Prepare the marinade. Clean the shrimp, pat them dry and set them aside to marinate.

Cut the ham into 2 mm / 1/8 in slices, then cut it into 1 cm 1/2 in squares. Set aside.

Cut the mushrooms horizontally in halves. Set aside.

Heat the oil. When it is hot add the shrimp, stirring to separate. After 30 seconds remove and drain. Set aside.

Fry the beans and button mushrooms in the oil for 1 1/2 minutes over a high heat. Remove, drain and set aside.

Heat 3 tbsp oil in the pan. Saute for 30 seconds, stir and add the broad beans, ham and mushrooms. Add the remaining ingredients, stir and bring to the boil quickly.

Continue to stir-fry over high heat for 1 1/2 minutes and serve.

Blanch the sprouts in a pan of salted, boiling water. Pour them into a colander and rinse in cold water until cool. Drain.

Place the sprouts in a bowl or a deep dish and add the soy sauce, vinegar and sesame seed oil. Toss well and garnish with thinly shredded onions just before serving.

Cut the bean curd into about 12 small pieces and harden the pieces in a pot of lightly salted boiling water for 2-3 minutes. Remove and drain.

Trim the French (green) beans or mange-toute (snow peas). Leave whole if small; cut in half if large.

Cut the vegetables into thin slices or chunks.

Heat about half of the oil in a flameproof casserole or saucepan. When hot, lightly brown the bean curd on both sides. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.

Heat the remaining oil and stir-fry the rest of the vegetables for about 1V2 minutes. Add the bean curd pieces, salt, sugar and soy sauce and continue stirring to blend everything well. Covei; reduce the heat and simmer for 2-3 minutes.

Mix the cornflour with water to make a smooth paste, pour it over the vegetables and stit Increase the heat to high just long enough to thicken the gravy. Serve hot.

Cut the broccoli and bamboo shoots into uniformly small pieces.

Heat a wok over a high heat, add about half of the oil and wait for it to smoke. Swirl the pan so that its surface is well greased. Add the bean curd pieces and shallow-fry them on both sides until golden, then scoop them out with a slotted spoon and set them aside.

Heat the remaining oil and add the broccoli. Stir for about 30 seconds and then add the Wooden Ears, bamboo shoots and the partly cooked bean curd.

Continue stirring for 1 minute and then add the salt, sugar, spring onions, soy sauce and wine. Blend well and when the gravy starts to boil, thicken it with the cornflour and water mixture. Serve hot.

Wash the broccoli and cut into whole florets. Do not discard the stalks; peel off the tough outer skin and cut them into small pieces.

Cut the bamboo shoots into slices, or, if using winter bamboo shoots, cut them into roughly the same size pieces as the broccoli stalks.

Wash and trim the mushrooms. Do not peel if using fresh ones. Canned oyster mushrooms are ready to cook; just drain off the water.

Heat a wok or large frying pan over high heat until really hot. Add the oil and wait for it to smoke. Then stir the oil with a scooper or spatula so that most of the surface of the wok is well greased.

Add the broccoli first, and stir until well coated with oil. Then add the bamboo shoots and mushrooms and continue stirring for about 1 minute.

Add the Wooden Ears, salt and sugar and stir for another minute or so. The vegetables should produce enough natural juices to form a thick gravy; if the contents in the wok are too dry, add a little water and bring to the boil before serving.

The sesame seed oil should not be added until the very last minute.

Cut the shoots into thin slices not much bigger than the mushrooms.

Heat up the oil until it smokes; stir-fry the mushrooms and bamboo shoots for about 1 minute; add soy sauce and sugar, stir, add 4 tbsp mushroom stock (soaking water).

Bring it to the boil and cook for about 2 minutes; add monosodium glutamate, if using, and cornflour (cornstarch). Blend together very well, then add sesame seed oil and serve.

Make a crisscross pattern on each half and marinate them with the egg white and 1/2 tbsp cornflour (cornstarch).

