AHEAD of Chinese New Year, it's time to swap takeaways for DIY oriental cuisine, with help from the authors of a new compendium of Chinese cooking.

Husband and wife team Diora Fong, 65 and Kei Lum Chan, 75 have written China: The Cookbook, a collection of 650 recipes from across every province in China.

The book is the work of a lifetime spent exploring, tasting and collecting ideas, and took two years to pull together in a bound form.

"When we go somewhere new, the first thing we do is to always go to the market to see what there is and what we can buy, then we go to a bookshop and do some research - and then we go eat," says Kei Lum.

This is a man who, in his eighth decade, gets up at 4am every day to start work on developing new recipes.

"I've had to redefine the word 'retired'," he adds wryly.

His and Diora's work ethic is beyond impressive but they are keen to dispel any preconceived ideas of Chinese cooking being nightmarishly difficult, exacerbated by complicated ingredients lists and topped up with monosodium glutamate.

Inspired to ditch the takeaway in favour of making your own Chinese food? Try one of these three recipes from China The Cookbook...

:: POT STICKERS

(Makes 24)

300g pork mince

1 1/2tsp light soy sauce

1/2tsp salt

1tsp granulated sugar

1 small napa cabbage (about 600g), leaves separated (also known as Chinese Leaf, available in supermarkets)

1tsp corn flour

1tsp sesame oil

24 large dumpling wrappers (available from Chinese supermarkets or from Amazon)

1tbsp vegetable oil

Coriander, to garnish (optional)

For the dipping sauce:

2tbsp balsamic vinegar

1tbsp shredded ginger

Combine the pork, soy sauce, salt, sugar, and four tablespoons water, and marinate for 15 minutes.

Bring a large saucepan of water to a boil, add the cabbage, and blanch for five minutes. Drain and rinse under cold running water. Chop the cabbage and squeeze out most of the water. Mix thoroughly with the pork. Stir in the corn flour and sesame oil and mix well.

Fill a small dish with cold water and set aside. Lay a dumpling wrapper in your hand and place about one tablespoon of filling in the middle. Brush a little water on the edge of the wrapper, fold over into a semicircle, and seal the top by firmly squeezing the edges together. Start on one end of the semicircle and create pleats by pinching and pressing the edges tightly, about 10-14 pleats per dumpling. Repeat with the remaining wrappers and filling.

To make the dipping sauce, combine the vinegar and the ginger in a small bowl and set aside.

Heat the oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat, add the pot stickers and 120ml water, and cover the pan. Cook for 20 minutes until the water has been absorbed and the bottoms of the pot stickers are golden brown. Transfer to a serving plate, garnish with coriander, if using, and serve with the dipping sauce.

:: HONG KONG FRIED RICE

(Serves 3-4)

1 carrot, diced

100g cooked ham, diced

50g frozen peas

2 eggs, beaten

500g cooked long-grain rice, rinsed, lumps broken up, and drained

1tbsp vegetable oil

1/2 onion, diced

150g shelled uncooked prawns, deveined and diced

1tsp salt

3tbsp ketchup

Bring a small saucepan of water to a boil, add the carrot, and blanch for two minutes. Drain and rinse under cold running water. Transfer to a bowl, then add the ham and peas.

Mix the eggs with the cooked rice in a large bowl.

Heat the oil in a wok or large frying pan over medium-high heat, add the onion, and stir-fry for five to seven minutes until softened.

Add the prawns and stir-fry for about two minutes until just cooked. Put in the rice-and-egg mixture, salt, and ketchup and stir-fry for three to four minutes until the eggs and prawns are cooked.

Add the ham and vegetables and toss thoroughly for another two minutes. Transfer to individual bowls or a serving plate, and then serve.

:: STEAMED FISH

(Serves 4)

600g firm white fish, cleaned and rinsed

2tbsp vegetable oil

10g ginger (about 2cm length piece), shredded

2 spring onions, shredded

Steamed rice, to serve

For the special soy sauce:

2tbsp light soy sauce

2tsp fish sauce

2tsp granulated sugar

1/4tsp ground white pepper

Put the sauce ingredients into a bowl, mix well, and set aside.

Place the fish on a heatproof plate and put into a bamboo steamer over a pot of boiling water. Steam, covered, for about nine minutes, or until cooked through. Drain away the steamed fish juices collected on the plate.

Combine the sauce with four tablespoons of water in a frying pan and bring to a boil, then remove from the heat and pour over the fish.

Wipe a skillet with paper towels, add the oil, and set over a medium heat for one minute until thoroughly heated. Stir in the shredded ginger and pour over the fish. Top with the spring onions and serve with the rice.

n China The Cookbook by Kei Lum Chan and Diora Fong Chan is published in hardback by Phaidon Press, priced £29.95. Available now