Instant Pot Sticky Ribs

Using instant pot to cook ribs is a breeze.  Instant Pot Sticky Ribs.  

Findings: Less time, less effort and great results.

What you need:

1kg of pork ribs (either baby back or prime)

2 piece star anise 

2 piece of cinnamon bark 

2 thumb size ginger - minced 

8 pieces shallots minced 

8 cloves of garlic - minced 

1 cup of chinese rose wine

1.5 tbsp brown sugar 

2 tbsp hoisin sauce 

2 tbsp oyster sauce 

4 tbsp light soy sauce

4 tbsp dark soy sauce

4 tbsp rice vinegar

Enough water to cover the ribs

Method:

In the instant pot, set to sautee, add oil and brown the ribs on all sides.   Remove.

Add enough oil to fry herbs.

Add in star anise, cinnamon stick, ginger, shallots, garlic and sautee until fragrant.

Add in pork ribs and give it a quick stir.

Add in wine, sugar, hoisin sauce, oyster sauce, light soy sauce, dark soy sauce and rice vinegar.   Stir to coat ribs evenly.

Add in water to cover the ribs (above 3cm).

Pressure cook on high for 40 mins.  Natural release.

Open the lid and set to sautee and boil down the sauce (approx. 14 mins).  The sauce should be thick and sticky.

Remove and serve.

Enjoy!

BBQ pork (char siew)

Tried out another version of Char Siew but I think I still prefers the cook from wok version.

What you need:

800g pork belly, skinless, cut into 6” length x 1” thick

10g rock sugar

Seasoning

5 cloves garlic, peeled

5 shallots, epee;

40g coarse sugar

40g light soy sauce

20g dark sauce

20g Shaoxing rice wine

20g honey

Method

Pound garlic and shallot and extract the juice.

Place garlic and shallots into TM bowl, chop 5 sec/sp 10.  Sieve to a fine strainer to extract juice.  Clean TM bowl.

In a med bowl, mix seasoning ingredients with pork belly, cover and chill overnight.

In a wok, cook marinated pork for 20 mins.

Place marinated pork into TM bowl, cook 20 mins/120℃/reverse sp 1

Add rock sugar and continue to cook for 6 mins.

Add rock sugar and cook 6 mins/120 ℃/reverse sp 1

Remove pork belly and place it on a lined baking tray, Bake for 10 mins at 180℃.  Braise the pork belly with the sauce.  Serve the remaining sauce after cooked.

Preheat oven to 180℃, rub pork belly with the sauce and place it onto a lined baking tray.  Remaining sauce for later use.  

Bake for 10 mins.

Let it rest for 10 mins and slice.  Serve with sauce.

Enjoy!

Shanghai Braised Pork Belly

My kiddos like Soya Braised Pork Belly but I just wanted to try another way of eating it.  So today's chosen is Shanghai Braised Pork Belly.

This dish is equally nice and goes well with rice.  

What you need:

500g pork belly

1 litre water

5 slices ginger

1 spring onion, tied

20g rock sugar

3 tbsp light soya sauce

1 tbsp dark soya sauce (adjust to your liking)

3 tbsp rice wine

1 cup water

Method:

Cut pork belly into 2cm wide.  (I remove skin but you can keep it)

Blanch with water, spring onion and ginger.  Once meat turned colour.  Remove and drain.

In a pan, add in the pork belly and cook till the oil surface and brown. (need not add oil)

Add in rock sugar and mix until caramelized.

Add in light soya sauce, dark soya sauce and rice wine.

Add in water, and bring it to a boil.  Lower heat and let it simmer for 45 mins or until the sauce dries up a fair bit.  (if the sauce dries up too fast, add in water).

Serve with jasmine rice.

Enjoy!

Crispy Stuffed Lotus Root

This is my first time buying ready-scrubbed lotus root.   Did not detect any strange-tasting flavour or smell so I guess it is good to eat.

Used some to make this Crispy Stuffed Lotus Root.

Learning: Next time, I will cut it down to ½  cm thick.   The batter is indeed very crispy.  

Adapted

What you need:

500g lotus root

300g minced pork

1 tbsp light soy sauce

½ tbsp oyster sauce

1 tbsp Shaoxing wine

½ tsp sesame oil

½ tsp 5 spice powder

1 egg

½ tbsp cornstarch

40g chives, chopped

Batter

50g plain flour

50g cornstarch

½ tsp salt

½ tsp white pepper powder

Sesame seeds

120ml beer

Method:

Wash the lotus root, and slice to ½ cm thin.

