Add an oriental touch to your Christmas ham, with Bill Granger's mouth-wateringly sweet plum glaze. Served with stir-fried sprouts with ginger.

Ingredients

6 kg cooked joint of ham
8-10 pieces Star anise, to decorate
125 ml (1/2 cup) hoisin sauce
125 ml (1/2 cup) plum sauce
3 tbsp shaoxing Chinese rice wine
3 tbsp soy sauce
3 tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp Chinese five spice powder

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180C (350°F/Gas 4). Use a small sharp knife to cut through
the rind around the shank of the ham. Carefully lift the rind from the fat - run your
fingers through where the rind and fat join, to help separate them.

2. Score the white fat in a diamond pattern and press star anise into the centre of every
couple of diamonds. Put the ham on a rack over a roasting tin and pour a small
amount of water into the tin to prevent the glaze catching on the bottom.

3. Put the hoisin sauce, plum sauce, rice wine, soy sauce, sugar and five spice in a
saucepan over a low heat and stir until the sugar has dissolved and everything is
combined. Pour the glaze over the ham, making sure that all the white fat is covered.

4. Bake the ham for 30-40 minutes until golden, basting frequently. Remove from the
oven and put the ham on a platter. Less time is needed for a smaller joint.

5. Transfer the roasting tin to the stovetop over low heat and stir to reduce and thicken
the pan juices. Watch very carefully at this stage as the glaze can catch easily. When
the liquid is syrupy, pour it over the ham.

6. Serve with stir-fried sprouts with ginger (see recipe below)

 

Stir-fried sprouts with ginger

Ingredients:

1 tbsp light-flavoured oil
1 onion, sliced
2 garlic cloves, sliced
1 tbsp chopped ginger
1 red chilli, chopped
1 tsp caraway seeds
400g brussels sprouts, roughly sliced

Method:

1. Heat the oil in a wok or large frying pan. Cook the onion for 5 minutes until starting
to soften.

2. Tip in the garlic, ginger and chilli and cook for a further minute.

3. Increase the heat, add the sprouts and stir-fry for 3-4 minutes, adding a splash of water and
some seasoning after a minute or so. The sprouts should be just tender and catching
in places.

4. Serve immediately.