Serves 4.

Chinese Chook

Ingredients: 16 chicken wings, ½ cup soy sauce, 2/3 cup soft brown sugar, 1/3 cup white wine vinegar, cucumber (sliced finely)

Instructions: Pre-heat the oven to 220C. Into a saucepan, put 1 tbsp of sugar and half the vinegar. Put to one side. In a roasting tin mix the remaining vinegar, sugar and soy and coat the chicken wings. Roast for 45 minutes until beautifully crispy. Retrieve the saucepan and bring the sticky liquid to the boil, stirring until the sugar has dissolved. Pour over the chicken wings and serve with crunchy cucumber. So damn good.

Fiery Fish

Ingredients: 4 sea bass fillets, vegetable oil, chunk of ginger (grated), 2 garlic cloves (crushed), 2 red chillies (chopped), 2 spring onions (sliced), splash of soy sauce.

Instructions: score the fish skin and season all over, heat a dash of vegetable oil in a pan and fry the fish (skin side first) until the skin is gloriously golden. Flip over and cook for a further minute. Then put to one side. Fry the chillies, garlic and ginger for a couple of minutes before adding the spring onion. I like this hot hot hot. To serve pile the fiery mix onto the fish and splash over some soy sauce. Taste sensation.   

Green Queen

Ingredients: 400g green vegetables, 4 cloves of garlic, vegetable oil, 1/3 cup chicken stock.

Instructions: Heat the oil in a saucepan until hot then add the garlic cloves and fry to flavour the oil. Add your greens and stir to coat with the garlicky oil. Not one to make pre-Life/Cindies/Fez: it’s not just the vampires that will be avoiding you. Add the stock and cover. Leave the vegetables to steam for about 5 minutes. So good it’s practically a meal in itself.

Red Dragon Rolls

Ingredients: nut oil, red chilli (chopped), smattering of freshly grated ginger, 2 cloves of crushed garlic, bag of stir-fry vegetables, splash of rice wine vinegar, splosh of soy sauce, filo pastry sheets, beaten egg, sesame seeds (optional), sweet chilli sauce.

Instructions: Heat the oil in a hot pan until very hot and add the chilli, ginger and garlic. Stir and fry until golden. Drop in the veg, vinegar and soy. Fry for a couple of minutes or less to allow the flavours to take hold. Leave the veg to drain (pop in a sieve). Cut each sheet of pastry into 4 rectangles (your aiming for 16 overall) and spoon some veg onto the middle end of each rectangle. Roll them up, baby. Think a pimped-up filled pancake. Brush each with the egg and sprinkle with seeds. Pop into a hot oven for 20 minutes until gorgeously golden. Serve with a dollop of sweet chilli sauce and you’ll be laughing.

Serve with brilliantly boiled rice, prawn crackers and a good dose of Chinese New Year Cheer. Stop horsing around and get on with it.