Combined all seasonings into the minced pork and mixed well.

Spread generously of pork onto the lotus root.  Sandwich it with another lotus root.  Firmly pressed to ensure it sticks.

Mix the ingredients for batter once the oil is heating up.

Dip the lotus root patties into the batter and immediately lower into the hot oil.

Fry until golden.

Enjoy

Pork Roll with bacon and apple

Brought this Pork Roll with bacon and apple to a party.   I always wanted to try to do a meat roll but never had an excuse.  So went to the market and got myself 2 kg of pork loin.

Due to the busy period, the butcher refused to cut for us.  So engaged my dear hub to try.  I must say he did a pretty decent job.

Learning: I did a mis on the instruction and the meat ended a little tough.  But with the leftover, I diluted the sauce and cooked it with it.  It turned out not bad.  

 Enjoy!

Taiwanese Braised Pork Rice 卤肉饭

In May, I was in Taiwan but unfortunately, I did not get to eat the famous Taiwanese Braised Pork Rice 卤肉饭.   Luckily, this is not my first trip to Taiwan if not, I would be really upset about it.  

What I learned from this trip, when you travel with someone, never trust them to say “You plan, I follow” or have someone totally not interested in the agenda.  The effort you put in is lightly to be taken for granted.  No respect, unappreciative, and to the point of belittling.

Since I am missing it, I must cook it myself.  The downside, when it is homecooked, you are mindful of the fats you add in. hahahah.

Enjoy!

Banh Bot Loc La

During my last trip to Hanoi, our friends brought us to this interesting restaurant that served many of the street food available in Vietnam.   It was an eye-opener for me.   One of the items that I love was this Bánh bột lọc la.  This little dumpling originated from Hue and once upon a time, was served to the Emperor.

Even though I visited Vietnam quite a few times but I have never dared to eat street food because I have a very weak stomach.  So that restaurant was really good for me because it is clean with good hygiene and I get to enjoy different items around Vietnam.

Source

Caramelized Shrimp and pork

What you need:

Yield: 25 pcs

150g pork belly

400g shrimps

1 green onion, white portion

½ tbsp oil

½ tbsp minced garlic

1½ tbsp sugar

1½ tbsp fish sauce

½ tbsp oyster sauce

Salt and pepper to taste

3 banana leaves, cut into 5" 

Method:

Slice the pork belly into thin slices.

Minced green onion finely.

Season pork with salt, minced spring onion, and pepper.  Mix well and set aside.

Trim the prawns with salt and pepper for 10 mins.

Heat one tbsp of oil and saute garlic until fragrant and add in pork until cooked.

Add in the shrimp and mix well.  

Add in sugar and stir well.

Add in fish sauce and mix well.  Simmer on med heat until sauce is completely dried up.

Add in oyster sauce and stir well.

Banana Leaves, 5” pieces width.  Also, tear some smaller pieces as strings.

Blanch the banana leaves.  Wipe dry.

Tapioca paste

What you need:

1 cups tapioca starch

½ + ¼ cup water

¼ tsp salt

1 tsp oil

Method:

Mix well all the ingredients.

On med-high heat, cook over the stove until the mixture is a little thick.  Keep stirring.  Lower to med and keep whisking until the mixture semi-thickens.  Remove from heat and continue to stir.

Brush the banana leaves with oil.

Put a tbsp of tapioca paste and spread it in the center of the leave.

Place shrimp and pork on it and cover with another tsp of the paste.

Fold lengthwise edges together and fold flat.  Tuck both short ends under.  Group into 2s and tie it with a banana string.

Steam on high for 20 – 25 mins.

Serve with dipping sauce (fish sauce with chopped chili)

Enjoy!

Red Fermented Bean Curd Ribs 南乳排骨 (highly recommend)

I have been thinking about this Red Fermented Bean Curd Ribs 南乳排骨 for a long time, the last attempt was a failure because I bought the wrong type of ribs and it was not as hearty eating it.  So today, I used prime rib instead as it is meatier than baby back ribs.

I was surprised that my fussy-eating son who only loves western food, enjoyed this and asked what I added to the ribs. 

Am glad that I cook a big plate of it.  This will goes really well with beer too.

