Image credit: Getty/Paul Brighton
It’s that time of year again when we have the perfect excuse for eating Chinese food. Not that we ever need one of course.
I love that you can cook all your favourites more easily and quickly with an air fryer, saving you money on your energy bills and on ordering in takeaways.
The air fryer is particularly good for Chinese food as it can replace the oven, the grill, the microwave and the wok - and you'll get the crispiest food imaginable.
But if you fancy giving it a go, how do you get started?
I'm a best-selling Sunday Times air fryer author and cook, with more than 10 years experience, and I've got all the tips you need.
The Complete Air Fryer Cookbook - Sam & Dom Milner (White Lion Publishing RRP: £20
Use fresh egg noodles not dried. You can pick them up from your local supermarket.
These are the kind that you would quickly warm up in the wok and just like the wok cook fast in the air fryer making this recipe an easy go-to.
When you are at the supermarket, they often have a special Chinese deal, where you can get the noodles, the sauce and the stir fry mix.
Choose one of these, then get your desired protein and you have got an excellent priced dinner.
Our favourite simple Chinese food, which was inspired by a favourite Chinese restaurant, is duck and noodles.
We make this in the air fryer with duck breast, egg noodles and a mix of your favourite stir fry ingredients.
Then we use teriyaki, but like I mentioned before, you can mix and match to your personal tastebuds. Super-simple and perfect for busy weeknights.
For the teriyaki sauce
For the stir fry
1. Place the duck breasts, skin-side down, into the air fryer basket/ drawer. Rub the tops of the duck with half the olive oil, sprinkle with the Chinese 5-spice powder, and season generously with salt and pepper. Set the temperature to 180ºC/360ºF and air fry for 5 minutes.
2. Mix all the teriyaki sauce ingredients together in a small bowl. When the air fryer beeps, flip the duck over with tongs and season the skin side with salt and pepper. Brush about ½ tablespoon of the teriyaki sauce over each duck breast using a pastry brush. Air fry the duck at the same temperature for a further 7 minutes, then remove it from the air fryer and allow it to rest.
3. For the stir fry, slice the spring onions and set the green parts aside. Put the spring onions whites and the stir fry vegetables in a mixing bowl and add the Chinese 5-spice powder and the olive oil. Season with salt and pepper and mix well with your hands. Tip the stir fry mix into the air fryer basket/drawer and spread it out. Air fry at 180ºC/360ºF for 8 minutes, or until the stir fry mix is starting to get crispy.
4. Put the remaining teriyaki sauce and the egg noodles into a silicone pan with handles. Once done, add the stir fry vegetables and use a fork to mix everything together so that the noodles and veggies are evenly coated in the sauce.
5. Place the silicone pan into the air fryer basket and air fry at 180ºC/360ºF for a final 5 minutes, or until the egg noodles are heated through.
6. Slice the duck breasts and serve them on top of the stir fried teriyaki noodles, sprinkled with the spring onion greens.
The first food I ever tried at a Chinese restaurant was crispy duck and pancakes.
It’s now my go-to when I order a Chinese takeaway, but you can do it at home in your air fryer.
1. In a small bowl, combine the garlic and ginger purées, honey, soy sauce and oyster sauce. Set half aside in another bowl for serving.
2. Use a knife to create score slashes across the skin of the duck breast, cutting through the fat but making sure you don’t pierce the flesh so it stays juicy. Drizzle the duck with olive oil, sprinkle with the Chinese 5-spice and season with salt and pepper. Rub the seasonings into the duck with your hands until it’s evenly coated.
3. Next, coat the duck with the sauce using a pastry brush, making sure you cover it completely.
4. Tie up the duck legs with string, then push the rod all the way through the duck until it comes out the other side. Feed a clamp onto the rod until the spikes of the clamp are firmly skewering the duck. Repeat for the opposite end so that the bird is clamped in place. Make sure the clamp is attached to duck meat, not the bone.
5. Position the duck so that it is in the middle of the rod. Once in the middle, tighten the screws. Carefully place the duck in the air fryer oven, positioning the rod in the rotisserie socket. Make sure that it is hooked in properly on both sides and that it won’t fall off.
6. Set the temperature to 180ºC/360ºF and air fry the duck for 45 minutes, or until the duck reaches an internal temperature of 60ºC/140ºF or above, depending how you like your duck. Remove the duck from the rod and allow it to cool before carving.
7. While the duck is resting, make your crispy duck platter. Add the reserved sauce to a bowl, get out your pancakes and slice your cucumber and spring onion into thin matchsticks. 08 Once the duck is cool enough to handle, shred the duck. Pile it onto a serving platter with the pancakes, cucumber and spring onion and serve with the sauce on the side.
Everyone can help themselves, filling the pancakes with a layer of the sauce, shredded duck, cucumber and spring onion, then an extra drizzle of the sauce. Crispy duck
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