Cooking on a Budget: A nutritious pork recipe by chef Ken Hom

Authentic Chinese sauce brand Lee Kum Kee and celebrity chef Ken Hom, CBE, have created a new series of Chinese Wisdom-inspired recipes.

The recipes have been created to help us make healthier, more affordable seasonal home-cooked alternatives to takeaways and ready meals at home.

Mr Hom said: “New research shows that Brits love Asian food and want to spend less, though they can feel intimidated about where to start when it comes to Asian cooking.

“So, I’ve developed five new seasonal recipes, inspired by Chinese Wisdom, as a healthier and more affordable alternative to takeaways and ready meals, helping you to enjoy bigger flavours for less with Lee Kum Kee.”

Chinese Wisdom holds the belief that our bodies should always be in balance and in harmony. This can be done by eating nourishing foods, which are warming, cooling, or neutral, depending on what our body may need or benefit from at that point in time.

Essentially, Chinese Wisdom simply encourages us to be more present and in tune with our body, nourishing it with exactly what it needs so that we may live happy, balanced, healthy and fulfilled lives.

All recipes use seasonal ingredients and have been developed as a healthier, more affordable alternative to takeaways or ready meals.

The recipes come in at £1.20 per person or less, and each meal is designed to feed a family of four, costing less than £5, based on prices from Sainsbury’s in September.

The recipe below provides a quick and simple way to enjoy pork.

Chu hou sauce gives the dish a complex flavour with a hint of barbecue. With a salad or steamed rice, it would be a perfect family meal.

Ken’s pork with chu hou sauce

(Serves 4)

Ingredients

• 400g pork tenderloin fillet (£2.79)
• 2 tsp Lee Kum Kee Premium Light Soy Sauce (4p)
• 3 tbsp Lee Kum Kee Chinese Five-Spice (chu Hou) sauce (42p)
• 2 tsp cornflour (1p)
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil (5p)
• 1 small red onion, finely sliced (9p)
• 1 red, yellow or orange pepper, cored and cut into chunks (48p)
• 1 spring onion, trimmed and finely sliced (7p)

Method

1. Slice pork into 2cm thick slices and place in a bowl.
2. Add the soy sauce, Chinese Five-Spice (chu Hou) sauce and cornflour. Mix well and let the slices steep in the marinade for 15 minutes.
3. 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.
4. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the pork to a plate.
5. Return the wok to the heat, add the onions and peppers and stir-fry for another two minutes.
6. Finally, return the pork to the wok along with the sauce and mix well for a minute.
7. Toss in spring onions and serve.

Recipe total: £3.95; serve with white rice 60p; full meal cost: £4.55 (£4.75 inc energy); cost per person inc energy: £1.19.