Your kids can be wok stars, too

SA cook Callum Hann, a finalist in TV program 'MasterChef', teaches aspiring chefs Lucie and Jordan some of his kitchen secrets. Cooking Callum's chicken and noodle stir fry dish together. Source: AdelaideNow

During the amazing run when he made the final of this year's MasterChef as a 20-year-old, we saw Callum the competitor and Callum the cook remember those exquisite macarons or the gooey choccy fondant? But today he is playing the role of teacher, sharing the kitchen lessons he reckons are essential for every budding junior chef.

Many of these are contained in the stir-fry he cooks withLucie and Jordan, both 13. His golden rules for getting this recipe right include:

* Be organised. There's nothing worse than running around in circles chopping, pouring and mixing while the food in your wok is getting burnt. Have everything ready before you start to cook.

* Cut ingredients into even sizes, from the small dice of the garlic etc to pieces of chicken. This will help them cook at the same rate, so you don't get bits that aren't cooked.

*Always heat a wok or frypan properly before adding food, whether it is frying an onion or searing a steak. It's that first sizzle that creates a lot of the yum factor.

Callum is a natural teacher, blending his infectious enthusiasm for food and flavour with a calm, patient manner and a few daggy jokes.

"Now you give it a crack," he says as the kids learn to separate an egg. It's no surprise to hear a role in a classroom is one of the options that interest him as part of his future career.

For all the practical advice he gives, Callum says the most important thing for young chefs is to have fun and cook the things they love to eat.

He started cooking at 11 or 12 years old, learning a lot of the basics from watching his dad in the kitchen. "When I was that age I had a massive sweet tooth," he says. "I mostly cooked sweet things. I made everyone pancakes for breakfast or I made a batch of muffins or brownies. "

* Keep track of Callum at callumskitchen.com

CALLUM'S CHICKEN AND NOODLE STIR-FRY

This recipe may look longer than a Harry Potter book but contained within it are many secrets to being a successful chef. If you can master the knife skills, learn how long different ingredients take to cook and how to manage time, you are well on the way to being a kitchen whiz.

Serves 2-3

5cm piece ginger

3 cloves garlic

2 long (mild) red chillies

3-4 chicken thigh fillets

2 tsp Chinese spice powder

3 spring onions

1 bunch choy sum (you can also use bok choy

or spinach)

1 packet udon noodles

Peanut or vegetable oil

SAUCE

1/4 cup shaoxing cooking wine

2 tbsp light soy sauce

2 tsp chinese black vinegar

1 tbsp hoisin sauce

STEP 1

The first three ingredients need to be chopped carefully so they all end up in a small dice of the same size. Like most things in life, this means plenty of practice with your knifework. Remember to keep those fingers vertical so they can be used as a guide but there is no chance of lopping off your fingertips. And use the knife to slice with a forwards and backwards rhythm, rather than chopping down like an axe. Start with the ginger, peeling it and then cutting into thin slices of about 2mm. Stack up the slices and slice these into 2mm matchsticks. Then turn the matchsticks 90 degrees and slice again, so they are turned into tiny squares.

STEP 2

Now for the garlic. Chop off the pointy end, leaving the root and skin intact. Smash the clove by laying your large knife blade over it and bashing it with the palm of your hand. The skin should come off easily. Using the root end to hold the clove steady, make vertical slices 2mm apart and then, and this is the dangerous bit, horizontal slices of a similar size, stopping short of the root with your fingers. Now turn the garlic and slice smaller, even dice.

STEP 3

These chillies should be mild but still be careful of the seeds and wash your hands after touching them. Chilli juice in the eyes or any other sensitive parts will sting for a while. Slice the chilli in half lengthwise, up to the stem. Use a teaspoon to scrape the seeds out (unless you like hot food). Make more even lengthwise slices (that 2mm again) and finally turn and cut into dice. You should now have three lovely little piles of tiny diced ingredients. Give yourself a pat on the back (putting the knife down first).

STEP 4

Cut the chook meat into even, bite-sized pieces. Toss in a bowl and dust with the Chinese spice powder. The best way to make sure all the chicken pieces are coated is using your fingers unless that is too yuck. Mix together the sauce ingredients in a bowl or even better a jug or even a big jar. Taste for a good balance of salt from the soy, acid from the vinegar and sweetness from the hoisin. It should have all the bits of your tongue singing in taste harmony.

STEP 5

Prepare the veg. Trim roots from spring onions and use them to make a moustache. Peel off the onion's outer layer, discard, and cut the white parts into 3cm batons and the green parts into slices that can be used as garnish. Cut the ends from the choy sum and cut the stalks into 3cm batons. The leaves will shrink down so they can remain whole, or perhaps be cut in half.

STEP 6

This recipe uses Japanese udon noodles in what is otherwise a Chinese recipe. The noodles are thick and silky, and entirely slurpable. As a bonus, they also are easier to use than many rice noodles as they don't stick and clump together. Bring a big pot of water to a rockin', rollin' boil, drop in the noodles and cook until tender but still with a bit of bite. They are better a little underdone than overdone. Drain in a colander, transfer to a bowl and stir through a few drops of oil (sesame oil is great if you have some) just to be certain they don't stick.

STEP 7

After all that, you can finally start cooking. Turn the heat on under your wok and leave until you can feel the warmth radiating from its surface. Have all prepared ingredients within reach and a slotted spoon or spider with a long handle. Add 1 tbsp oil to wok, coat sides then carefully put in half the chicken. Don't splash the hot oil or it will make a mess, particularly of the skin on your arm. Fry on high heat until browned all over. You don't have to continually toss it about, turn when one side is coloured. Remove chicken from wok and reserve, bring wok back up to heat and add more oil if necessary, then cook the rest of the chicken and remove.

STEP 8

Now it's time to get busy. When the wok is hot again, add 1 tbsp more oil and the ginger, garlic and chilli, stirring continually to make sure it doesn't stick on the bottom or burn. Then add the choy sum stalks, toss around for a minute, and add a splash of sauce. Put in the leaves and, when they wilt, the spring onion batons, the noodles and the chicken with any juice released. Pour in the sauce bit by bit as you may not need it all. Everything should be coated, but without a big puddle left in the bottom. Turn off heat and garnish with spring onion greens before serving. Now comes the really difficult bit eating with chopsticks. But that's another lesson.