CHEF and blogger Paul James writes for our paper.

This is without a doubt one of the cheapest meals I have created and if you love Chinese and Italian cuisine this is for you.

How did I come up with this dish? Well I really do wish I could say it was based upon ideas I had from visits to Italy and the Far East – unfortunately my travels have not reached these locations yet.

This simply was a ‘wander into the kitchen to see what was in the cupboard’ kind of meal.

I love these kind of dishes because they are everything a home cook like myself can swap, change and adjust to whatever is available.

If you really wanted to take it up a notch, use sirloin or rump, if you wanted noodles or rice, dump the pasta – cauliflower instead of broccoli, it is up to you.

But just try and keep to the sauce ingredients the same and you will create a perfect dish time and time again.

The sweetness from the honey incorporated with the heat of chilli and black pepper is a perfect combination….

So your real only choice is ‘prawn crackers or garlic bread’.

Visit recipesfrommytravels.com for more on Paul’s blog and recipes.

Peppered beef stir-fry with cashews and tagliatelle

INGREDIENTS

2 slices of quick fry steak

Mushrooms

Shallots (halved)

Broccoli (frozen)

Handful of cashew nuts

Tagliatelle

1tbsp of hoisin sauce

1tbsp of dark soy sauce

1tsp hot pepper sauce

Water to make sauce

Black pepper

1tbsp of honey

1 clove of garlic, minced

Butter

METHOD

1. Heat a wok or frying pan.

2. Spray the steak with olive oil spray and plentiful of black pepper, 15 to 20 grinds of a pepper mill (less or more) your choice.

3. Add the steak to the pan with a good knob of butter.

4. Don’t shake the steaks.

5. Cook for a couple of minutes, basting the steaks as you go.

6. Turn the steaks over and repeat.

7. Remove to a warm plate and leave it to rest.

8. In a saucepan add the tagliatelle to boiling water (not salted) cook as instructions.

9. Also to save time add in the frozen broccoli.

10. Add the shallots, garlic and a small knob of butter to your wok or pan.

11. Gently fry until the shallots get soft.

12. Add mushrooms and cashew nuts. Cook for another minute or so then add the hoisin, soy and hot pepper sauce.

13. Stir well, then add some water to create a sauce.

14. Serve on a warm plate.