What you need:

1.2 kg prime spare ribs

4 tsp salt

1 1/3 tsp baking soda

1/3 cup water

5 tsp ginger juice

4 clove garlic, minced

3 pcs of red fermented beancurd

5 tsp red fermented beancurd water

2 tsp oyster sauce

1 1/3 tsp five spice powder

Dash of white pepper

2 egg white

2 tbsp oil

4 tbsp plain flour

4 tbsp corn flour

Method:

Combine spare ribs, salt, baking soda and water.  Rub around for 2 mins to wash.  Remove.

Rinse with clean water twice.  Drain and set aside.

Marinate the pork ribs with ginger juice and minced garlic. May add little water if too dry. 

Add marinating ingredients 1-5 to the ribs and mix well. 

Add egg white and mix well. 

Add in plain flour and corn starch and mix well.  Cover and leave for 2hrs. Best overnight.

Add enough oil and deep fry the ribs for 8 mins under medium-low heat. Drain and set aside. 

Increase oil temp and fry the ribs for 1 min till golden brown.

Enjoy!

Sweet and Sour Pork Tenderloin 糖醋里脊

My girl loves Sweet and Sour Pork as she loves the fatty pork but definitely not for the three of us.  So today, I tried a healthy version by using tenderloin since she won't be home for dinner.

This Sweet and Sour Pork Tenderloin 糖醋里脊 is from the northern part of China.  It is interesting and I think my family will enjoy this.

Thanks for sharing.

Learning: A relatively easy dish to cook.  The only time-consuming step is the double deep frying but it is critical because then, the fried meat can be still crispy when the sauce is added in.

Hubby prefers it saucier while the son wants it saltier and sourish.

For me, I thought it was good enough.

Source:

What you need:

350g pork tenderloin, cut into a stick of 1 cm

Marinate:

1 tsp salt 1/2 tsp white pepper powder 1 tsp cooking wine 1 tsp soy sauce

Batter:

85g cornstarch 20g plain flour flour 1/4 cup + 3 tbsp cold water 2 tsp oil Sweet and sour sauce:

3 cloves garlic, roughly chopped 3 tbsp Chinkiang vinegar

1 tsp soy sauce 2 tsp white vinegar (will increase 3 tsp next round) 50g sugar 3 tbsp water Cornstarch water:

1 tsp cornstarch 1 tbsp water

Method:

Marinate meat with salt, white pepper, cooking wine and soy sauce. Cover and chill.

In a bowl, corn starch, plain flour and add water little by little. Should have a thick flowy consistency.

Add oil and mix well.

Heat up a pan with oil.

Add the marinate meat into the batter and mix gently until all meat is coated with batter.

Heat oil to 160 - 170 deg.

Slowly add the pork stick one by one without touching each other. Fry until light golden. Remove and drain. Repeat until all meat is done.

Heat oil to 180 deg and fry the meat till golden. Remove and drain.

Remove oil and leave about 1 tbsp in it.

Mix all the sauce ingredients together except garlic.

Stir fry the garlic until fragrant

Add sauce ingredients to the garlic, Cook for about 1 min. Once it is thicker, stir in corn starch mixture.

Stir until thickens.

Add in the meat and stir until the sauce is evenly coated.

Garnish with chopped spring onions.

Enjoy!

Sweet and sour pork rib 糖醋排骨

Today, we shall have Sweet and sour pork rib 糖醋排骨.  I think from now on, I will just buy baby back rib for all my pork rib dishes.  I hardly cook ribs as I find that it is not meaty most of the time.  Since now I change to a new butcher, it is his recommendation to get the baby back ribs.

Learning experience:

For mouthfeel, I am beginning to like baby back ribs.  It is meaty and fulfilling.

Since I don't have 陈醋, I substitute with 果醋.

This turned out really good and my family gives a thumbs up for it.

What you need:

700g baby back ribs

2 tbsp + 2 tbsp rice wine

1 spring onion, cut into segment

20g ginger, smashed and sliced

Marinate

35g rock sugar

25g black vinegar 陈醋

1 tsp salt

5g light soya sauce

10g dark soya sauce (optional)

White sesame seed, toasted (garnish)

Method:

Mix marinate.  Set aside.

Heat a wok of water and blanch pork rib, add rice wine to it.  Bring to a boil and remove scum.  Drain.

Heat wok, add oil to coat the wok, remove excess oil.

