Okay, let’s start off with some simple healthy Chinese recipes, boiled rice and fried rice. One is the quintessential accompaniment to a Chinese dinner, while the other is your classic takeaway dish from the local Chinese restaurant.

But, with just a little tweaking we can make the former have a bit of life and color, and the latter an easy to knock up dish after a long day at work.

Now, these are both suitable for beginners and vegetarians.

Boiled Rice… with a difference

Right, this is using a rice cooker. All cup measurements refer to the rice cooker cup, which is about 3/4 size of a US measuring cup.

1. Measure the rice. 1 1/2 cups is enough for two people.
2. Wash the rice until the water runs clear.
3. Put the rice in the pot and add water. 2 cups of water per cup of rice is enough.
4. Add some extras – sweet corn, peas, sun-dried tomatoes, diced carrots, pineapple chunks. These will add flavor, color and nutrition to the rice!
5. Put the pot back in the cooker, close the lid and switch on the cooker.
6. Don’t open the lid until the cooker switches itself off. That’s right, it will do the rest of the work for you.
7. Dish up.
8. Please remember, if the cooker doesn’t keep the rice warm, to refrigerate all uneaten rice ASAP.

Do you like your rice hard or soft? I’m a hard man myself, but enough boasting, ha-ha! Basically, if you like your rice soft then add more water, and vice versa.

Fried Rice

Right, this is great for using leftover rice. You can add loads of stuff. This recipe will be a simple, egg fried rice. For you meaties you can add pre-cooked shrimps or meat strips to the wok in step 5.

1. Prepare your ingredients – beat one egg per person, chop up some spring onions, dice up some veggies (or use canned or frozen ones).
2. Add a little oil to the wok (or large frying pan). Heat up high and when the oil is hot, add the eggs. Cook until set and then remove from wok and put to the side.
3. Add some more oil and let it get hot. Fry your onions until they just start to turn golden. Remove from wok and set aside.
4. Add more oil if needed and keep the heat medium-high. Put in your veggies and cook until tender, but not too long. We don’t want to lose all their goodness!
5. Add a bit more oil. Throw in the rice, eggs and onions. Add a teaspoon of soy sauce (or more if you like it). Cook through, and make sure to keep an eye on the rice to stop it burning. You’ll need to do lots of tossing and flipping with the rice to make sure everything is getting cooked through. It’s sweaty work!
6. Serve.

Please note, many Chinese people like to add a teaspoon of crushed red chillies at step 5. If you’re feeling adventurous or you’ve got a cold, I suggest you do the same!

What, no meat?

Now the beauty of rice is that apart from being a gorgeously healthy Chinese food, simple to cook, and cleverly versatile, it is also a perfect vegetarian food. So, the recipes above are all Chinese vegetarian recipes, too, though they can be easily adapted to include meat if that’s your cup of… um… gravy?

So, there you go two healthy Chinese recipes that you can go and make straightaway!