterwards.
8. Serve on a bed of rice or noodles: pour the sweet & sour sauce on first then lay the "Quorn Balls" on top.

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