Add in blanched rib and cook for 3 mins.

Add in spring onion, ginger and rice wine and cook for 2 mins.

Add in the marinade and toss into the ribs to coat evenly.

Add enough water to slightly cover the ribs, bring to a boil.  Lower heat and simmer for 40 mins or until marinade thickens.

Sprinkle toasted sesame (oops I forgot to add this).

Serve with jasmine rice.

Enjoy!

蒜香排骨 Garlic ribs

Today, let's attempt 蒜香排骨 Garlic ribs.  In my family, we consumed a large amount of garlic daily.  So this dish will appeal I am sure.  

Learning experience:

This is my first time using baking soda to clean the ribs.  Apparently, this will help to remove any strange smell and blood settlement from the pork.

I made a big booboo when cooking this dish.  The second I lower the ribs into the oil, I knew right away something was wrong!  I totally forgot to coat them in flours before lowering it to the oil so I had to remove it and add in the flours, but I think it was too late because some areas, the flours did not adhere.

Overall, the dish is very tasty, thanks to a couple of hours to marinate it.

I also sieve out those garlic bits and my girl commented it was good.

This is the first time I used glutinous rice flour as a coating.  Since I made a blunder, I couldn't really tell the texture.  So if you are trying it, can you feedback please?

What you need:

600g baby back ribs

½ tsp baking soda

1 stalk spring onion

15g ginger, skinned and cut to pieces

50g garlic, skinned

30g water

1 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

1 tsp sugar

1 piece fermented beancurd

3g oyster sauce

8g cooking wine

6g soya sauce

1 egg

30g potato starch

35g glutinous rice flour

Method:

Chop up the ribs to your preferred size, add in baking soda and give it a rub.  Add in water and wash for 2 mins to clear off the blood from the bones.  Discard water and rinse off well.  Drain.

In a blender, add in spring onion, ginger and garlic and blend to a paste.

Combine seasonings into a bowl.  Adjust the saltiness to your liking.

Add seasonings to the ribs together with the garlic paste.  Mix well and chill for 2 hours.

Add in flours and mix well.

Heat up a wok with oil to 150°C.  

Lower heat to med small and fry ribs for 3 mins.

Remove and drain.

Heat oil again to 180°C and fry ribs for 10 secs.

Enjoy!

Bo-ssam 보쌈

Today, I wanted to try making Bo-ssam 보쌈.  For all the trips I make to Korea, strangely I never ate this dish.  We only had BBQ pork belly.  Actually, I missed one particular trip that we went with my hubby's friend.  He took us to all the nice restaurants and experience so many different types of cuisine that is beside the norm that we have in Singapore.  It was an egg opener and indeed a very memorable trip.  So when friends told me Korean food is boring, I bet to defer.

I wish I know some Koreans in Singapore to introduce me to more of their cuisine. 

Learning experience:

It is a breeze cooking this in the IP.  Took me only 12 mins and the meat turned out tender yet still able to cut it nicely.

The Ssamjang that I tried with fish sauce was way too salty for us, so I redo a batch without it and it turned out really good.  It pairs so well with the Bo-ssam!

When I saw my girl kept eating serving after serving, I knew it was good and we had such an enjoyable dinner.

Adapted

What you need:

600g pork belly

2 tbsp Korean soy bean paste

1 med yellow onion, quartered

1 stalk leek

1” ginger, sliced

6 garlic cloves, smash lightly

½ tbsp coffee powder

½ tbsp brown sugar

2 cups water 

Method:

Place all into the instant pot and 12 mins. Natural release.

Remove and slice pork.

Serve with radish pickle, lettuce (as my family prefers this than wongbonk and ssamjang.

Ssamjang

Radish, cut to tiny chopstick shape
1 tsp salt
Chilli powder
2 tsp sugar (to taste)

Method:

Combine radish with salt, rub well and let it sit for 30 mins.  Squeeze out excess water.

Add in chilli powder and sugar.  Adjust to the sweetness you prefer.

Let it sit for 2 hours before eating.

Sauce

2 tbsp doenjang

2 tbsp Bossam sauce 

1 tbsp sesame oil

Mix well.

Enjoy!

Pork Belly with Salted Fish 咸鱼花腩煲

I have always wanted to try to cook this Pork Belly with Salted Fish 咸鱼花腩煲 dish at home.  My first taste was in a JB zi char stall.  To be honest, I always find that the zi char stall in Singapore is no longer as good as in Malaysia.  Here, the taste just lacks that oomph factor.

