Midweek Meals: Five family-friendly dinners ready in 30 minutes or less

Get your week off to a yummy start with these quick and easy family dinners

Dinner in under thirty minutes? Yes please

Fast fakeaway fried rice

Ideal for days when the fridge needs a clear out, use whatever vegetables you have

Servings

4

Preparation Time

 5 mins

Cooking Time

 12 mins

Total Time

 17 mins

Course

 Main

Ingredients

• 1 onion- red/white/scallion/shallot

• 4 cloves garlic

• 1 red chilli or chilli flakes or chilli powder

• 200g leftover protein bits- chicken/tofu/veg/prawns

• Soy sauce

• Honey

• 1 tablespoons fish sauce or shrimp paste(optional)

• 200g cooked cold rice (it is truly best to use less fresh rice)

• 100g of empty the fridge veg- scallions, peas, cubed carrots, pak choi

• 1 tomato or a few cherry tomatoes

• Salt and pepper

• Oil for frying

Method

1. Fry your onions in some oil over a hot heat for a few minutes and then add your garlic and chilli.

2. Season the onions, garlic and chilli with some salt. Fry for a further 3-4 minutes.

3. Now add in your strips of chicken/tofu/veg/prawns and fry for at least 5 more minutes or until a little golden. If raw, be sure to cool them through.

4. In a little dish, you can mix up your soy sauce, honey, and fish sauce or shrimp paste.

5. Add your rice, any extra veg, tomato and your sauce to the pan. Stir it all together and fry for another minute or two until everything is cooked and piping hot. Taste and add seasoning as desired.

6. Serve with a freshly fried crispy egg.
   
   Photo by Momo King from Pexels

Pork fillet stroganoff

recipe by:Darina Allen

Yoghurt gives this dish the tang it needs. Don't skimp on the cornflour - it is essential for stabilising the sauce

Servings

4

Preparation Time

 10 mins

Cooking Time

 15 mins

Total Time

 25 mins

Course

 Main

Ingredients

• 1tbsp vegetable oil

• 500g (18oz) pork tenderloin, cut into thick strips about 1 cm wide

• 15g (½oz) unsalted butter

• 1 onion, peeled and finely chopped

• 250g (9oz) closed cup mushrooms, wiped and thickly sliced

• 1 tsp fresh thyme leaves

• 1tbsp Worcestershire sauce

• 1tbsp Dijon mustard

• 1tsp paprika

• 150g  Greek yoghurt

• 1tbsp cornflour mixed with 100ml cold water

• Freshly ground black pepper

Method

1. Preheat a large non-stick frying pan over a high heat and add the oil . Add the pork and stir fry for 2-3 minutes until lightly browned. Remove from the pan.

2. Add the butter to the pan, then the onion, mushrooms and thyme and pan fry until just softened. Stir in the Worcestershire sauce, mustard and paprika.

3. Return the pork with its juices to the pan and mix well. Combine the yogurt and cornflour mixture and fold through the meat to warm through. Season with pepper.

4. You may like to add a little extra water for a thinner sauce or another tub of yogurt for a creamier sauce.

Spaghetti with bacon and chilli

Chef Mark Moriarty shares the pasta dish he turns to when the last thing he wants to do is cook a meal

Servings

4

Preparation Time

 5 mins

Cooking Time

 15 mins

Total Time

 20 mins

Course

 Main

Ingredients

• 200g dried pasta

• 100g rindless streaky bacon 

• 4 garlic cloves, crushed 

• 2 chillies, diced 

• large handful parsley, chopped (if available) 

• 100g Parmesan, grated 

• 1 lemon, juice and zest 

• olive oil

Method

1. Place the pasta in boiling salted water, cook until just tender (6 minutes). 

2. In a pot, heat the olive oil. Cut the bacon into lardons, fry in oil until crispy. Add the garlic and chilli and cook over a medium heat for two minutes or until the garlic has started to turn golden, season heavily. 

3. Remove the pasta from the water and add to the oil mix, add a ladle full of pasta water, followed by the parmesan, lemon juice, zest and parsley.

4. Season with some more olive oil, lemon and salt and serve in warm bowls.

Honey and ginger stir fry

recipe by:Darina Allen

This delicious stir fry works well with chicken or tofu and really benefits from as much time marinating as possible

Servings

4

Preparation Time

 20 mins

Cooking Time

 10 mins

Total Time

 30 mins

Course

 Main

Cuisine

 Chinese

Ingredients

• 600g pork fillets, cut into 5mm slices

• 60 ml vegetable oil

• 2 spring onions, trimmed and cut into 10cm lengths

• 1 tbsp malt vinegar

• 1 tbsp light soy sauce

• 1 tbsp water

• 2 limes, halved

• 2 tbsp honey

• 2 tbsp light soy sauce

• 2 tbsp shao hsing wine or dry sherry

• 2 tbsp finely diced ginger

• 1 tbsp oyster sauce

• 2 tsp dark soy sauce

• 2 tsp five spice powder

• ½ tsp sesame oil

Method

1. Combine pork with marinade ingredients in a large bowl, and leave to marinate in the refrigerator for 20 minutes or overnight.

2. Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a hot wok until the surface seems to shimmer slightly.

3. Add half the marinated pork and stir-fry for 30 seconds. Remove from wok with a slotted spoon and set aside. Heat remaining oil in the wok, add remaining pork and stir-fry for another 30 seconds.

4. Return reserved pork to the wok with spring onions, vinegar, soy sauce and water. Stir-fry for a further minute or until pork is just cooked through and lightly browned.

5. Arrange pork on a platter and serve with lime halves.
   Simple Chinese Cooking by Kylie Kwong is published by Penguin.

Coconut chicken with spices and herbs

recipe by:Darina Allen

This deeply flavoured is rich and silky smooth, with tender chicken bites and is ready in less than half an hour

Servings

4

Preparation Time

 10 mins

Cooking Time

 15 mins

Total Time

 25 mins

Course

 Main

Ingredients

• 1 tsp cumin seeds

• 1 tsp coriander seeds

• 4 cardamom pods (optional)

• 1 large onion, finely chopped

• 1 celery stick, finely chopped

• thumb size of grated ginger

• 4 garlic cloves

• 2 limes — one for zest and juice, the other for serving

• 1 chilli, finely chopped, or use a dried chilli that has been soaked in boiling water

• big bunch of coriander (or parsley); separate the stalks from the leaves and chop the stalks finely

• salt

• pepper

• 1 tin of coconut milk

• coriander or parsley leaves, lightly chopped

• 400g chicken, picked from the leftover roast chicken

• 1 bunch of spring onions, finely chopped (optional)

• 500g cooked rice

• Equipment:

• wok, saucepan, or big frying pan

Method

1. Heat the wok and toast the cumin, coriander and cardamom for a couple of minutes. Next add a little oil to the toasted spices and add the onions, celery, ginger, lime zest, chilli and herb stalks, season with salt and pepper and soften over a low heat for about five minutes. You might need a little more oil but make sure you do not brown the vegetables.

2. Add the coconut milk, bring to the boil and let it simmer for a few minutes. Finally add the chicken and let it warm through without letting it boil. Add the lime juice and sprinkle the top with the chopped coriander leaves and spring onions.

3. Reheat the rice by heating a pan to very hot and adding a drop of oil to coat the bottom. Stir fry the rice until very hot. Serve with segments of lime. This is a great way to use up bits of odd vegetables that are hanging around in your fridge. To bulk it out, add a bag of frozen spinach (defrosted) towards the end or serve spinach separately with a good squeeze of lemon juice.