Suffolk private chef Lilian Hiw of Lilian’s Kitchen puts an Asian twist on Christmas leftovers

What should we do with all the leftover food from Christmas day? This is a common dilemma, indeed.

For some, it could be the ultimate Christmas sandwich, stacked high with roast turkey, honey-glazed ham, smoked salmon, stuffing, squashed up roast potatoes, cranberry sauce and mustard; our record is a 12cm tall Christmas tower stack between two baps! The day after? Perhaps a turkey curry, or rissoles made with all the tiny scrapings of meat and vegetables, or a broth from the bones and vegetables with a handful of barley pearls?

After all the feasting and abundance of rich food over the Christmas period, I often crave simple comfort food. My favourite go-to has got to be congee and soupy noodles.

Let’s explore more options for Christmas leftovers with an Asian theme. . .

CONGEE

Made by boiling rice in a large amount of liquid until the rice softens, also known as ‘Jook’ in Cantonese. When made with bone broth, it is specially nourishing and healing for the soul, just like the good old chicken noodle soup. Congee has been an ancient remedy to sort out a troubled digestive system and it is such a fun and versatile dish to prepare; you can chuck almost anything in it - meat, poultry, fish, seafood, offal and eggs.

My family used to sell pigs' intestine congee on a hawker stall, customers would come from far and wide, queuing patiently for a bowl of Dad’s congee for breakfast. Topped with julienne of fresh ginger, spring onions and fresh coriander, white pepper and a drizzle of sesame oil, a piping bowl of congee makes one happy and helps to start the day well.

You could enjoy a turkey, ham and smoked salmon congee this year on Boxing Day!

‘SOUPY’ NOODLES

When ordering a noodle dish from a hawker stall, you have two choices - ‘soup noodle’ or ‘dry noodles’. Soup noodles are served in a broth and dry noodles are cooked then drained and tossed in a sauce and the broth is served separately in a bowl.

Oyster sauce, light or dark soy sauce, chilli sauce or sambal, sesame oil or fried lard are some of the condiments used to flavour the dry noodles.

Our family calls it ‘soupy’ noodles, eating a steaming bowl of slippery noodles in broth is really comforting. We have a family tradition of doing just that every time we return home after a trip coming off the plane.

Stand by some instant ramen noodles this Christmas, cook the noodles in water for 1 minute, add the seasoning that comes with the ramen packet to create the broth, add your choice of meat and vegetables from the Christmas table, bring it back up to a boil, serve topped with some spring onions or crispy onions and a dusting of white pepper - enjoy your soupy noodles!

CRUNCHY RAMEN COLESLAW

We chatted salad in the June column, and Brussels sprouts would work so well in this crunchy ramen coleslaw. Finely slice the sprouts, some cabbage, carrots and red onion, toss them all together with a dollop of mayonnaise and a little cider vinegar. Crush a packet of ramen noodles in its bag, sprinkle on top of the salad just before serving.

STIR-FRY

Pick up a bag of beansprouts and fresh noodles from the supermarket; the yellow noodles are chewy and bouncy and the rice noodles are gluten free. Heat up a frying pan till smoking, drizzle vegetable oil around the pan, heat up the oil, add noodles and toss lightly to get a smoky flavour. Add oyster sauce, light soy sauce, sliced Christmas ham or turkey and beansprouts, mix well. Mix a spoonful of cornflour in some cold tap water, pour over the noodles to create a sauce. This sauce will lightly coat the ingredients, give a luscious mouth feel and consistent taste with every mouthful.

Or go carbs free: cut all ingredients about the same size and stir fry with the same sauce, or black bean garlic sauce or hoisin sauce are great choices too.

PARCELS

The sky is the limit. You can chop up your choice of leftover meat and vegetables, season with Chinese, Indian, Thai, Japanese or Korean flavours; steam, boil, pan-fry, deep fry or bake the little parcels. Make some gyoza, jiaozi, wonton or spring rolls, and you can use up leftover potatoes in samosas and curry puffs.

I hope you will try your hand in making some of these dishes this Christmas.

LILIAN’S COOKBOOK

I have exciting news, my cookbook is almost finished. I’ll be sharing recipes from 10 Asian countries, including canapés, starters, mains, desserts and Asian beverages.

The book, Home Cooked Food, is created for both the novice or experienced cook, the recipes have been tested multiple times, used by my students in my cookery classes and further tested by a panel of home cooks and professional friends for the purpose of this cookbook. The methods are easy to understand and to follow, the ingredients are readily available from shops or online in the UK. There are lots of tips, trade secrets and visuals for each recipe.

Don’t miss this chance to pre-order a signed and personalised cookbook for yourself or as a Christmas present for your foodie friends or family, who like to cook Asian food or are cookbook collectors. Gift Cards are available now, and the cookbook will be launched in spring next year.

Check out the pre-order discount on this link: www.lilianskitchen.co.uk/product-page/pre-order-lilians-kitchen-cookbook

All of us at Lilian’s Kitchen would like to wish you a Merry Christmas and A Very Happy New Year.

Till the next time, take care of yourself.

Private chef Lilian Hiw