See those kebabs at the top of the page?  Wanna know how I made them?  It’s a very, very simple recipe and tastes great –

• 2 tbsp dark soy sauce
• 2 tbsp light soy sauce
• 1 tsp red wine vinegar
• 3 tsp brown sugar
• 4 cloves of garlic
• 4 star anise seeds – ground finely
• White pepper
• 1 chilli of your choosing, more if you like extra heat

It’s a marinade, so I’m sure you can guess how this is put together – in a bowl add the soy and vinegar along with the sugar and stir until dissolved. Mince the garlic and chilli and add to the marinade along with powered star anise.  If you can’t find star anise or don’t have any to hand then I’m sure some Chinese 5 spice would work quite well, maybe try 1/2 a tsp?  Give it a taste and see how it works. Add the white pepper and mix together well, you want a balance of sweetness and saltiness as well as a little bit of tang from the vinegar. Use as a marinade for chicken, pork or beef a few hours before you plan on cooking it – thread the meat onto bamboo skewers that’ve been pre-soaked in water to prevent them from burning along with chunks of bell peppers and red onion.  You can cook in a grill pan, under the grill (broiler, for any of you across the pond) or for best results on a BBQ.  Feel free to mess around with the measurements to suit your tastes