I am glad that the dish turned out well and was enjoyed by all.

This goes really well with jasmine rice.

BTW, anyone knows how to grow fat spring onion?  Mine is terribly skinny. 

What you need:

400g pork belly (skin removed, sliced)

½ tbsp oyster sauce

2 pcs salted fish salted fish (oil-brine type) (sliced)

1" thumb size ginger (sliced)

½ onion, cut into cube

6 pcs dried chili (deseed and cut into small pieces)

4 tsp minced garlic

200ml Water

Seasonings

1 tbsp light soy sauce

1 tbsp dark soy sauce

1 tbsp Shaoxing wine

2 stalk spring onion (cut into 3 cm length)

Thickener

1 tbsp corn starch

2 tbsp water

Method:

Marinate pork belly with oyster sauce and corn starch.  Set aside for 30 mins.

In a heated work, add oil, pan-fry salted fish until fragrant.  Remove.

Add 2 tbsp oil, fry ginger, onion, garlic, and dried chilli until fragrant.

Add in pork belly and mix well.

Add in water and bring to boil.

Once boiling, add in seasoning and let it simmer until pork is soft.

Stir in salted fish and cook for 1 min.

Add thickener and stir. (adjust to your liking for the sauce)

Stir in spring onion and serve.

Enjoy!

Homemade Luncheon Meat

My kids love luncheon meat, but I try to minimize the intake as much as I can but there are certain days, you just can't refuse it.

Anyway, I am trying out this Homemade Luncheon Meat that was shared in the TM group.

Not too sure whether it will be closed to the canned form though but nevertheless, I went ahead to try because I like the idea that I don't have to add other flavouring such as chicken powder seasoning to it.

Learning experiment: Family's feedback is that it will be nicer if I increased the salt level as well as the fats percent.

I just need to add perhaps 5-10% of pork fats to it and I think I will nail it.

Also, I need to improve on compacting the meat as there are still air pockets in it.

In terms of flavour, it is pretty close to what you get in the canned form.

Overall, a recipe keeper! 

What you need:

1kg minced pork  (will incorporate 10% fats)

1 tsp red yeast rice powder (红菊米粉)

1000g water

3 tbsp cornflour

2 tsp salt (to adjust to 2.5 tsp salt)

1½ tbsp sugar

1 tsp mixed spice

½ tsp white pepper powder

2 egg whites

2 tbsp light soy sauce

1 tbsp sesame oil

Meethod:

Grease a loaf pan (21.5X11.5cm) with oil.

Mix red yeast rice powder with 1 tbsp water.  Set aside.

In the TM bowl, combine minced pork, corn flour, salt, sugar, mixed spice, white pepper powder, egg whites, light soy sauce, sesame oil and red yeast mixture.  Mix 10 sec/sp 5.  Knead 3mins.
(In a big bowl, combine all ingredients and using one direction stirring, stir until gluten develops).

Transer ¼ portion of minced pork mixture into prepared tin, using a spatula, compact the meat by pressing down and even out.

Add in another ¼ of pork mixture and repeat the pressing process until all meat mixture is used up.

Brush oil onto the minced pork mixture and flatten further. 

Cover tightly with a parchment paper, wrap with cling film and steam in the Varoma dish.

Place 1000g water into the TM bowl.  Set Varoma and steam for 45 min/Varoma/Sp1.
(Bring a pot of water to a boil and steam for 45 mins).

Allow to cool completely before cutting.

 Enjoy!

1234 spare ribs

I have a packet of spare ribs and was wondering how I should cook it and suddenly it strikes me that I have not cook this 1234 spare ribs that my mom taught me.

Went back to my old blog for the recipe and realised that I last cooked it in 2006!  Gosh, that was really a long time ago.  

I recalled that I really love this dish and it was so simple to whip up.

What you need 

600g spare ribs
1 tbsp vinegar
2 tbsp sugar – I used only 1.5 tbsp as I don't like it too sweet so adjust accordingly
3 tbsp wine
4 tbsp soya sauce
½ litre of water

Method 

Heat wok with a little oil. Seal meat.

Add in the sauce and once boil, turned down heat and slowly simmer till meat has soften.

Stirring occasionally to avoid burnt.

Note: Adjust the sweetness to your liking last. 