Finely chop the onion and ginger root. Heat up about 4 3/8 cups / 1 l / 1 3/4 pts oil in a wok and, before the oil gets too hot, put in the prawns (shrimp) piece by piece; fry until golden, take them out and drain.

Leave about 1 tbsp oil on the wok; stir-fry the finely chopped onion and ginger root until their colour changes, then put in the prawns (shrimp); stir and add sugar and continue stirring until all the sugar has dissolved.

Add the remaining cornflour (cornstarch) mixed with the chicken stock, blend well, then serve.

You will find this dish quite different from the ones you have tasted in ordinary Chinese restaurants; the secret is in the method of cooking.

Pour the wine or sherry over them, add the onion whites cut to 2.5 cm / 1 in lengths; and then cover and marinate for 5 minutes.

Slice the celery and carrot; parboil with the peas for 5 minutes. Drain and add to the prawns (shrimp).

Mix together both the sauce ingredients and then pour it over the prawns (shrimp) and serve.

Finely chop the onion whites. Pull off the heads and shell the prawns (shrimp), but leave the tail pieces firmly attached.

Marinate them with 1/2 tsp salt, egg white and 1/2 tbsp cornflour (cornstarch).

Heat the duck fat (or oil); deep-fry the prawns (shrimp) for about 1 minute; stir to separate them; remove and drain.

Pour off the excess fat; add the stock, salt, rice wine or sherry, cornflour (cornstarch) and onions.

Bring it to the boil; stir to make a thickish smooth gravy; add the prawns (shrimp) and peas; blend well and serve.

Heat the lard in a wok and when it is bubbling deep-fry the prawns (shrimp) twice (3-4 seconds only each time); scoop out and drain.

Pour out all the lard, then return the prawns (shrimp) to the same wok.

Add soy sauce, wine sugar, onions and ginger root; stir a few times; add vinegar and serve.

Finely chop the water chestnuts; mix them with the prawns (shrimp), egg, glutinous rice powder, rice wine or sherry  blend well.

Heat the oil in a deep-fryer; before it gets too hot, take a handful of the prawn (shrimp) mixture and squeeze it through your fist between the thumb and forefinger to form a ball about the size of a walnut. Scoop it off with a wet spoon and dip it into the oil (you should be able to make about 20 balls); fry for about 2 minutes.

Stir to separate them and when they start to turn golden, scoop them out and drain.

Serve with the tomato sauce, and salt and pepper mixed as a dip.

Crack the shell of the claws so that the flesh can be taken out easily.

Make the sauce by heating up the oil in a wok or saucepan; toss in the finely chopped onions and root ginger; add salt, sugai; stock and ground pepper.

Thicken with the cornflour (cornstarch) mixed with a little waten Finally add the sesame seed oil; pour it all over the lobster and serve.

A Steaming lobster produces a purer taste than frying, and if ginger and scallion are used, the flavour is more delicate than with other methods of cooking.

Shred the 3 slices of ginger, bamboo shoots, red pepper carrot, chillies, discarding seeds, and spring onions (scallions).

Heat the remaining oil in a wok or frying pan. When hot, fry the fish for 2 1/2 minutes on each side. Remove and drain.

Add the shredded ginger, bamboo shoots, red pepper carrot, chillies and onions to the remaining oil and stir-fry over medium heat for 1 minute.

Add the lard, soy sauce, stock and half the vinegar and cook for another minute. Lay the fish back in the wok or pan and cook gently for 2 minutes on both sides, basting.

Transfer the fish to a serving dish. Stir the remaining vinegar into the wok, then add the blended cornflour, stirring over high heat until the sauce thickens.

Pour the sauce from the wok over the length of the fish and garnish with the shredded vegetables.

Heat about 2 1/2 cups / 600 ml / l pt oil in a wok. Before the oil gets too hot, add the lamb cubes, separate them with chopsticks or a fork, then scoop them out and drain.

