Midweek Meals: Five quick and easy dinners ready in under thirty minutes

Chicken teriyaki, burrito bowls and even a Korean rice bowl - it's all possible in half an hour

Five delicious quick and easy meals that the whole family will enjoy.

Chicken Teriyaki

Serve this chicken with rice and shredded pickled or fermented red cabbage

Servings

4

Preparation Time

 5 mins

Cooking Time

 10 mins

Total Time

 15 mins

Course

 Main

Ingredients

• 1kg chicken thighs, boned

• 15g flour

• Rapeseed oil/chicken fat

• Sea salt

• For the sauce:

• 150ml sake

• 150ml mirin

• 75ml soy sauce

• 15g sugar

• A few sprigs of fresh thyme

• 1 bay leaf

• Sea salt

Method

1. Toss the chicken in seasoned flour and allow to stand while you make the sauce.

2. Place all the ingredients for the sauce in a pot and bring to the boil.

3. Fry the chicken in oil/fat in a frying pan until nicely browned.

4. Pour the sauce into the pan and spoon over the chicken.

5. Reduce the sauce by half or until it comes syrupy.

Korean spicy beef rice bowl

recipe by:Colm O'Gorman

This is one of my favourite midweek meals. It is ready in twenty minutes and satisfies any craving I have for a takeaway

Servings

4

Preparation Time

 10 mins

Cooking Time

 20 mins

Total Time

 30 mins

Course

 Main

Cuisine

 Korean

Ingredients

• 500g minced beef

• 1 onion

• 3 cloves garlic

• 1 tbsp grated ginger

• 45ml honey

• 60ml soy sauce

• 1 ½ tsp Korean red pepper flake powder or chilli flakes

• ½ tsp fresh ground black pepper

• 3 tbsp toasted sesame oil

• 1 red pepper

• 1 corn on the cob

• 200g tender stem broccoli

• 200g sugar snap peas

• A handful of cashew nuts

• 450g brown rice

• 2 spring onions

• Sliced fresh red chilli

• Some fresh chopped coriander

Method

1. Rinse the rice well. Put into a saucepan with 900ml cold water and some salt. Cover, bring to the boil, and then simmer until the water is absorbed about ten to twelve minutes. Then remove the pan from the heat, take off the lid and let it stand for five minutes to allow any excess moisture to evaporate away.

2. While the rice is cooking, get on with the stir-fry. First, make your sauce. In a bowl, combine the soya sauce, garlic, ginger, red pepper powder or chilli flakes, black pepper, honey, and half of the toasted sesame oil.

3. Peel, halve and slice the onion. Wash and prepare the rest of the vegetables. Remove the stalk and seeds from the red pepper, then slice it. Cut the kernels away from the cob of corn. Chop the tender stem broccoli into pieces about three centimetres long. Keep the sugar snap peas whole.

4. Heat a wok over a high flame. Add the rest of the sesame oil. Reduce to a medium/high heat and toss in the sliced onion. Stir fry it for a few minutes until it starts to soften and brown a little. Now add the beef and keep stir-frying until it is well browned. Add the broccoli, stir fry for a minute or two, before adding the sugar snap peas and corn, again, stir-frying all the time. 

5. Add the red pepper and stir fry for another two minutes. Finally, add the sauce and a handful of cashew nuts. Coat everything well in the sauce, stir-frying for another two to three minutes to cook the ginger and garlic and develop all those gorgeous flavours.

6. Now plate up. This recipe makes four generous portions. Put a quarter of the rice into each bowl. Add the spicy beef, and then finish with the spring onion, chopped coriander and some sliced fresh red chilli.