Enjoy!

Bouncy pork balls Q弹猪肉圆

I used to love one of the bak cho mee stall's meat balls but the last take-out we had, the quality is no longer the same.  I suspect they might have changed supplier.

In the region, I think Singapore has the bounciest fish/beef/pork balls!  Bounce aside, these days, it is hard to eat a good quality fish/beef/pork balls too.  

So I am in the quest to see whether I can achieve a good tasting and yet Bouncy pork balls Q弹猪肉圆.

Findings: This recipe lived up to its name.  I actually tried dropping it and it did bounced.  Taste wise, my hub prefers it a little saltier so I have increased the seasoning.

Overall, for a homemade version, I think this is good.

Adapted: Source

What you need:

Yield : 35-45 

560g pork, cut to small pieces
½ cup icy cold water

1½ tbsp fish sauce

1 tsp salt
½ tbsp sugar
½ tbsp oil
2 tbsp cornflour
1¼ tsp baking powder
½ tsp lye water {optional} (I omitted)
1 tsp black/white pepper

Method:

Mince the pork in a food processor until a paste is form.

Place pork into TM, turbo/4 -5 times.

Add 5 tbsp water (a tbsp of water at a time) to get a smooth paste.
Add water thru the cover, a tbsp at a time.

In a separate cup, mix together the remaining water, fish sauce, salt, sugar, oil, cornflour, baking powder and lye water.

Remove the pork paste from the food processor and put in a big bowl.

Let the meat stay in TM bowl. 1 min/sp9

Pour the seasoning to the beef paste and stir well slowly (in one direction) until the liquid is absorbed into the paste (use either your hand or a fork).
Pour the seasoning through the cover, 2 mins/knead

Cover bowl with clingwrap and place in the freezer for 30 minutes.
Transfer to a bowl and clingwrap.  Freeze for 30 mins.

Boil a pot of water. Once the water has boiled, remove the pot from the heat.

Dip your hand in water, scoop the paste onto your wet hand. Push the paste through your thumb and 2nd finger by making a fist.

Use a wet spoon to scoop and drop it into the hot water.

Repeat process until the beef balls form a layer in the water.

Now turn on the heat and important not to let the water boil, just simmer slowly without bubble.  If not beef ball will not be bouncy. 

Any leftover paste should be kept in the freezer.

Fill a big basin with icy cold water.

When the beef balls starts to float, leave for a few more seconds. (to check doneness, cut one in half to see. The inside should not be pink).

Scoop out and let it cool in the cold water.

After the beef balls have cooled, use as required or drain and freeze.



Enjoy!

Japanese Charshu チャーシュー

Years ago, I learnt from a Japanese friend that she uses vegetable scraps that she saved daily to make the sauce base for Japanese Charshu チャーシュー and I thought this is so clever, zero waste management.  

Though I did not use vegetable scraps as I do have a compost bin thus nothing is wasted.

So this time round, I just use lots of leeks to replace the vegetable scraps.

Findings: I should have left the twine on for the whole cooking process because somehow the meat "open up".  Overall, I am quite happy how it turned out.

Adapted

What you need:

1 kg pork belly

½ tbsp grapeseed oil

4” ginger (skin removed and sliced)

5 stalks leek

500ml water

200g mirin

200g soya sauce

3 tbsp sugar

1 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

Method:

Cut off the white part of the leek for further use.  For the remaining green part, cut into 3” long.  Set aside.

Finely cut the white portion of the leek.  Keep it in the airtight container as garnish.

Roll up the pork belly with twine.  Blanch pork in a pot of boiling water.

Heat the oil in a frying pan over high heat and brown the pork belly.

In a heavy bottom pot, put water, mirin, soya sauce, sugar, salt and pepper together.

Add the pork belly, ginger and leek and bring it to a boil.

Lower to medium low heat and simmer for 1 hour or until pork is tender. (turn occasionally).

Turn up the heat to reduce the sauce, the sauce should thickened and meat is shiny.  Turn meat repeatedly to soak up the glaze.

Take the meat out and cut into thin slices.

Serve with ramen.


Enjoy!

Red Braised Pork Belly (红烧肉)

My family loves Roast Pork and braised pork but strangely they don't fancy pork belly in other cooking method.  Then again, while in Korea, I had witnessed my kiddos tucking in pork belly just cooking over a pan, dip in sauce and wrap in vegetable without any problem.  They will eating so wholeheartedly without without picking out the fats.  I wonder why.

