This month, our featured partner Wendy Wu Tours are sponsoring our Cook Club with the chance to win a copy of the recipe book A Pinch of Nom by Kay Allinson. You can also try out the recipe below for a delicious Chicken Shiitake Mushroom and Chilli Broth.

Wendy Wu Tours are a specialist tour provider known for creating exceptional, fully inclusive tours led by award winning guides. Their tours explore amazing destinations that you may have only dreamt of visiting. Wendy Wu’s journey began in China over 25 years ago when she placed a newspaper ad to lead her first tour to China, serving as the tour guide herself! Fast forward 25 years, she has built a renowned tour operator empire that offers journeys to over 40 countries worldwide!

A core value of Wendy Wu Tours is to fully immerse customers in the culture of each destination, with food playing a significant role. Including experiences such as savouring Peking Duck in Beijing, being hosted by a local family to learn Keralan cooking, learning to make soba noodles in Japan, and visiting a local market in Hoi An to select fresh, seasonal product for a Vietnamese cooking class.

To find out more visit Wendy Wu Tours or call 0800 4125678 and speak to our team of travel experts.
Wendy Wu tours have recently released their new China 2025-26 brochure jam packed full of exciting tours, including two exciting new tours “Gems of China” and “Natural Treasures of China” which explore incredible destinations such as Zhangjiajie National Park and a cruise down the beautiful Yangtze River. So, this month we are taking you to China with the following recipe…
Recipe: Chicken Shiitake Mushroom and Chilli Broth
This Chicken, Shiitake Mushroom, and Chili Broth is a delicious and easy to make dinner, inspired by the vibrant flavours of Chinese cuisine. It’s perfect for anyone counting calories, making it a go-to meal when you’re looking for something both healthy and satisfying.
Ideal for cozy nights in, this broth brings warmth and comfort with every spoonful. For an even lighter option, skip the noodles or rice and add more fresh vegetables like carrots and broccoli to enhance the flavours.
Ingredients:
- 4 chicken thighs skinless – on the bone
- 10g ginger sliced
- 400g shiitake mushrooms roughly chopped
- 4 spring onions shredded
- 1 litre water enough to just about cover the thighs – might be more/less
- 1 dash soy sauce or you can use Tamari for gluten free
- 2 tbsp oyster sauce
- low calorie cooking spray
- 1 tbsp sweet chilli sauce
- 1 tsp honey
- 2 tbsp corn flour mixed with 3 tbsp water
- 25 ml Shaoxing rice wine
Method:
- Add low calorie cooking spray to Instant Pot and sauté the ginger for 3 minutes.
- Add chicken thighs and cook till sealed (approx 5 mins).
- Once meat is sealed, deglaze the pan with a splash of Shaoxing rice wine making sure to unstick any bits that may have stuck to the bottom.
- Fill with enough water to come to the level of the thighs.
- Add all the other ingredients except the cornflour/water mix – stir well.
- Set Instant Pot to manual pressure and cook for 45 mins.
- Allow for natural release (10-15 mins) and then remove thighs from broth.
- Carefully take the meat off the thigh bones and shred the meat. Return the shredded meat to the pot.
- Add cornflour/water mix and stir until you reach the thickness that you require.
- Sauté for 5-10 mins to thicken the sauce.
- Serve over rice or noodles.


How to win a copy of A Pinch of Nom by Kay Allinson
Please note: this prize draw is now closed.
Comment below and tell us what your favourite comfort food recipe is and why.
A winner will be chosen at random in early October2024.
The competition closes on 30 September 2024.
40 Responses
Vegetarian Shepherd’s Pie
Homemade carrot cake with fresh double cream because my wife puts so much love into it
Beef stew and dumplings….it’s mostly about the dumplings to be honest – that’s what gives the comfort!
Sausage and mash with onion gravy – delicious
I love a home cooked lasagna. Just so comforting and delicious!
Steak and Ale pie, my grandmother made the best one, it was such a joy to have it at her house after going shopping on a Saturday.
Old fashioned beef stew makes me feel nostalgic for a safe and warm kitchen.
Cottage pie – it reminds me of my mum
A bowl of creamy, cheesy macaroni
My favourite comfort food is chicken casserole because it tastes nice!
Beef stew and dumplings which my Mum used to make for me.
Chilli con carne with extra cheese and garlic bread
Mum used to make it for me everytime I came home from uni
Now it’s my hug in a bowl
Beef stew and dumplings! MMMM HMMMMMM!
A roast dinner. It’s the perfect meal after a day out walking.
Has to be cheese and potato pie delicious
Meat & potatoe pie
Leave in slow cooker so I can enjoy time with my new granddaughter x
Mince and dumplings
To cook my comfort food is sausage and tomato casserole with sliced potatoes and onions, slow cooked with a good dash of HP sauce. To go out my comfort food is DolSut Bibimbap. Love Korean food and Bibimbap is the perfect bowl of warmth..
Toad in the hole with lots of vegetables, honey roasted parsnips and carrots, roasted onions and lashings of gravy is my go-to comfort food.
Mashed potatoes
Cottage pie with gravy, veg and more mash
Always makes me feel warm and snug.
mash spud with lots of butter, tinned processed peas and faggots with gravy,has to be processed peas,my mum made awful food,we were always relieved when it was this,so warming and delicious.
Beef casserole and dumplings reminds me off the cold winter nights when young but sitting in the warm with a great coal fire burning
Pork medallions with pepper sauce, mash potatoes, carrots, Brussels sprouts and Yorkshire puddings because it’s cooked from scratch with no hidden extra salts so is healthy and satisfying now the weather has turned cooler. Plus it’s a rare occasion everyone in the house eats the same meal – winner winner less cooking less washing up x
Sheperd’s pie with carrots and pickled beetroot.Comforting,warming & filling on a cold day.
Minestrone soup with pasta and beans is easy to make, I’ve usually got all the ingredients in stock, and is delicious with grated parmesan and served with crusty bread.
On a cold winter day, steak and kidney pudding!
Curry , almost any flavour, not too hot but tasty.
My favourite comfort food recipe is treacle sponge and custard because my lovely grandmother used to make it for us when we were young
Mum’s homemade pasties – delicious every time, makes you feel warm inside. I haven’t been able to recreate this recipe the way my Mum did so it’s very happy memories for me.
Cottage pie because it reminds me of childhood
It’s fish pie for me proper comfort meal my mum always made this for us all and it brings back memories
Shepherds Pie and baked beans – so simple but so tasty.
Comfort food any time of the day or evening has to be hot buttered toast with a frothy cappuccino mmmm…yum
A nice chicken curry would be my ideal comfort food.
Bread and butter pudding- comforting whatever the weather and so easy to make. The cinnamon and nutmeg complement the sultanas and brown sugar, making warm deliciousness
Tomato soup plus bread and butter.
It has to be a curry for me, any curry, any time, anywhere.
Chip butties, quick and easy
When we’re on a long holiday, and we’re getting towards the end, we always play the ‘what are we going to eat first’ game. The top dish is always home-made Shepherds Pie with baked beans – pure comfort and just eaten with a fork.
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