Pour off the excess oil and leave about 2 tbsp in the wok.

Put in the onions followed by the lamb cubes, salt, soy sauce, rice wine or sherry and the remaining cornflour (cornstarch); stir for 1-2 minutes; add the sesame seed oil, stir a few more times, then serve.

Cut the pork, mushrooms, bean-curd and ginger root into small slices; cut the onions into short lengths.

Deep-fry the fish-head over a moderate heat for 10 minutes or until golden. Remove.

Heat a little oil in a sand-pot or casserole. Put in the ginger root and onions, followed by pork, mushrooms and bean-curd; stir for a while then add rice wine or sherry, sugar, soy sauce, stock and the fish-head; bring it to the boil; add a little salt, reduce heat and simmer for about 7 minutes.

Garnish with onions, red chilli and Chinese parsley (fresh coriander). Serve in a sand-pot or casserole. It is absolutely delicious.

wine or sherry, soy sauce, cornflour (cornstarch) and a little oil; leave to marinate for 10 minutes.

Cut the bamboo shoots and carrot into slices the same size as the beef, cut the broccoli into small florets.

Deep-fry the beef in warm oil for 1 1/2 minutes; remove and drain.

Pour off the excess oil leaving about 2 tbsp oil in the wok. Wait until it smokes, toss in the ginger root, broccoli, bamboo shoots, carrot and mushrooms; add salt, stir a few times then add the beef with oyster sauce and stock; cook together for 1 minute. Serve hot.

Heat up the oil until smoking, deep-fry the beef slices for about 30 seconds only, stir with chopsticks to separate them, then quickly scoop them out with a perforated spoon.

Now heat up about 1 tbsp oil in a wok and toss in the onions and garlic. When they start to turn golden, put in the beef slices, add vinegar, rice wine (or sherry) and the remaining soy sauce, stir-fry for about 30 seconds, then it is done.

A simple dish,but the quality of the beef steak, the degree af heat and the timing all must be right.

Shred the celery and leeks the same size (Chinese leeks are a cross between the Western leek and spring onion (scallion) with thin skin and green foliage).

Peel the ginger root and cut it into thin shreds as well.

Heat up the wok or pan and put in the oil. When it starts to smoke, stir-fry the beef for a short while, add the chilli puree (paste), blend well, then add the celery, leek and ginger root, followed by the soy sauce, salt, sugar and wine.

Stir for 1-2 minutes, then add vinegar and serve.

Put the five-spice powder into a large pot or casserole, add sugar; soy sauce and about 5 cups / 1.2 l / 2 pt water; bring it to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer until it turns dark brown. This is the master sauce, which can be used over and over again; the flavour improves each time it is used, though after using it four or five times, you will have to add more five-spice powden

Now parboil the chicken for 2 to 3 minutes, then place it in another pot of clean boiling water; add the ginger root and onion; cook for about 40 minutes over a gentle heat; remove and let it cool for a short while.

Cook the chicken in the ‘master sauce’ for about 15 minutes, turning it over once or twice so that the entire chicken has become dark red. Remove the meat from the sauce and drain.

Heat up the oil over a high heat until smoking, then fry the chicken for about 15 minutes until the skin becomes dark brown but not quite burnt; remove.

Chop up the chicken with a sharp cleaver and arrange it neatly on a plate and serve.

Take the meat off the bone, and cut it into 2.5 x lcm / l x 1/2 in strips.

Cut the mushrooms, dried red chillies, ginger root and onions into shreds, crush the peppercorns.

Warm up the oil, first put in the chillies, ginger root, onions and pepper then add the chicken and mushrooms, stir for a few seconds.

Now add salt, soy sauce, vinegar and spirit; when the juice starts to bubble, add the cornflour (cornstarch) mixed with a little water; blend well; add the sesame seed oil just before serving.

You may think this a Sichuan dish, but there is a subtle difference.