Kimchi fried rice

Prep 5 min

Cook 15 min

Serves 2

1 tbsp sunflower oil, plus extra for frying

1 small onion, peeled and chopped

100g kimchi (from a jar), roughly chopped

250g cold leftover cooked rice (or use a packet of ready-cooked rice)

1 tbsp dark soy sauce

1 tsp sesame oil

2 eggs

1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds

Nori seaweed strips, to garnish (optional)

Put a large pan over a high heat and add the oil. Add the onion to the pan, turn the heat to medium and fry until slightly golden – three to four minutes.

Turn up the heat, add the kimchi and a glug of the liquid it comes in, and stir-fry for one to two minutes, until hot all the way through.

Add the rice, breaking up any lumps and tossing it through the pan’s contents. Season with soy sauce and sesame oil, stir through until completely mixed, then take off the heat.

Heat a little more oil in a separate frying pan and fry the eggs until the whites are no longer translucent and the yolk is still slightly runny.

Serve the kimchi rice in deep bowls topped with a fried egg, scattered with toasted sesame seeds and strips of nori seaweed, if using.

Five-spice chicken and vegetable stir-fry

Donal Skehan’s five-spice chicken and vegetable stir-fry.

Prep 10 min

Cook 15 min

Serves 4

4 tbsp soy sauce

4 tbsp honey

2 tbsp rice-wine vinegar

1 tbsp sesame oil

2 tsp cornflour

2 x 150g chicken breasts, cut into small pieces

2 tsp Chinese five-spice

2 tbsp sunflower oil

2 garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced

2cm piece fresh ginger, peeled and cut into matchsticks

1 red and 1 yellow pepper, deseeded and cut into strips

½ small head broccoli, broken into little florets

200g sugarsnap peas

3 baby pak choi, quartered

1 bunch spring onions, thinly sliced on the diagonal, to serve

Blend the soy sauce, honey, vinegar, sesame oil and cornflour until smooth. In a separate bowl, toss the chicken pieces in the five-spice.

Heat the oil in a wok until smoking, add the chicken, garlic, ginger and peppers, and fry over a high heat for five to six minutes, until the chicken has started to colour.

Pour over the soy sauce mixture, then add the broccoli and a splash of water. Cover with a lid, cook for one to two minutes, then stir in the sugarsnaps and pak choi. Cook for a further five to six minutes, until the vegetables are tender and any liquid has reduced. Scatter with the sliced spring onions and serve.

Sliced lamb steaks with rocket and hummus

Donal Skehan’s sliced lamb steaks with rocket and hummus

Prep 10 min

Cook 10 min

Serves 4

1 red onion, peeled and thinly sliced

Juice of 1 lemon

Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling

Salt and black pepper

4 flatbreads

1 tbsp olive oil, for cooking

6 lamb leg steaks

1 tsp ras el hanout

300g tub hummus

80g rocket leaves

1 large carrot, julienned or ribboned with a peeler

1 pinch smoked paprika

Heat the oven to 150C/300F/gas 2. Put the onion into a bowl with half the lemon juice, a glug of extra-virgin olive oil, then season and set aside.

Put the flatbreads into the warm oven to heat through. Meanwhile, put the olive oil into a frying pan over a high heat. Season the lamb with the ras el hanout and some salt and pepper, and sear for two to three minutes on each side, until just cooked but still slightly pink in the middle. Set aside to rest.

While the lamb rests, mix the hummus with the rest of the lemon juice to taste.

Spread each flatbread with hummus and scatter with the rocket leaves and carrot. Slice the lamb thinly and put on top of each flatbread. Scatter with the lemony onions and paprika, and drizzle with a little more extra-virgin olive oil.

Beef stroganoff with tagliatelle

Donal Skehan’s beef stroganoff with tagliatelle.

Prep 10 min

Cook 15 min

Serves 4

2 tbsp olive oil

500g beef sirloin, cut into thin strips

1 tbsp plain flour, seasoned

20g unsalted butter

1 small onion, peeled and finely chopped

1 small leek, sliced

200g button mushrooms, cleaned and sliced

Salt and black pepper

2 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced

400g fresh egg tagliatelle

175ml white wine

Zest of 1 lemon, plus a squeeze of juice

100ml double cream

1 tbsp dijon mustard

1 tsp smoked paprika

Chopped parsley, to scatter

Put the oil into a large nonstick frying pan over a medium-high heat. Dust the meat in the seasoned flour, then fry in batches until browned all over. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.

Put the butter into the pan, then the onion and leek, and fry for five minutes, then add the mushrooms. Turn up the heat, season and cook until the mushrooms are golden, then add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds more.

Cook the pasta in a large pan of boiling, salted water for one or two minutes, then drain.

Meanwhile, return the meat to the frying pan, pour in the wine and let it all bubble away for a minute. Add the lemon zest, cream, mustard, paprika and a splash of water to loosen it up.

Add the tagliatelle, toss well to coat the pasta in the creamy sauce, then serve scattered with lots of parsley and a squeeze of lemon juice.

• Recipes extracted from Meals in Minutes by Donal Skehan (Hodder & Stoughton)