‘Hold the phone, make your own,’ says Gok’s chef brother

Craving noodles and sweet and sour sauce, but feel you ought to work for them first?
By The Newsroom
Published 15th Feb 2019, 21:44 BST
Updated 18th Feb 2019, 10:44 BST
Undated Handout Photo of Kwoklyn Wan from The Chinese Takeaway Cookbook by Kwoklyn Wan. See PA Feature TOPICAL Food Chinese Takeaway. Picture credit should read: PA Photo/Quadrille/Sam Folan. WARNING: This picture must only be used to accompany PA Feature TOPICAL Food Chinese Takeaway.Undated Handout Photo of Kwoklyn Wan from The Chinese Takeaway Cookbook by Kwoklyn Wan. See PA Feature TOPICAL Food Chinese Takeaway. Picture credit should read: PA Photo/Quadrille/Sam Folan. WARNING: This picture must only be used to accompany PA Feature TOPICAL Food Chinese Takeaway.
Undated Handout Photo of Kwoklyn Wan from The Chinese Takeaway Cookbook by Kwoklyn Wan. See PA Feature TOPICAL Food Chinese Takeaway. Picture credit should read: PA Photo/Quadrille/Sam Folan. WARNING: This picture must only be used to accompany PA Feature TOPICAL Food Chinese Takeaway.

A new cookbook from chef, restaurateur and Chinese cuisine expert, Kwoklyn Wan (also brother of Gok), should be able to help.

The Chinese Takeaway Cookbook features all the dishes you’d usually find yourself poring over when hungry and tired on a Friday night, except now you can make them yourself...

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Who will love it? Anyone who enjoys scoffing spring rolls and slurping chicken and sweetcorn soup, is in awe of their local Chinese takeout wok masters, or who just wants to be able to get fried rice right.

Undated Handout Photo of Coconut chicken curry from Chetna's Healthy Indian by Chetna Makan. See PA Feature FOOD Chetna Makan. Picture credit should read: PA Photo/Nassima Rothacker. WARNING: This picture must only be used to accompany PA Feature FOOD Chetna Makan.Undated Handout Photo of Coconut chicken curry from Chetna's Healthy Indian by Chetna Makan. See PA Feature FOOD Chetna Makan. Picture credit should read: PA Photo/Nassima Rothacker. WARNING: This picture must only be used to accompany PA Feature FOOD Chetna Makan.
Undated Handout Photo of Coconut chicken curry from Chetna's Healthy Indian by Chetna Makan. See PA Feature FOOD Chetna Makan. Picture credit should read: PA Photo/Nassima Rothacker. WARNING: This picture must only be used to accompany PA Feature FOOD Chetna Makan.

What’s it trying to get us cooking? The food you regularly ring up your local Chinese takeout for, from sweet and sour chicken balls and egg fried rice, to chicken chow mein and crispy aromatic duck with hoisin sauce and pancakes. The recipes aren’t an approximation of what your delivery driver would hand over with a bag of prawn crackers either, but the actual dishes you’d ring for on a Friday night. You can trust them too; Wan grew up working in his family’s Chinese, and then Cantonese, restaurants in Leicester - he knows his stuff.

How easy is it to use? It’s very straightforward - sure, not quite as straightforward as just calling your local takeaway - but if you do your chopping ahead and have a hot wok ready, most of the dishes are speedy to cook (and ideal for midweek dinners), with only a few steps to wrangle with. It’s just a matter of being prepared and stocking up on specific Chinese ingredients and seasonings first.

The best recipe is: The Wandering Dragon - the name alone would be enough, but then it has the crunch and snap of bamboo shoots and baby corn, as well as heft from chicken and king prawns.

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The recipe we’re most likely to post pictures of on Instagram is: the crispy seaweed, purely because we’d be so proud of ourselves for having recreated it.

Undated Handout Photo of sweet chilli crispy chicken wings from The Chinese Takeaway Cookbook by Kwoklyn Wan. See PA Feature TOPICAL Food Chinese Takeaway. Picture credit should read: PA Photo/Quadrille/Sam Folan. WARNING: This picture must only be used to accompany PA Feature TOPICAL Food Chinese Takeaway.Undated Handout Photo of sweet chilli crispy chicken wings from The Chinese Takeaway Cookbook by Kwoklyn Wan. See PA Feature TOPICAL Food Chinese Takeaway. Picture credit should read: PA Photo/Quadrille/Sam Folan. WARNING: This picture must only be used to accompany PA Feature TOPICAL Food Chinese Takeaway.
Undated Handout Photo of sweet chilli crispy chicken wings from The Chinese Takeaway Cookbook by Kwoklyn Wan. See PA Feature TOPICAL Food Chinese Takeaway. Picture credit should read: PA Photo/Quadrille/Sam Folan. WARNING: This picture must only be used to accompany PA Feature TOPICAL Food Chinese Takeaway.

Overall rating: 8/10 - the recipes are colourful, quick and fresh looking, but there are still moments when nothing but takeout fried prawn toast will do. The Chinese Takeaway Cookbook by Kwoklyn Wan is published by Quadrille £15.

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