Anyway, I was curious to see whether they will pick out the fats in this Red Braised Pork Belly (红烧肉).

What you need:

800g pork belly

3 slices ginger

1.5 tbsp rock sugar

3 star anise

6 cloves garlic

1 tbsp light soy sauce

1.5 tbsp dark soy sauce

2 tbsp Shaoxing Rice Wine
Water to top up to cover the pork belly

Method:

Cut the pork belly into thick pieces, about 1 inch long.

Heat the wok over medium high.  Add 1 teaspoon oil and sear each side of the pork belly until brown. Set aside.

Wash and reheat wok.  Add 2 tbsp of oil and sautee ginger until fragrant.

Add in garlic, star anise and continue to fry until fragrant.

Add in rock sugar and keep stirring until it dissolved and turned golden.

Mix in the pork belly.

Then add in water, light soy sauce, dark soy sauce and rice wine and bring just a boil.  (water should cover the pork belly).  Refill water if pork is still not soft.

Once the sauce is boiling, lower down heat and let it simmer for 1 hr or until pork belly is tender.

Turn up heat again and keep stirring until sauce starts to thicken.

When the pork belly turns red and shinny, turn off heat.

Serve with jasmine rice.

Thịt ba chỉ kho

Vietnam is very much close to my heart.  We have awesome Vietnamese friends that actually helped change our live.

For 2017, I tell myself that I must introduce more Vietnamese cuisine to the family.

Thịt ba chỉ kho is pretty close to Chinese cuisine as well.  Instead of using soya sauce, Vietnamese uses fish sauce which is also a staple seasoning in my kitchen.  

In fact,  I have change from soya sauce to fish sauce when seasoning vegetable for many years now and I personally find it more flavourful than soya sauce.

Back to this dish, it is easy and yet delicious to whip up.  In actual fact, the dish tasted better overnight.

What you need:

500g pork belly, 1" thick
1 tbsp fish sauce

6 clove garlic, minced
6 shallot, minced

1 tbsp dark soy sauce
dark brown sugar (adjust to taste)
2 cup water
salt to taste
1 tsp black pepper

Method:

Wash and drain pork belly.  Cut pork belly into 2" slices.

Marinate with fish sauce for 1 hour.

In a hot wok, add oil and saute shallot and garlic until fragrant.  Do not brown it.

Add in pork belly and lower heat to brown pork.

Add in water and dark soya sauce.  Bring to a boil.

Lower heat and slowly let it simmer until pork is soft.  If need to, add in more water.

Once pork is soft and water has nearly dried up, add in brown sugar (adjust to your liking).  And dry fry pork until sugar is melted.

Season with salt and pepper if needed.

Tofu Meatball

The very next day after I came back from my break, I woke up with a sharp pain on my heel.  I am not sure whether it is heel spur but from experience, it does not feel like it.  Nevertheless, I have been trying not to be on my feet too long.  After consulting the doctor, I found out that I actually had a sprain and also suffering from heel spur.  

Darn, with the festive period, I have so many things to do and yet being on the feet hurts! arrrgh.  Kiddos also not been having proper meal of late, so here is my attempt to provide one for the family.

I got inspired by Joyce's Lazy man meatball and since family is missing home cooked food so today I chose this recipe as it is easy to prepare especially with my thermomix.

Just dump, blitz and wahla. 

It sure is easy and yet tasty.

Thanks Joyce for this awesome recipe.

What you need:

280g minced pork

2 egg tofu

2 stick small carrot, peel and cut into small chunks

1.5 egg

2 tsp light soya sauce

1 tsp onion powder

1 tsp garlic powder

8 tsp corn flour

½ tsp sesame oil

¼ tsp pepper

Cooking oil for deep frying

Method:

Combine minced pork, egg tofu, egg, carrot and all seasonings into the thermomix.  Blitz until carrot is no longer in chunk.  Set to reserve mode and blitz for another 2 – 3 mins until mixture thickens.

(for hand method, please refer to Joyce’s instruction). 

Transfer into a container, clingwrap and chill at least 3 hours.

Heat cooking oil for deep frying.

Using an ice cream scoop, scoop and lower meat paste into the hot oil.  Fry until golden brown and turn to continue cooking.

Drain off oil and serve.

Enjoy!