Jamie's 15 Minute Meals Challenge #1

This is round one of the J.O. vs Jo 15 minutes smack down, I am testing Jamie Oliver's recipes for his new 15 minute meals book. If you are playing along, leave a comment with your blog post link or just talk us through it in the comments section.

Recipe #1 Chicken Dim Sum pg 24

Sourcing the ingredients:

I couldn't get broccoli stems so I used regular broccoli and I ordered hoisin sauce from Kenko. Everything else I could get at the local supermarket, I imagine coconut milk might be difficult in some places in Japan, it is only recently that we have been able to buy it at the regular supermarket but I have been able to buy it for years at Yamaya.
I also used red pepper instead of chili pepper, out of personal choice.

As the book suggested, I got out all my ingredients and equipment before I started, I do feel this is a bit of a cheat but it did only take a couple of minutes.

Ready, steady, cook...

My first mistake was trying to fit all the ingredients for the buns in my tiny mixer, so then I had to tip everything into a bowl and mix it by hand. I lost a few minutes doing all this!

Once the buns were on, the rest went pretty smoothly. My second mistake was not washing the veg before I started, not such a big deal as it has to be done at some stage but again, I lost some time doing it.

The final point was again having equipment smaller than Jamie's, he must use a steamer much bigger than the one I have because the chicken took a few minutes more to cook through and because of that the broccoli was over cooked grrr. I love the steamed buns and will use that part of the recipe again on it's own, Ebi-kun already had suggestions on how to serve them.

Everything else was quick and easy to do, and I love the idea of just slapping it on a big serving tray and  putting it on the table. 

Verdict

J.O.'s time 15 minutes

Jo's time 24 minutes

Family opinion - they loved it, everyone scored it 9/10

I am pretty sure I can get the time down next time, I am actually chuffed to get such a fab meal in less than 30 minutes, which even with the prep, it was under 30 minutes. 

Notes to self:

Remember to wash the veg before you start!

Mix the buns by hand

Steam the broccoli separately

I would love to make this a community post so if you are joining please comment below, if you have landed here from a facebook group, I would love it if you could add your comments here rather than facebook so that everyone can read your feedback. If you have blogged about one of the 15 minute or 30 minute recipes then feel free to leave the link to the actual post and remember to say which recipe you used in the comment.

I have also started a pinterest board for my photos for the challenge, it you are a fellow pintest addict and would like to contribute to the board, let me know and leave your pinterest name in the comments.

That wraps up round one, pop back next week for round two...

Ohhh and on a kitchen related note, if you haven't signed up for the Ultimate Kitchen Clear Out yet, you can do so HERE.